EFFICACY OF CHEDANA AND LEKHANAKARMA IN PALPEBRAL FORM OF VERNAL KERATOCONJUNCTIVITIS (VKC) – A CASE STUDY

Ocular allergy is often under-diagnosed but has a significant impact on the quality of life and vision in all ages especially in childhood. Although its incidence varies by geographical location, the prevalence is difficult to gauge as allergies tend to be underreported compounded by the difficulty in classification. Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is one of the most commonly occurring types of allergic conjunctivitis. It usually appears in three forms i.e., palpebral, bulbar and mixed and predominantly occurs in younger age group between 4-20 years. This chronic disease is characterized by the formation of giant papillae which constantly irritates the cornea and predispose to ectatic corneal disorders like keratoconus and cause myopia and astigmatism. Topical corticosteroids relieve itching, redness and edema but should be used with caution as their constant use are known to cause glaucoma, cataracts, secondary bacterial; viral and fungal infections and delayed wound healing. In Ayurveda, the disease Vartmasharkara shows clinical features similar to this disease and Acharya Susruta has suggested Chedana followed by Lekhana to manage this condition. This article describes the case report of a 12 year old male child who had complaints of palpebral form of VKC. In the present study, it is observed that Ayurvedic management along with Chedana and Lekhanakarma has provided significant relief in all signs and symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis

Corolla Morphology Facilitates Both Autogamy and Bumblebee Pollination in Mimulus guttatus

The showy corolla of Mimulus guttatus is generally considered an adaptation to attract pollinators. We use phenotypic manipulations to demonstrate that corolla morphology plays a critical mechanical role in both outcrossing and self‐fertilization. In the absence of pollinators, the lower portion of the corolla facilitates autogamy by retaining pollen released from the anthers. A substantial portion of self‐fertilization seems to occur late in the floral life span as the stigma contacts the corolla. When pollinators are present, the corolla facilitates outcrossing before, during, and after insect visitation. A large fraction of cross‐pollen is actually captured by the corolla and not by the stigma. This “indirect” pathway for pollen reception suggests that a large fraction of cross‐pollination in M. guttatus actually occurs long after a pollinator departs from a flower

QoS Analysis For 5G Networks

Fifth generation (5G) is the wireless network technologies, which is designed to provide efficient quality of service in mind. The performance seen by the users of the network will primarily depend on QoS elements. Thus, by managing QoS – Bit rate, Throughput, Transmission delay, packet loss, and Jitter parameters can improve to manage the network resource efficiently. The 5G system is a combination of many different modulation techniques; this is done to ensure improvement in performance and further to result in greater-efficiency in the output. The author has made an attempt to analyze different modulation techniques with the coding scheme and compare the QoS performances between them. The performances have been analyzed for two schemes QPSK and QAM using Viterbi coding scheme. Thus for both the modulation technique with Viterbi coding scheme excellent performances were recorded, thereby providing an optimum solution to maintain QoS

The genetic correlation between flower size and water use efficiency in monkeyflowers

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.evolutionary-ecology.com/.Question: Does water loss during drought stress represent an important physiological constraint on the evolution of flower size? Organism: A genetically diverse population of Mimulus guttatus (yellow monkeyflower) originally sampled from an alpine meadow in Oregon, USA. Methods: We grew plants of three different genotypic classes (small, medium, and large flowered) under both well-watered and drought-stress conditions and measured water use efficiency using stable carbon isotopes. Results: There was no difference in water use efficiency among flower size genotypes under well-watered conditions, but the water use efficiency of small-flowered plants was substantially lower than that of medium or large genotypes under drought stress. Whether this paradoxical result is a direct effect of flower size or an indirect (i.e. pleiotropic) effect, the presence of a genetic correlation between floral and physiological traits indicates that selection of one does impact the other

HbA1c as a prognostic indicator in prediabetics with acute coronary syndrome

Background: The role of HbA1C in predicting the outcomes of acute coronary syndrome remains controversial. Lesser is known about it in non-diabetic patients. Therefore authors conducted a study to seek association between the HbA1C levels and the clinical outcome in non-diabetic patients who presented with acute coronary syndrome. Objective of the study was to estimate HbA1C levels in population of prediabetics and non-diabetics and to document and correlate major adverse cardiac events in prediabetic and non-diabetics.Method: This case control study included consecutive patients (n=68) without known diabetes mellitus admitted with acute coronary syndrome (STEMI, NSTEMI, UA) at our hospital. HbA1c was measured on admission. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to their HbA1c level (group 1 HbA1c5.7%). The main outcome was MACE (major adverse cardiac events including cardiogenic shock, arrhythmia, heart failure).Results: There was no significant difference between baseline characteristics of both groups but complications were seen in higher number cases with HbA1c >5.7%. No significant difference in mortality was found. On analysis HbA1c >5.7% was found to be an independent predictor of MACE.Conclusion: HbA1C is a predictor of major adverse cardiac events. Measurement of HbA1C levels may improve risk assessment in such patients presenting with ACS

Astaxanthin from shrimp efficiently modulates oxidative stress and allied cell death progression in MCF-7 cells treated synergistically with β-carotene and lutein from greens

This study investigated the synergistic efficacy of keto-carotenoid astaxanthin (AST, from shrimp) plus hydrocarbon (β-carotene, BC) and hydroxyl (lutein, L) carotenoids (from greens) on molecular events in MCF-7 cells. MCF-7 cells were treated with either of carotenoid (20 μM, AST or BC or L) separately or the mixture of them (an equimolar concentration of carotenoids mixture, CM) or saponified carotenoid extract from shrimp (SSCE) for 48 h and analyzed cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis. The IC50 and combination-index values of AST co-treatment with a lower concentration of BC and L (5 μM) exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress as compared with individual carotenoids or SSCE. Further, higher cellular uptake/accumulation of AST along with BC and L found to synergistically induce apoptosis through modulation of cyclin D1, p53, Bax and Bcl-2 expressions by arresting cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Further, CM or SSCE treatments are unlikely to affect proliferation of normal breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A). The results of selective killing of MCF-7 cells demonstrated a greater insight on the synergistic effect of shrimp AST plus BC and L. It is concluded that consumption of shrimp along with green leafy vegetables helps in combating cancer chemoprevention. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Seed abortion in Pongamia pinnata (Fabaceae)

In Pongamia pinnata only one of the two ovules develops into a seed in most of the pods. Since pollen was not found to be limiting and reduced fertilization could not completely explain the observed frequency of seed abortion, it implied an effect of postfertilization factors. Aqueous extracts of developing seeds and maternal tissue (placenta) did not influence abortion in vitro, suggesting that abortion may not be mediated by a chemical. Experimental uptake of 14C sucrose in vitro indicated that both the stigmatic and the peduncular seed have similar inherent capacities of drawing resources, but the peduncular seed is deprived of resources in the presence of the stigmatic seed. This deprivation of the peduncular seed could be offset by supplying an excess of hormones leading to the subsequent formation of two seeds in a pod. The prevalence of single-seeded pods in P. pinnata seems therefore to be a result of competition between the two seeds for maternal resources. The evolutionary significance of single-seeded pods in P. pinnata is discussed with respect to possible dispersal advantage enjoyed by such pods

Fibroblastic Variant of Osteosarcoma: A Challenge in Diagnosis & Management

Osteosarcoma of the jaws is a relative rare malignant bone tumor. Like, its counterpart in the long bones, osteosarcoma affecting the head and neck region shows distinct yet diverse clinical, histologic and prognostic characteristics. Its diagnosis is a challenge to histopathologists and is especially important in early stages to improve its prognosis. In the initial phase, it may present as nondescript swelling with an indolent growth rate, only to become overtly aggressive and malignant towards the later phase of the disease. This article reports on a case of an advanced osteosarcoma of the maxilla in a 42 year old woman who came for the evaluation of a swelling. The case was submitted for surgical intervention and was followed by one recurrence till the time of reporting. This case illustrates that immunohistochemical staining of Vimentin, S-100 and CD 68 markers are useful to confirm the histologic diagnosis of osteosarcoma, along with radiographic evaluation using CT scan and 3D imaging

Stabilization of black cotton soil using coconut fiber

Black cotton soil is a soil with low bearing capacity, swelling and shrinkage characteristics. Due to its peculiar characteristics, it forms a very poor foundation material. As black cotton soil is an expansive soil; it creates problem for lightly loaded structure than moderately loaded structure. Through this project, we are trying to study the improvements in the properties of soil by adding coconut fiber of varying percentages. Tests will be conducted to determine liquid limit and unconfined compression strength. Stabilization of soil is an effective method for improving the properties of soil. It has great significance in the future projectsEl suelo de algodón negro es un suelo con baja capacidad de carga, características de hinchamiento y contracción. Por sus características peculiares, forma un material de cimentación muy pobre. Como el suelo de algodón negro es un suelo expansivo; crea un problema para la estructura con una carga ligera que la estructura con una carga moderada. A través de este proyecto, estamos tratando de estudiar las mejoras en las propiedades del suelo agregando fibra de coco en diferentes porcentajes. Se realizarán pruebas para determinar el límite de líquido y la resistencia a la compresión no confinada. La estabilización del suelo es un método eficaz para mejorar las propiedades del suelo. Tiene una gran trascendencia en los proyectos futuros

Effect of educational intervention in reducing exposure to second hand tobacco smoke among 12-year-old children as determined by their salivary cotinine levels and knowledge, attitude and behavior - a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundTobacco use is one of the most important public health concerns, with approximately 8.7 million tobacco-related deaths each year, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Even more concerning is the fact that 1.3 million of these deaths are seen in nonsmokers, including babies and children. This study was performed to determine whether a school-based “tobacco-free” educational intervention program among 12-year-old children would be effective in reducing their exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) by improving their knowledge, attitude and behavior post intervention and estimating salivary cotinine levels as markers of SHS exposure.Materials and methodA randomized controlled trial was performed by a cluster random sampling technique, with 30 participants each in the experimental and control arms. A knowledge, attitude, avoidance behavior and self-efficacy of avoidance questionnaire was administered, followed by estimation of salivary cotinine levels. The experimental arm received the “tobacco-free” intervention, which comprised a 40-min health education session, with the first follow-up at 15 days and the second at 30 days after the intervention. After the intervention, the questionnaire was readministered, followed by re-estimation of salivary cotinine levels.ResultsOne month after the intervention, the number of participants who had a smoker who lived with them and the number of people who smoked inside the house were reduced in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the knowledge domain and the attitude domain, 80% and 60% of the items showed a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the avoidance behavior domain and the Self-Efficacy of Avoidance Domain, all the items showed improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group. When the mean salivary cotinine levels were compared pre- and postintervention, it was found that although the mean postintervention salivary cotinine levels increased in both the experimental and control groups, the increase was less in the experimental group than in the control group.ConclusionThe present study has been shown to be effective in improving the knowledge, attitude and avoidance behavior of adolescents toward exposure to secondhand smoke