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Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells (RBCs) that is seen in the bone marrow after through nuclear extrusion from the orthochromatic normoblasts. They are released into the peripheral blood as mature RBCs, after completion of maturation in the bone marrow. The reticulocyte count reflects the erythropoietic activity of the bone marrow, the rate of reticulocyte delivery from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood, and the rate of reticulocyte maturation. Reticulocyte enumeration is also of value in monitoring bone marrow regenerative activity after chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. Manual counting of reticulocytes by light microscopy with supravital dyes for RNA remains the standard method of reticulocyte enumeration. However, automated methods of reticulocyte enumeration developed during the past decade are much more accurate, precise, and cost-effective than manual counting, and are increasingly being performed in the clinical laboratory. The differentiation of the reticulocyte is based on the presence of RNA. The newer techniques provide a variety of reticulocyte related parameters, such as the reticulocyte maturation index and immature reticulocyte fraction, which are not available with light microscopy. These new parameters are under evaluation in the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of hematological disorders.

Aims: Aim of this study is to create donor registry of A2/A2B subgroup blood donors with Rh and Kell phenotype, to provide transfusion to multi-transfused A2/A2B subgroup patients and to prevent adverse transfusion reaction due to immunological stimulation by pre-existing anti-A1 antibodies having enhanced titer and thermal amplitude. Prevalence of A2/A2B subgroup in Indian population is rare with highest prevalence of “e” antigen among the five Rh antigens, phenotyped serologically, and “E” antigen being the lowest in prevalence. Anti-A1 antibodies appear as cold agglutinins in A2/A2B individuals and can be clinically significant when reactive at 37 °C, causing hemolysis of A1 RBCs. Methods: A retrospective data analysis was done in a tertiary care hospital-based blood center at capital city of India from January 2016 to December 2020. All donors were subjected to ABO Rh grouping, Rh and Kell phenotyping by solid phase method. Tube technique was used to distinguish A2/A2B by agglutination reaction with anti-A1 lectin. Results: Total 40,051 donors were analyzed during study period, of which, A and AB groups constituted 21.26% and 9.01% respectively; out of these, only 0.47% belonged to A2 subgroup while A2B subgroup was more frequent (1.06%). The rarest Rh phenotypes found were R1Rz, r”r, r’r” in A2/A2B blood donors. Conclusion: There is a need to create rare donor registry for A2/A2B subgroups and clinically significant blood group antigens and share at various levels. This is a first small step to create a rare donor registry of A2/A2B subgroups with Rh and Kell phenotype, to provide transfusion to A2/A2B patients to prevent adverse transfusion reaction due to immunological stimulation by pre-existing anti-A1 antibodies having enhanced titer and thermal amplitude and to ensure improved quality of transfusion therapy.

In this paper, we present the details of our multi-node GPU-FFT library, as well its scaling on Selene HPC system. Our library employs slab decomposition for data division and MPI for communication among GPUs. We performed GPU-FFT on $1024^3$, $2048^3$, and $4096^3$ grids using a maximum of 512 A100 GPUs. We observed good scaling for $4096^3$ grid with 64 to 512 GPUs. We report that the timings of multicore FFT of $1536^3$ grid with 196608 cores of Cray XC40 is comparable to that of GPU-FFT of $2048^3$ grid with 128 GPUs. The efficiency of GPU-FFT is due to the fast computation capabilities of A100 card and efficient communication via NVlink., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

A 12-year-old male was admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit for respiratory failure requiring temporary tracheostomy secondary to an extensive necrotizing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia. Imaging revealed destructive bronchiectasis and multifocal lung abscesses, more advanced in the right lung. He was discharged home after 42-day hospital admission. 3.5 months after his discharge, he re-presented to the Emergency Department with a large right pneumothorax and a pneumatocele measuring 10.2 × 6.2 cm2 . He was admitted to the hospital and while his pneumothorax resolved in 2 days, the size of the pneumatocele was noted to fluctuate with different phases of respiration. A computed tomography scan of the chest demonstrated a fistula between the pneumatocele and right upper lobe bronchus. Following discussion between Pulmonary medicine and Interventional radiology, transbronchial closure of the air leak was planned. Intubation was done with a dual-lumen endotracheal tube. Bronchography was performed using a diagnostic catheter. A large air leak was noted from the anterior segment of the right upper lobe bronchus. Embolization of the fistula was performed using n-butyl cyanoacrylate (nBCA, glue) injected through a second catheter under fluoroscopic guidance. The residual pneumatocele slowly resolved over 2 months. Endobronchial embolization has been described in the literature as a treatment strategy for air leaks, largely in adult patients. Endobronchial embolization of large pneumatoceles and bronchopleural fistulas may offer an alternative treatment option with less morbidity than the classic surgical approach.

