A study of serum electrolytes in severe acute malnourished children with and without complications

Objective: Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) are categorized into “complicated and uncomplicated cases” based on clinical criteria alone. Electrolyte imbalance is one of the prognostic factors in severe malnutrition. We aimed to study serum electrolytes in complicated and uncomplicated SAM children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted at the nutritional rehabilitation center of a tertiary care hospital attached to a medical college from May 2016 to April 2017. Children between the ages of 1 month and 5 years who met the World Health Organization criteria for SAM were included in the study. Serum electrolytes were estimated with an automated analyzer by ion selective electrode method. Results: Among 113 SAM children included, 71 had complications and 42 were without complications. The mean value of serum sodium was 134.58±5.45 meq/L, potassium was 4.29±0.75 meq/L, and chloride was 103.31±7.16 meq/L. Hyponatremia was seen in 43.4% and hypokalemia in 7.1% of children. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean values of serum electrolytes and frequency of hyponatremia and hypokalemia between groups. Conclusion: Dyselectrolytemia occurs in SAM children with and without complications. Serum electrolyte levels may need to be measured in all SAM cases to detect asymptomatic hyponatremia and hypokalemia. This will help in triaging those with asymptomatic hyponatremia and hypokalemia to inpatient care

Basic Logic Gates in Two Dimensional Photonic Crystals for All Optical Device Design

The research carried out in the field of optics and photonics with an idea to design and develop the all optical logic devices in the fascinating material known as photonic crystals (PhCs). The structural investigation reveals that the two dimensional (2-D) PhCs is more suitable for fabrication of optoelectronic components. In this article we have designed basic logic gates in 2-D PhCs as they are the building blocks for the construction of optical devices and in these, refractive index is periodically modulated with the wavelength. The understanding of light behaviour in complex PhCs helps in creating photonic band gap (PBG) that can prevent light of certain wavelength propagating in crystal lattice structure. For the selected geometry structure, three PBG bands will exists out of which two of them are transverse electric (TE) and one is transverse magnetic (TM) mode. The PBG bands in the TE mode ranges from 0.31(a/λ) to 0.46(a/λ) , 0.61(a/λ) to 0.63(a/λ) and TM mode ranges from 0.86(a/λ) to 0.93(a/λ). The free space wavelength of 1550 nm is set for the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation of the structure. The response time and computational overhead required for the proposed OR gate is 0.128ps and 4.4MB is obtained. Also we calculated the extinction ratio for AND gate and NOT gate as 6.19 dB and 10.21 dB respectively

Safety and efficacy of intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide therapy in children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome

Background: Cyclophosphamide (Cyp) is a well-known alternative agent to spare the use of steroids and avoid the side effects that result from long-term steroid therapy in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (NS). Use of Cyp typically reduces the risk of relapse in comparison with prednisolone by about 50%. Objective: To study the safety and efficacy of intravenous pulse Cyp (IV Cyp) therapy in children with steroid-dependent NS (SDNS). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective single-center analysis from a large government hospital in South India. The data were retrieved from the records of children attending the pediatric nephrology clinic between 2005 and 2016. Children with SDNS who received the complete schedule of IV Cyp were included in the study. Children who received other alternate drugs were excluded. Results: Fifty patients with SDNS were treated with IV Cyp, seven patients did not complete the treatment and were excluded from the analysis. 24 (56%) of the 43 patients stayed in remission throughout the course of Cyp treatment and prednisolone could be stopped and were considered as Cyp responsive. The remaining 19 (44%) children had relapsed while on Cyp therapy (Cyp resistant) and required treatment with alternate immunosuppressant drugs. 19 of the 24 Cyp responsive patients were in remission 6 months after stopping Cyp treatment (Cyp sensitive) while the remaining five patients relapsed within 6 months of stopping Cyp treatment (Cyp dependent). 9 children (20.9%) were relapse-free till the time of last follow-up with a median follow-up of 2.1 years. Among 24 children, 13 (30.23%) who responded were infrequently relapsing NS and 2 (4.5%) children were frequently relapsing NS

Solitary Mandibular Lesion as the Presenting Sign of Multiple Myeloma: A Rare Case Report

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare hematological malignancy caused by monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells in the marrow of various bones. It is more common in men in the sixth and seventh decade of life. Patients usually present with bone pain, fatigue, recurrent infections, renal failure and nervous system dysfunction. Rarely, oral lesions may be the initial sign of multiple myeloma presenting with pain, jaw swelling, tooth mobility, multiple punched out radiolucencies and parasthesia. A case of multiple myeloma occurring in a 71 year old male patient who presented with a solitary lesion in the mandible is presented here. This paper highlights the importance of knowing oral manifestations of multiple myeloma and interdisciplinary approach required for early diagnosis

Florid Cemento-Osseous Dysplasia - A dilemma to intervene or not?!

Florid cemento - osseous dysplasia (FCOD) is a benign, non-neoplastic lesion characterized by multiple sclerosing masses within the jaw bones. We present an uncommon case of FCOD in a 37-year-old Indian woman incidentally discovered on a radiograph. She presented with bilaterally symmetrical lesions of variable radiodensities in the posterior mandible. In this asymptomatic case, the diagnosis of FCOD was made radiologically as biopsy is contraindicated. No treatment was imparted as the lesions were asymptomatic and the patient continues to be reviewed annually. The rationale of the present work is to describe this uncommon entity with only eleven reported cases noted in the literature amongst Indians. The case is unusual in its combination of the disease itself (FCOD) and the race (Indian). The confirmative role of radiography without histopathological evaluation and the need for no intervention is emphasized.   &nbsp

Palmprint Authentication System Based on Local and Global Feature Fusion Using DOST

Palmprint is the region between wrist and fingers. In this paper, a palmprint personal identification system is proposed based on the local and global information fusion. The local and global information is critical for the image observation based on the results of the relationship between physical stimuli and perceptions. The local features of the enhanced palmprint are extracted using discrete orthonormal Stockwell transform. The global feature is obtained by reducing the scale of discrete orthonormal Stockwell transform to infinity. The local and global matching distances of the two palmprint images are fused to get the final matching distance of the proposed scheme. The results show that the fusion of local and global features outperforms the existing works on the available three datasets

G × E interactions in QTL introgression lines of Spanish-type groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Multi-environment testing at five locations for rust and late leaf spot (LLS) resistance with 41 introgressed lines (ILs) bred using marker-assisted backcross breeding in the genetic background Spanish- type groundnut varieties identified significant genotype, and genotype 9 environment interactions (GEI) for LLS disease resistance and yield parameters. Significant GEI effects suggest the need to identify location specific breeding lines to achieve gains in pod yield and LLS resistance. The observed variable LLS disease reaction among the ILs in part suggests influence of background genotype on the level of resistance. A breeding scheme with early generation selection using molecular markers followed by phenotyping for LLS, and multi-location testing of fixed breeding lines was optimized to enhance selection intensity and accuracy in groundnut breeding. The ILs, ICGVs 14431, 14436 and 14438 with pooled LLS score at 90 DAS of 3.5–3.7 were superior to respective recurrent parent for pod yield, with early maturing similar to recurrent parents. The pod yield advantage in ILs is attributed by more number of pods, besides resistance to LLS that contributes to better filling

Disorders of Transepidermal Elimination

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65203/1/j.1365-4362.1985.tb05799.x.pd

SLC2A10 genetic polymorphism predicts development of peripheral arterial disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. SLC2A10 and PAD in type 2 diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent data indicate that loss-of-function mutation in the gene encoding the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT10 (<it>SLC2A10</it>) causes arterial tortuosity syndrome via upregulation of the TGF-β pathway in the arterial wall, a mechanism possibly causing vascular changes in diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms and one microsatellite spanning 34 kb across the <it>SLC2A10 </it>gene in a prospective cohort of 372 diabetic patients. Their association with the development of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in type 2 diabetic patients was analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, several common SNPs of <it>SLC2A10 </it>gene were associated with PAD in type 2 diabetic patients. A common haplotype was associated with higher risk of PAD in type 2 diabetic patients (haplotype frequency: 6.3%, <it>P </it>= 0.03; odds ratio [OR]: 14.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3- 160.7) at baseline. Over an average follow-up period of 5.7 years, carriers with the risk-conferring haplotype were more likely to develop PAD (<it>P </it>= 0.007; hazard ratio: 6.78; 95% CI: 1.66- 27.6) than were non-carriers. These associations remained significant after adjustment for other risk factors of PAD.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data demonstrate that genetic polymorphism of the <it>SLC2A10 </it>gene is an independent risk factor for PAD in type 2 diabetes.</p

Current tidal power technologies and their suitability for applications in coastal and marine areas

A considerable body of research is currently being performed to quantify available tidal energy resources and to develop efficient devices with which to harness them. This work is naturally focussed on maximising power generation from the most promising sites, and a review of the literature suggests that the potential for smaller scale, local tidal power generation from shallow near-shore sites has not yet been investigated. If such generation is feasible, it could have the potential to provide sustainable electricity for nearby coastal homes and communities as part of a distributed generation strategy, and would benefit from easier installation and maintenance, lower cabling and infrastructure requirements and reduced capital costs when compared with larger scale projects. This article reviews tidal barrages and lagoons, tidal turbines, oscillating hydrofoils and tidal kites to assess their suitability for small-scale electricity generation in shallow waters. This is achieved by discussing the power density, scalability, durability, maintainability, economic potential and environmental impacts of each concept. The performance of each technology in each criterion is scored against axial-flow turbines, allowing for them to be ranked according to their overall suitability. The review suggests that tidal kites and range devices are not suitable for small-scale shallow water applications due to depth and size requirements respectively. Cross-flow turbines appear to be the most suitable technology, as they have high power densities and a maximum size that is not constrained by water depth