Tuberculosis of the spine

Pott’s spine,commonly known as spinal tuberculosis(TB),is an extrapulmonary form of TB caused by Mycobacterium TB.Pott’s paraplegia occurs when the spine is involved.Spinal TB is usually caused by the hematogenous spread of infection from a central focus,which can be in the lungs or another location.Spinal TB is distinguished by intervertebral disc involvement caused by the same segmental arterial supply,which can result in severe morbidity even after years of approved therapy.Neurological impairments and spine deformities are caused by progressive damage to the anterior vertebral body.The clinical,radiographic,microbiological,and histological data are used to make the diagnosis of spinal TB.In Pott’s spine,combination multidrug antitubercular therapy is the basis of treatment.The recent appearance of multidrug-resistant/extremely drug-resistant TB and the growth of human immunodeficiency virus infection have presented significant challenges in the battle against TB infection.Patients who come with significant kyphosis or neurological impairments are the only ones who require surgical care.Debride-ment,fusion stabilization,and correction of spinal deformity are the cornerstones of surgical treatment.Clinical results for the treatment of spinal TB are generally quite good with adequate and prompt care.

Systemic treatments for resectable carcinoma of the esophagus

One of the most prevalent malignancies in the world is esophageal cancer(EC).The 5-year survival rate of EC remains pitiful despite treatment advancements.Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in conjunction with esophagectomy is the standard of care for patients with resectable disease.The pathological complete response rate,however,is not acceptable.A distant metastasis or a locoregional recurrence will occur in about half of the patients.To increase the clinical effectiveness of therapy,it is consequently vital to investigate cutting-edge and potent therapeutic modalities.The approach to the management of resectable EC using immunotherapy has been considerably altered by immune checkpoint inhibitors.Systemic immunotherapy has recently been shown to have the potential to increase the survival of patients with resectable EC,according to growing clinical data.A combination of chemotherapy,radiation,and immunotherapy may have a synergistic antitumor impact because,according to mounting evidence,these treatments can stimulate the immune system via a number of different pathways.In light of this,it makes sense to consider the value of neoadjuvant immunotherapy for patients with surgically treatable EC.In this review,we clarify the rationale for neoadjuvant immunotherapy in resectable EC patients,recap the clinical outcomes of these approaches,go through the upcoming and ongoing investigations,and emphasize the difficulties and unmet research requirements.

Microfinance Structure of Thailand

This paper was devoted to analyzing the structure of microfinance in Thailand. The theory of industrial organization （IO） was applied as a guideline to measure the degree of monopoly power in microfinance structure. The objective-of the study was investigation on Thai microfinance institution marketing structure by using Concentration Ratio （CR） and Herfindahl Hirschman Index （HHI）. The data of the study focus on the outstanding loans market share of microfinance institutions （MFIs）. The market share of the outstanding loans of MFIs from the largest to the smallest is as follows： Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives （BAAC）, Village Fund Cooperatives, Government Saving Bank （GSB）, Pawnshop, Self Help group： Saving Group, Commercial Bank, Self Help Group： Sudja Group and Isalamic Bank （IB）, respectively. It stated that CR by outstanding loans is as follows： Cr 1, 59.35%; Cr 3, 81.11%; Cr 6, 92.14%; and Cr 9, 94.37%. At the same time HHI is 0.38. Additionally, BAAC remains the majority MFIs even though there are the other MFIs available in the microfinance system. The main role of providing the microfinance services mostly derived from BAAC.

Umbrella with Ultraviolet Radiation Protection

Background: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes harm to the eye and skin in human. There are many ways to protect one from UVR. Umbrella is widely used due to its convenience as well as its ability to protect one from rain. However, there are limited numbers of studies on UVR protection of different types of umbrellas. Objective of study: To determine UVR protection efficacy of different umbrella designs. Methods: The experimental study was performed on five sunny days. Six manikins were placed in an open area, five of which were equipped with five different types of black canopy umbrellas. One manikin was placed without an umbrella as a control sample. Polysulfone film badges were attached in six different areas in each manikin for measuring the UVR from 10 am - 3 pm Results: All types of umbrellas provides 64.5% - 92.3% UVR photo protection efficacy. An umbrella with UV-filter coating on the inner surface provides maximum UVR photo protection efficacy. However, UVR proto protection efficacies of an umbrella with UV-filter coating on the inner surface and one with UV-filter coating on the outer surface and one without UV-filter coating are not statistically significant (p-value = 0.37). Umbrellas with a diameter of 122 cm and 152 cm provide comparable UVR photo protection efficacy while an umbrella with a diameter of 112 cm provides the least UVR photo protection efficacy. However, UVR photo protection efficacies of umbrellas with different diameter are not statistically significant (p-value = 0.36). The area of the body that received the most UVR photo protection is the forehead which is statistically significant when compared with other areas of the body (p-value < 0.001). The areas of the body that received the least UVR photo protection are the left ear and the back of the neck, which are statistically significant when compared with other areas of the body (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: All types of umbrellas provide UVR photo protection efficacy. The study shows that umbrellas with different canvas material including both the UV-filter coating and different diameter of umbrellas could effectively protect the user from UVR without significant group difference in this study.

Enhancement of methanogenic activity by micronutrient control: Micronutrient availability in relation to sulfur transport

The main purpose of this research was to clarify the influence of the addition of iron(Fe)alone(0–100 mg/L)or 50 mg/L of Fe with 2 mg/L each of cobalt(Co),copper(Cu)and nickel(Ni)on the methanogenic activity of a mesophilic two-stage UASB system treating ethanol wastewater at a fixed chemical oxygen demand(COD)loading rate of 16 kg/m^(3)/day under a continuous mode of operation and steady state condition.The addition of Fe provided the dual benefits of a reduction in both the dissolved sulfide and the hydrogen sulfide(H_(2)S)content in produced gas,resulting inmarginally improved hydrogen(H_(2))and methane(CH_(4))productivities.When the Fe dosage was increased beyond the optimum value of 50 mg/L,the process performance drastically declined,as a consequence of the high total volatile fatty acid(VFA)concentrations that inhibited both the acidogens and methanogens predominantly present in the 1st and 2nd reactors,respectively.The chemical precipitation of iron sulfide was responsible for the reduction of produced H_(2)S in both the aqueous and gaseous phases as well as the minimization of added amounts of all other micronutrients to fulfil the sufficiency of all micronutrients for anaerobic digestion(AD).The addition of 2 mg/L each of Co,Cu and Ni together with 50 mg/L Fe resulted in the greatest enhancement in process performance,as indicated by the improved CH_(4) yield(mL/g COD applied)to about 42.3%,compared to that without micronutrient supplement.