Infectious diseases, also known as transmissible or communicable diseases, are caused by pathogens or parasites that spread in communities by direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials, through droplets and aerosols, or via vectors such as insects. Such diseases cause 17% of all human deaths and their management and control places an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases include vaccination programmes, hygiene measures and drugs that suppress the pathogen, treat the disease symptoms or attenuate aggressive reactions of the host immune system. The provision of vaccines and biologic drugs such as antibodies is hampered by the high cost and limited scalability of traditional manufacturing platforms based on microbial and animal cells, particularly in developing countries where infectious diseases are prevalent and poorly controlled. Molecular farming, which uses plants for protein expression, is a promising strategy to address the drawbacks of current manufacturing platforms. In this review article, we consider the potential of molecular farming to address healthcare demands for the most prevalent and important epidemic and pandemic diseases, focussing on recent outbreaks of high-mortality coronavirus infections and diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world. The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project AGL2017-85377-R), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (projects RTI2018-097613-B-I00 and PGC2018-097655-B-I00), the EU Horizon 2020 project Pharma-Factory (774078) and the Gener- alitat de Catalunya (Grups Consolidats 2017-SGR828), Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR), Departa- ment d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (PAND EMIES 2020). Project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007660 (Microbiologia Molecular, Estrutural e Celular funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 –Programa Operacional Compet- itividade e Internacionalizacß~ao (POCI) and by the FCT (Portugal) through the R&D Unit, UIDB/04551/2020 (GREEN-IT –Biore- sources for Sustainability). UKIERI and the Hotung Foundation for sustained support of the Bharathiar University / St. George’s Univ. of London collaboration and the Molecular Immunology Unit at St. George’s Univ of London. The Max Planck Society, the EU Horizon 2020 project Newcotiana, 760331-2) and a grant from the European Research Council (ERC-ADG-2014; grant agree- ment 669982) to RB. KMOC, RMT and STH acknowledge support from the InnCoCells project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101000373. PSS, KAM, RF, and SN are partially supported by a CRAFT award (COVID-19 Research Accelerator Funding Track) by the University of California Davis. KAM and SN were partially supported by NASA Space Technology Research (award number NNX17AJ31G) and by the Translational Research Institute through NASA (grant number NNX16AO69A). EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Corporation), INCT BioSyn (National Institute of Science and Technology in Synthetic Biology), CNPq, CAPES, Brazilian Ministry of Health, FAPDF and Universidade Cat olica de Bras ılia (UCB), Bras ılia, Brazil. BBSRC Grant BB/L020955/1, the JIC Strategic Programme Grant ‘Molecules from Nature –Enhanced Research Capacity’ (BBS/E/ J/000PR9794), the John Innes Foundation and the Department of Health and Social Care using UK Aid funding managed by the BBSRC. The Austrian Science Fund FWF (project W1224). TTW Veni Grant 16740 from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Research in the Daniell laboratory was supported by NIH grants R01 GM 63879, R01 107904, R01 HL 109442, R01 133191 and grants from Bayer, Novo Nordisk and Shire/Takeda. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Healthand Human Services, through the Science Moving TowArds Research Trans- lation and Therapy (SMARTT) program contracts # HHSN268201600014C, HHSN268201600011C supported IND enabling regulatory, toxicology and pharmacokinetic studies. