Computer-aided Reverse Engineering for Rapid Replacement of Parts

Indigenous product development using conventional means involves a relatively long leadtime and cost, especially for replacing worn out and broken parts. This paper presentsmethodologies and technologies for computer-aided reverse engineering, illustrated by a reallifecase study of an aluminium alloy separator body of a hydraulic filter assembly for the specialarmy vehicle. It involved reconstruction of part geometry using 3-D scanning, materialidentification using spectrometry, casting process optimisation using simulation software, andfabrication of prototype and tooling using rapid prototyping systems. It was found that thefabrication of wax patterns directly from reverse-engineered CAD data in a suitable rapidprototyping system (such as thermojet), followed by conventional investment casting, gives areliable and economic route for rapid development of one-off intricate parts for the replacementpurpose

Evaluation of Traditional Indian Antidiabetic Medicinal Plants for Human Pancreatic Amylase Inhibitory Effect In Vitro

Pancreatic α-amylase inhibitors offer an effective strategy to lower the levels of post prandial hyperglycemia via control of starch breakdown. Eleven Ayurvedic Indian medicinal plants with known hypoglycemic properties were subjected to sequential solvent extraction and tested for α-amylase inhibition, in order to assess and evaluate their inhibitory potential on pancreatic α-amylase. Analysis of 91 extracts, showed that 10 exhibited strong Human Pancreatic Amylase (HPA) inhibitory potential. Of these, 6 extracts showed concentration dependent inhibition with IC50 values, namely, cold and hot water extracts from Ficus bengalensis bark (4.4 and 125 μgmL−1), Syzygium cumini seeds (42.1 and 4.1 μgmL−1), isopropanol extracts of Cinnamomum verum leaves (1.0 μgmL−1) and Curcuma longa rhizome (0.16 μgmL−1). The other 4 extracts exhibited concentration independent inhibition, namely, methanol extract of Bixa orellana leaves (49 μgmL−1), isopropanol extract from Murraya koenigii leaves (127 μgmL−1), acetone extracts from C. longa rhizome (7.4 μgmL−1) and Tribulus terrestris seeds (511 μgmL−1). Thus, the probable mechanism of action of the above fractions is due to their inhibitory action on HPA, thereby reducing the rate of starch hydrolysis leading to lowered glucose levels. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, proteins, tannins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and steroids as probable inhibitory compounds

Echinococcal disease in Alberta, Canada: more than a calcified opacity

BACKGROUND: Most cases of echinococcal disease (ED) acquired in Canada are thought to be due to the sylvatic form of Echinococcus granulosus, which may be more benign than ED due to either Echinococcus multilocularis or the pastoral form of E. granulosus. There are limited descriptions of the clinical course and outcome of Canadian patients with ED in the modern era. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of patients hospitalized with echinococcal disease (ED) from 1991 to 2001 in Edmonton, Alberta. RESULTS: Forty-two cases of ED were identified of which 19 were definite, 3 probable, and 20 possible. Further analysis was limited to the 22 definite and probable cases, of which 77% were female and 41% aboriginal, with an age range of 5 to 87 years. Nine patients (40%) had pulmonary involvement and 11 (50%) hepatic involvement. One patient had an intracardiac mass presenting as a cerebrovascular event and one had a splenic cyst. Seven of the 22 patients had combined surgical resection and medical treatment, six had surgical resection of the cyst alone, four had cyst aspiration, one had medical treatment alone and four had no specific treatment. There was no mortality attributable to ED but three patients died of unrelated illnesses. CONCLUSION: Echinococcal disease in northern Alberta has a marked diversity of clinical presentations, and generally has a good prognosis despite a wide variety of therapeutic interventions

Antidiabetic Indian Plants: A Good Source of Potent Amylase Inhibitors

Diabetes is known as a multifactorial disease. The treatment of diabetes (Type II) is complicated due to the inherent patho-physiological factors related to this disease. One of the complications of diabetes is post-prandial hyperglycemia (PPHG). Glucosidase inhibitors, particularly α-amylase inhibitors are a class of compounds that helps in managing PPHG. Six ethno-botanically known plants having antidiabetic property namely, Azadirachta indica Adr. Juss.; Murraya koenigii (L.) Sprengel; Ocimum tenuflorum (L.) (syn: Sanctum); Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (syn: Eugenia jambolana); Linum usitatissimum (L.) and Bougainvillea spectabilis were tested for their ability to inhibit glucosidase activity. The chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts were prepared sequentially from either leaves or seeds of these plants. It was observed that the chloroform extract of O. tenuflorum; B. spectabilis; M. koenigii and S. cumini have significant α-amylase inhibitory property. Plants extracts were further tested against murine pancreatic, liver and small intestinal crude enzyme preparations for glucosidase inhibitory activity. The three extracts of O. tenuflorum and chloroform extract of M. koenigi showed good inhibition of murine pancreatic and intestinal glucosidases as compared with acarbose, a known glucosidase inhibitor

Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation in Ugandan Infants and Children Hospitalized With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

Background: Optimizing outcomes in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia requires accurate diagnosis and determination of severity that, in resource-limited settings, is often based on clinical assessment alone. We describe host inflammatory biomarkers and clinical outcomes among children hospitalized with RSV lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in Uganda and controls with rhinovirus and pneumococcal pneumonia. Methods: 58 children hospitalized with LRTI were included. We compared 37 patients with RSV, 10 control patients with rhinovirus and 11 control patients with suspected pneumococcal pneumonia. Results: Patients in the RSV group had significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) than the pneumococcal pneumonia group (P < 0.05 for both). Among children with RSV, higher admission levels of CRP predicted prolonged time to resolution of tachypnea, tachycardia and fever. Higher levels of CHI3L1 were associated with higher composite clinical severity scores and predicted prolonged time to resolution of tachypnea and tachycardia, time to wean oxygen and time to sit. Higher levels of lipocalin-2 (LCN2) predicted prolonged time to resolution of tachypnea, tachycardia and time to feed. Higher admission levels of all 3 biomarkers were predictive of a higher total volume of oxygen administered during hospitalization (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Of note, CHI3L1 and LCN2 appeared to predict clinical outcomes more accurately than CRP, the inflammatory biomarker most widely used in clinical practice. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CHI3L1 and LCN2 may be clinically informative biomarkers in childhood RSV LRTI in low-resource settings

Solar-Powered Oxygen Delivery in Low-Resource Settings: A Randomized Clinical Noninferiority Trial

This randomized clinical noninferiority trial compares solar-powered oxygen delivery vs standard oxygen delivery using compressed oxygen cylinders among children younger than 13 years with hypoxemic illness at 2 resource-constrained hospitals in Uganda

Warm-water Dasycladaceae algae from the Late Ordovician of the Parahio Valley, Spiti, India

Warm-water Dasycladaceae algae Mastopora and Cyclocrinites were for the first time recorded from the Takche Formation (Upper Ordovician–lower Silurian), Parahio Valley, Spiti, India. They are preserved as external and internal moulds of the non-globular or possibly bulb-like cortical skeleton showing flattened thalli with a high degree of compaction. The occurrence of abundant cyclocrinitid remains in the Takche Formation indicates that the Spiti region of the northwestern Himalaya must have been located at about 30° palaeolatitude during the Late Ordovician and early Silurian. The cyclocrinitids were warm-water algae and their extinction at the end of the Ordovician is related to cooling and glaciations. The cyclocrinitids in the Ordovician are known from several localities in central and southern Asia, including Kazakhstan and western China

Towards the elimination of paediatric tuberculosis in high-income, immigrant-receiving countries: a 25-year conventional and molecular epidemiological case study

The epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in high-income countries is increasingly dictated by immigration. The influence of this trend on paediatric TB and TB elimination are not well defined. We undertook a 25-year conventional and molecular epidemiologic study of paediatric TB in Alberta, one of four major immigrant-receiving provinces in Canada. All isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were DNA fingerprinted using standard methodology. Between 1990 and 2014, 176 children aged 0–14 years were diagnosed with TB. Foreign-born children or Canadian-born children of foreign-born parents accounted for an increasingly large proportion of total cases during the study period (from 32.1% to 89.5%). Of the 78 culture-positive cases, 35 (44.9%) had a putative source case identified by conventional epidemiology, with 34 (97.1%) having a concordant molecular profile. Of the remaining 43 culture-positive cases, molecular profiling identified spatially and temporally related sources in six cases (14.0%). These six children, along with four other children whose source cases were discovered through reverse-contact tracing, had a high morbidity and mortality. The increasing burden of paediatric TB in both foreign-born children and Canadian-born children of foreign-born parents calls for more timely diagnosis of source cases and more targeted screening for latent TB infection

B cell receptor accessory molecule CD79α : characterisation and expression analysis in a cartilaginous fish, the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD