Background: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are the most common and serious complications in uncontrolled diabetes. Infections are predominantly polymicrobial, with aerobic Gram-positive, anerobic, and fungal infections. Early detection of fungal infection and initiation of appropriate treatment in DFUs may lead to better healing and avoid amputations. The primary objective was to find out the prevalence of DFUs getting infected with fungus and the secondary objective was to identify the appropriate methodology for the detection of the fungus in DFUs.Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study carried out in a tertiary care hospital with a sample size of 60 DFUs. Microbiological analysis was done by swab culture and deep tissue culture. Observational data were collected and the significance level was statistically analyzed.Results: In the present study, the prevalence of fungal infections in DFUs was 31.7%. Only fungal tissue was positive in 15%, the fungal swab was positive in 8.33%, and both tissue and swab were positive in 8.33%. All these patients were treated with antifungal treatment as per the culture report in addition to appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Conclusion:A fungal culture should be done in all patients with non-healing DFUs. Both fungal swab and tissue culture testing should be advocated in patients with DFUs for better mycological evaluation. The addition of antifungal medications may provide better outcomes in selected cases.

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Background: Acute pancreatitis is an emergency gastrointestinal condition for which severity prediction is crucial during hospitalization. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of inflammatory markers with gold standard scoring systems in predicting pancreatitis severity. Materials and methods: A prospective, hospital-based, cohort study was conducted, including 249 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis via clinical examination. Laboratory investigations and radiological investigations were conducted. The diagnostic accuracy of the inflammatory markers neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), red cell distribution width (RDW), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) was compared with gold standard prognostic scores, namely, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP), and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS), in predicting primary and secondary outcomes. All values were analyzed using mean and standard deviation (SD). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for mortality prediction were calculated for NLR, LMR, RDW, and PNI. Results: Of 249 patients with acute pancreatitis (mean age: 39-43 years), 94 were classified as mild acute, 74 as moderately severe acute, and 81 as severe acute. The most common etiology was alcohol use (40.2%), followed by gallstones (29.7%), hypertriglyceridemia (6.4%), steroid use (4%), diabetic ketoacidosis (2.8%), hypercalcemia (2.8%), and complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (2%). On day 1, mean values of NLR, LMR, RDW, and PNI were 8.23±5.11, 2.63±1.76, 15.93±3.64, and 32.84±8.13, respectively. Compared to APACHE II, SAPS II, BISAP, and SIRS on day 1, day 3, day 7, and day 14, the cutoff values for NLR were 4.06, 10.75, 8.75, and 13.75, respectively. Similarly, on day 1, the cutoff value of LMR was 1.95, and on day 1 and day 3, the cutoff values of RDW were 14.75% and 15%, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that inflammatory biomarkers NLR, LMR, RDW, and PNI are comparable with gold standard scoring systems for predicting the severity and mortality of acute pancreatitis. NLR on day 7 was significantly associated with higher severity of illness. NLR on days 3, 7, and 14, LMR on day 1, and RDW on days 1 and 3 were significantly associated with mortality.

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Objectives: Electrochemical fabrication and characterization of a goldpolyaniline/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/manganese dioxide (Au-PANI/MWCNT/MnO 2 ) composite electrode. Methods: The MnO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by heating 1% Mn(NO 3 ) 2 .4H 2 O at 100 0 C for 24 h and characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectrophotometry. The size and shape of the NPs were determined from the transmission electron microscopic image. MWCNTs were functionalized with carboxyl groups on their sidewalls by sonicating in H 2 SO 4 :HNO 3 (3:1, v/v) for 12 h at 40 kHz. The functionalization was further confirmed through UV/Vis spectrophotometry. The working Au surface was first activated and then electropolymerized by using 50 µl of 0.005% C 6 H 5 NH 2 in 01 N HCl followed by electrodeposition with 0.1% each of the c-MWCNTs and manganese oxide NPs through 20 cycles of cyclic voltammetry (-0.2-0.9 mV) at the rate of 20 mV/s. The Au-PANI/MWCNT/MnO 2 composite was then characterized by using FTIR spectra and scanning electron microscopy. Findings: An Au-PANI/MWCNT/MnO 2 composite electrode was fabricated and characterized. Novelty: The nanocomposite electrode was designed by using screen printed electrode, which is very simple to construct, portable, and economic. The composite can be used to design a sensors or sensor array in future.