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author (s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of California, Davis, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the employing institutions or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The fight against infectious diseases often focuses on epidemics and pandemics, which demand urgent resources and command attention from the health authorities and media. However, the vast majority of deaths caused by infectious diseases occur in endemic zones, particularly in developing countries, placing a disproportionate burden on underfunded health systems and often requiring international interventions. The provision of vaccines and other biologics is hampered not only by the high cost and limited scalability of traditional manufacturing platforms based on microbial and animal cells, but also by challenges caused by distribution and storage, particularly in regions without a complete cold chain. In this review article, we consider the potential of molecular farming to address the challenges of endemic and re-emerging diseases, focusing on edible plants for the development of oral drugs. Key recent developments in this field include successful clinical trials based on orally delivered dried leaves of Artemisia annua against malarial parasite strains resistant to artemisinin combination therapy, the ability to produce clinical-grade protein drugs in leaves to treat infectious diseases and the long-term storage of protein drugs in dried leaves at ambient temperatures. Recent FDA approval of the first orally delivered protein drug encapsulated in plant cells to treat peanut allergy has opened the door for the development of affordable oral drugs that can be manufactured and distributed in remote areas without cold storage infrastructure and that eliminate the need for expensive purification steps and sterile delivery by injection. The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project AGL2017-85377-R), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (projects RTI2018-097613-B-I00 and PGC2018-097655-B-I00), the EU Horizon 2020 project Pharma-Factory (774078) and the Gener- alitat de Catalunya (Grups Consolidats2017-SGR828); Ag encia de Gesti o d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR), Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (PAND EMIES 2020); Project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007660 (Microbiologia Molecular, Estrutural e Celular funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020)—Programa Operacional Compet- itividade e Internacionalizacß~ao (POCI) and by the FCT (Portugal) through the R&D Unit, UIDB/04551/2020 (GREEN-IT—Biore- sources for Sustainability); UKIERI and the Hotung Foundation for sustained support of the Bharathiar University / St. George’s Univ. of London collaboration and the Molecular Immunology Unit at St. George’s Univ. of London. The Max Planck Society, the EU Horizon 2020 project Newcotiana (760331-2) and a grant from the European Research Council (ERC-ADG-2014; grant agreement 669982) to RB. KMOC, RMT and STH acknowledge support from the InnCoCells project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101000373. PSS, KAM, RF and SN are partially supported by a CRAFT award (COVID-19 Research Accelerator Funding Track) by the University of California Davis. KAM and SN were partially supported by NASA Space Technology Research (award number NNX17AJ31G) and by the Translational Research Institute through NASA (grant number NNX16AO69A); EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Corporation), INCT BioSyn (National Institute of Science and Technology in Synthetic Biology), CNPq, CAPES, Brazilian Ministry of Health, FAPDFnd Universidade Cat olica de Bras ılia (UCB), Bras ılia, Brazil; BBSRC Grant BB/L020955/1, the JIC Strategic Programme Grant ‘Molecules from Nature –Enhanced Research Capacity’ (BBS/E/ J/000PR9794), the John Innes Foundation and the Department of Health and Social Care using UK Aid funding managed by the BBSRC; and The Austrian Science Fund FWF (project W1224). TTW Veni Grant 16740 from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Research in the Daniell laboratory was supported by NIH grants R01 GM 63879, R01 107904, R01 HL 109442, R01 133191 and grants from Bayer, Novo Nordisk and Shire/Takeda. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, through the Science Moving TowArds Research Trans- lation and Therapy (SMARTT) programme contracts # HHSN268201600014C, HHSN268201600011C supported IND enabling regulatory, toxicology and pharmacokinetic studies. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author (s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of California, Davis, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the employing institutions or the UK Department of Health and Social Care

