Correction to: EDVWDD: Event‑Driven Virtual Wheel‑based Data Dissemination for Mobile Sink‑Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks

The Journal of Supercomputing - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-021-03790-9     

Extranasal Staphylococcus aureus colonization predisposes to bloodstream infections in patients on hemodialysis with noncuffed internal jugular vein catheters

Introduction: Staphylococcal infection of endogenous origin is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who receive hemodialysis (HD). The risk of such infections in nasal carriers of the organism is well defined. Extranasal carriage of the organism at extranasal sites may pose similar risks. Methods: A total of 70 patients about to undergo internal jugular vein catheterization for HD were enrolled in this prospective observational study. Swab cultures were obtained from anterior nares, posterior pharynx, axillae, toe web spaces, and vascular access sites at baseline and 1 week later. A patient was defined as a persistent carrier when the same organism was grown in both samples. Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections were assessed by blood and catheter tip cultures over a 90‐day period. Findings: The mean age of the patients was 43.71 ± 16.2 years. Persistent S. aureus carriage at anterior nares, throat, axilla, toe web spaces, vascular access site, and all sites was documented in 27.9%, 11.4%, 40%, 32.9%, 4.3%, and 64.2% of patients, respectively. Fifteen patients developed S. aureus infections. Catheter related S. aureus infections (CRI) were more likely in persistent carriers than nonpersistent carriers with odds ratios (95% CI) of 10.2 (2.8–37.1), 8.6 (1.7–42.2), 17.3 (3.4–86.0), 3.0 (0.9–9.8), and 1.9 (0.2–22.4) for anterior nares, throat, axilla, toe web spaces, and vascular access site carriers, respectively. The probability of developing CRI in persistent S. aureus carriers was 55% compared to none in noncarriers at 90 days (P = 0.04). Discussion: Extranasal S. aureus carriage is as significant a risk factor as nasal carriage for staphylococcal infections in patients on HD through catheters. The study is limited by lack of molecular phenotyping.     

Morphological, structural, and functional properties of maranta (Maranta arundinacea L) starch

Starch isolated from maranta (Maranta arundinacea) tuber and studied for its various physicochemical characteristics. The amylose content of the starch was 24.8%. SEM showed that the granules were small indented and spherical. Maranta starch granule size has a range of 2.92–6.42 μm, (mean of 4.84 μm), length/degree of 1.20, and roundness of 0.73. Maranta starch has a gelatinization temperature of 74.8°C, peak viscosity of 498 BU, and cold paste viscosity of 669 BU. It also possessed higher freeze-thaw stability. Dynamic rheological properties of maranta starch, measured using parallel plate geometry showed increased storage modulus (G’) values, while loss modulus (G″) values were decreased with increasing frequency values (0–100 Hz). The low gelatinization temperature and high freeze thaw stability of starch indicates its potential for application as a thickener in food industries.     

Isolation and identification of caffeine-degrading bacteria from coffee plantation area

Decaffeination of food and beverage products is in high demand. In this study, a caffeine-degrading bacterium Burkholderia spp. was isolated from coffee plantation area of Chiang Mai province of Thailand. The bacterial isolates were first identified by morphological, physiological, and biochemical tests followed by 16S rDNA analysis. The bacterial isolate of Burkholderia spp. showed 45.5% of caffeine degradation in caffeine containing media (2.5 g/L) after 110 h of incubation period. Burkholderia spp. showed only 2.6% caffeine degradation when exposed to high concentrations of caffeine containing medium (20 g/L). The growth rate of Burkholderia spp. declined with the increase in the caffeine concentration, which indicated the inhibiting effect of caffeine at very high concentrations. The maximum growth rate of 0.053 h^?1 was observed at 2.5 g/L of caffeine. Overall due to high caffeine tolerance and biodegradation of caffeine, Burkholderia spp. can be effectively used to degrade caffeine from agro-industrial wastes targeted for value added food applications and environmental remediation.     

Rendering Grass in Real Time with Dynamic Lighting

The authors present a real-time grass rendering technique that works for large, arbitrary terrains with dynamic lighting, shadows, and a good parallax effect. A novel combination of geometry and lit volume slices provides accurate, per-pixel lighting. A fast grass-density management scheme allows the rendering of arbitrarily shaped patches of grass.     

Synthetic,spectroscopic, magnetic,thermal, and antimicrobial approach towards new biocidal coordination polymers

O‐aminophenol was reacted with glutraldehyde to obtain Schiff base, which was then reacted with formaldehyde in slight acidic medium to generate phenolic groups. Now the substituted Schiff base was reacted with the transition metal acetates of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) to get polymeric metal complexes. Their structures have been elucidated on the basis of elemental analyses, ¹H NMR spectra, ¹³C NMR spectra, magnetic measurements, thermogravimetric analyses, electronic spectra, and infrared spectra. The results are in accordance with an octahedral environment around the central metal ion. The polychelates of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) are paramagnetic while Zn(II) polychelate was found to be diamagnetic. The synthesized Schiff base acted as a uninegative bidentate ligand and bonding occurs through the hydroxyl oxygen and nitrogen atoms. The thermal behavior of these coordinating polymers was studied by TGA in nitrogen atmosphere up to the temperature range of 800°C. All the synthesized polychelates were also screened for their biocidal activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis (bacteria), Candida albicans, and Muller species (yeast) by using agar well diffusion method. All the metal polychelates show promising antimicrobial activities. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 124:3971–3979, 2012     

Efficiency of Urban Water Supply Utilities in India

The two parameters of services output of water utilities are the per capita water available for consumption and the hours for which water is supplied per day. However, water utilities in India differ on the level of these outputs substantially. This paper uses the data for water utilities in 31 cities to analyse their performance in delivery of services. Using data envelopment analysis, a measure of technical efficiency for various utilities is calculated. The results indicate that water utilities can increase the delivery of water on a per capita basis and increase the hours of supply per day by about 18%. Nearly 37% of the increase in services could result from changing the scale of operation. This paper also discusses if the institutional framework within which these utilities operate has implications on their efficiency.