BACKGROUND Diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) of the kidneys is a technique that provides information about the microstructure of renal tissue without requiring exogenous contrasts such as gadolinium, and it can be used for diagnosis in cases of renal disease and assessing response-to-therapy. However, physiological motion and large geometric distortions due to main B0 field inhomogeneities degrade the image quality, reduce the accuracy of quantitative imaging markers, and impede their subsequent clinical applicability. PURPOSE To retrospectively correct for geometric distortion for free-breathing DW-MRI of the kidneys at 3T, in the presence of a nonstatic distortion field due to breathing and bulk motion. STUDY TYPE Prospective. SUBJECTS Ten healthy volunteers (ages 29-38, four females). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3T; DW-MR dual-echo echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence (10 b-values and 17 directions) and a T2 volume. ASSESSMENT The distortion correction was evaluated subjectively (Likert scale 0-5) and numerically with cross-correlation between the DW images at b = 0 s/mm2 and a T2 volume. The intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and diffusion tensor (DTI) model-fitting performance was evaluated using the root-mean-squared error (nRMSE) and the coefficient of variation (CV%) of their parameters. STATISTICAL TESTS Statistical comparisons were done using Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS The proposed method improved the Likert scores by 1.1 ± 0.8 (P

Introduction Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common benign vascular tumor of childhood. It typically appears as a single cutaneous mass in the head, neck, and trunk area. IH that does not arise in the skin most commonly presents in the liver. The lesion emerges shortly after birth, rapidly enlarges within the first six months of life, and then spontaneously involutes by 5-10 years of age. Risk factors associated with IH complications include lesional size, location, and growth characteristics. Pulmonary IH is rare with limited reports of clinical presentations and outcomes. Methods An IRB-approved, retrospective review of pediatric patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary IH was conducted. Cases were identified within the Department of Pathology at Boston Children's Hospital from surgical or autoptic specimens evaluated between 1918 and 2021. Analysis of histopathological slides confirmed pulmonary IH in eight infants. We describe the diagnostic workup, radiological, and histopathological findings of these eight patients. Results All patients presented with symptoms of respiratory distress, including tachypnea, subcostal retractions, and hypoxia. The median age at initial symptoms was 1.5 months (range, birth to 12 months). Five patients had a single pulmonary hemangioma ranging in size from 0.2 to 8.0 cm; three patients had multiple pulmonary hemangiomas. Four patients had co-occurrence of multifocal hepatic IH. The median age at histologic diagnosis of pulmonary IH was 6.5 months (range, 5 weeks to 16 months). Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) immunostaining was positive in seven cases. Chest radiography demonstrated nonhomogeneous, mass-like consolidative opacities or rounded nodules. Treatment was primarily supportive. Three patients received medical therapy; two were treated with interferon, and one received propranolol. The infant treated with propranolol responded well with decreased lesional size and resolution of respiratory symptoms. Half of the patients in the cohort died; causes of death included cardiac failure from hepatic involvement, sepsis, hemorrhage, and liver failure. Conclusions Although IH is a common childhood tumor, IH of the lung is rare. Most (80%) IHs are focal, with hepatic co-involvement in 50-60% cases (Zavras et al. Eur J Pediatr, 2020; Hinen et al. Front Pediatr, 2020). Given that all patients who had concomitant hepatic hemangiomas died-albeit before the widespread availability of medical therapy-the presence of hepatic hemangiomas may confer high risk of complications. Patients with hepatic hemangiomas presented with pulmonary symptoms. Biopsy may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis of pulmonary IH and inform treatment. In this series, only treatment with propranolol or surgical resection was curative. Pulmonary IH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of infants with unexplained pulmonary masses, especially when accompanied by hepatic IH. Early recognition is critical for patients to receive proper and potentially life-saving treatment. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Aim Aim of our study is to highlight the incidence and benign nature of Giant cell tumour of tendon sheath and need for complete removal, thus minimizing the chances of recurrence. Material and methods A total of 26 cases of Giant cell tumour of tendon sheath operated in the department of Orthopaedics, Patna Medical College & Hospital, Patna from 2003 to 2010 were included in this study. The surgery was performed after clinical evaluation of the lesion and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). The tumour underwent en bloc marginal excision. The patients were followed up for minimum two year. Results Our study population consisted of 18 females and 8 males. The mean age at the time of surgery was 38.3 years (range, 18–62 years). Twenty three cases were found in the 3rd and 4th decade. Twenty two cases involved upper extremity and only 4 cases in lower extremity. MRI was done in 2 cases where diagnosis was in doubt. Bony indentation on X-ray film was found in 7 cases and thorough curettage of cortical shell was done. All the cases were treated by marginal excision. Three cases developed post-operative stiffness but regained full range of movement with physiotherapy. Sensory impairment was seen in 3 cases. Recurrence occurred in 2 case and they were treated by repeat marginal excision. Conclusion Meticulous en-masse marginal excision of the giant cell tumour of tendon sheath in blood less field using magnification is the treatment of choice.

Objectives To evaluate the clinical and functional results of closed fixation of humeral diaphysial fractures using Ender nails. Material and methods This was an observational study conducted between January 2008 and September 2014 in which 46 cases of humeral diaphyseal fractures were treated by closed reduction and percutaneous fixation with Enders nails. Clinical follow up evaluation was done and Serial radiographs were taken to look for the time taken for the fracture union and the fracture alignment, positioning and migration of the nails if any. Results Average blood loss during the surgery was 30 ml while average radiation exposure time was 1 min. Fracture united in mean 12.8 weeks (range 12-28 weeks). Primary union was achieved in 40 cases, whereas 6 had delayed union at 24 weeks for which autogenous bone grafting was done. Proximal migration of nails occurred in 6 cases and 3 cases had superficial stitch infection. Full range of shoulder and elbow movement was achieved in 40 cases within 24 weeks. In rest of the cases, there was limitation of abduction (average 75°, Range 65° to 85°). Conclusion Ender nailing for fracture shaft of humerus is a cost effective, time saving, minimally invasive technique with minimal blood loss. It has many benefits, with good results attainable and comparable with those seen with conservative modalities and other surgical modalities making it a viable option.

Snow depth (SD) and Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) constitute essential physical properties of snow and find extensive usage in the hydrological modelling domain. However, the prominent impact of the hydrometeorological conditions and difficult terrain conditions inhibit accurate measurement of the SD and SWE— an ongoing research problem in the cryosphere paradigm. In this context, spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems benefit from global coverage at sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolutions. Still, existing polarimetric and interferometric SAR techniques are susceptible to high volume scattering resulting from the increased snow grain sizes due to the standing (or old) snow formation driven by the temperature induced snow metamorphosis process. Hence, to model this volume decorrelation, the polarimetric SAR interferometry (Pol-InSAR) technique can be effectively applied. In this work, the standing snow depth (SSD) and its corresponding standing snow water equivalent (SSWE) are estimated using the single-baseline Pol-InSAR based hybrid Digital Elevation Model (DEM) differencing and coherence amplitude inversion model. To achieve this, six TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X Coregistered Single look Slant range Complex (CoSSC) bistatic quad-pol acquisitions between December 2015 and January 2016 over Dhundi (situated in the Beas watershed, northwestern Himalayas, India) are used. Due to the associated problems of model parameter tuning, complex topographical conditions, and limited ground-truth measurements, appropriate sensitivity analyses have been carried out for the parameter optimisation. Furthermore, the uncertainty sources are identified by performing a summer (June 8, 2017) and wintertime (January 8, 2016) comparative analysis of the study area which quantitatively highlights the changes in the percentages of the surface and volume scatterings. Evidently, the improved model displays sufficiently high overall SSD accuracy with coefficient of determination (R^2) ≈ 0.96, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) ≈ 1.61 cm, and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ≈ 2.16 cm. Additionally, the respective SSWEs have been calculated by assuming a fixed snow density for each epoch wherein the overall error metrics are R^2 ≈ 0.71, MAE ≈ 5.19 mm, and RMSE ≈ 6.84 mm. Therefore, this research successfully demonstrates the practicability of the improved Pol-InSAR model for SD estimation over rugged terrains.

Purpose To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and severity of chest x-rays (CXR) and chest CTs over time in confirmed COVID-19+ and COVID-19- patients and to evaluate determinants of false negatives. Methods In a retrospective multi-institutional study, 254 RT-PCR verified COVID-19+ patients with at least one CXR or chest CT were compared with 254 age- and gender-matched COVID-19- controls. CXR severity, sensitivity, and specificity were determined with respect to time after onset of symptoms; sensitivity and specificity for chest CTs without time stratification. Performance of serial CXRs against CTs was determined by comparing area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess factors related to false negative CXR. Results COVID-19+ CXR severity and sensitivity increased with time (from sensitivity of 55% at ≤2 days to 79% at >11 days; p

This paper presents a finite-time heterogeneous cyclic pursuit scheme that ensures consensus among agents modelled as integrators. It is shown that for the proposed sliding mode control, even when the gains corresponding to each agent are non-identical, consensus results within a finite-time provided all the gains are positive. An algorithm is presented to compute the consensus value and consensus time for a given set of gains and initial states of the agents. The set of values where consensus can occur, by varying the gains, has been derived and a second algorithm aids in determining the gains that enable consensus at any point in the aforementioned set, within a given finite-time. As an application, the finite-time consensus in line-of-sight (LOS) rates, over a cycle digraph, for a group of interceptors is shown to be effective in ensuring co-operative collision-free interception of a target, for both kinematic and realistic models of the interceptors. Simulations vindicate the theoretical results., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures

Purpose. To review 10 children with calcaneal tuberculosis in terms of presentation, healing, and functional outcome. Methods. Medical records of 7 boys and 3 girls aged 7 to 12 (mean, 9.8) years who presented with calcaneal tuberculosis were reviewed. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate of all patients was elevated. All patients presented with pain and swelling around the lateral malleolus and a ‘heal-up’ sign; 7 of them presented with an additional discharging sinus. Three patients had palpable lymph nodes in the right inguinal or left popliteal region. Symptoms had lasted for one month to 1.5 years. Two patients had healed tuberculosis in the lungs; 8 patients had no pulmonary involvement. Seven patients had a single lytic lesion in the calcaneal body (n=1), tuberosity (n=3), and extension to anterior process (n=3). Three patients had multiple lytic lesions in the calcaneum; one of them had bilateral involvement who had lesions in the phalanges, lumbar spine, and ulna. Two patients had subtalar joint involvement. Results. The mean follow-up period was 17 (range, 8–60) months. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate returned to normal after 3 months in 7 patients and after >6 months in 3 patients. The subtalar range of movement was normal in all except for 2 patients. One patient developed subtalar ankylosis. Sinuses healed in a mean of 10 (range, 2–16) weeks. No patient had pain on level walking after treatment. At 3 months, remineralisation of bone was evident in all patients. Sclerosis of cavity margins and sequestra resorption was noted from 6 to 9 months. No patient experienced recurrence. Conclusion. The ‘heel up’ sign was common in children with calcaneal tuberculosis in this endemic region. The central granuloma-type presentation was the most common. Pathological fractures and involvement of the subtalar joint were not common. Subtalar joint involvement was a poor prognostic factor.

Ocimum basilicum (O. basilicum) L. belongs to family Lamiaceae which comprises the most employed medicinal plants as a worldwide source of spices and also as a consolidated source of extracts. The phytochemical constituents of sweet basil essential oil have been investigated for several therapeutic importance from many regions of the world. They include terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponin glycosides and ascorbic acid. These compounds have been reported to exhibit antibacterial and antifungal, antidyspepsia, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiulcer, antiviral, insecticidal, wound-healing etc. activities. The plant parts of O. basilicum have been widely used in preparation traditional medicine. The plants also been used as a folk remedy to treat various ailments such as feverish illness, poor digestion, nausea, abdominal cramps, gastro-enteritis, migraine, insomnia, depression, gonorrhea, dysentery etc. Externally, they have been applied for the treatment of acne, loss of smell, insect stings, snake bites and skin infections. The present review is aimed to cover the pharmacological investigations on this important medicinal herb. Key Words: Ocimum basilicum, phytochemical constituents, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, insecticidal

An efficient variant of the homotopy analysis method, namely optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM), has been presented for the solution of chemical process systems that are represented by axial dispersion model. To show its efficiency OHAM has been successfully applied to one of the popular chemical engineering system, i.e., axial dispersion model of a tubular chemical reactor sustaining nonlinear kinetics. The obtained optimal homotopy results have been shown to match closely with the numerically obtained results. The usefulness of OHAM has further been illustrated by effectively capturing multiple solutions, which frequently arise in non-monotonic kinetics. Convergence of the so obtained OHAM results has also been discussed. It is also worthwhile to mention that the presented methodology of OHAM, with slight modification, can easily be extended to other engineering systems not represented by axial dispersion model.

When crowdsourcing systems are used in combination with machine inference systems in the real world, they benefit the most when the machine system is deeply integrated with the crowd workers. However, if researchers wish to integrate the crowd with "off-the-shelf" machine classifiers, this deep integration is not always possible. This work explores two strategies to increase accuracy and decrease cost under this setting. First, we show that reordering tasks presented to the human can create a significant accuracy improvement. Further, we show that greedily choosing parameters to maximize machine accuracy is sub-optimal, and joint optimization of the combined system improves performance., Comment: HCOMP 2015 Work in Progress