The D3/D7 Background and Flavor Dependence of Regge Trajectories

In the context of AdS/CFT with flavor, we consider the type IIB supergravity solution corresponding to a fully localized D3/D7 intersection. We complete the standard metric ansatz by providing an analytic expression for the warp factor, under the assumption of a logarithmically running axion-dilaton. From the gauge dual perspective, this behavior is related to the positive beta function of the N=4, d=4 SU(N_c) super Yang-Mills gauge theory, coupled to N_f fundamental N=2 hypermultiplets. We comment on the existence of tadpoles and relate them to the same gauge theory beta function. Next we consider a classical spinning string configuration in the decoupling limit of the D3/D7 geometry and extract the flavor (N_f) dependence of the associated meson Regge trajectory. Including the backreaction of the D7-branes in the supergravity dual allows for going beyond the quenched approximation on the dual gauge theory side.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

On the stranding of Balaenoptera physalus at Kota, Dakshin kannada

The carcass of a whale was stranded on 14th April, 1991 at Kodi Kanyana (Kota). The carcass was about 10m long and about 3 m wide

Massive quark scattering at strong coupling from AdS/CFT

We extend the analysis of Alday and Maldacena for obtaining gluon scattering amplitudes at strong coupling to include external massive quark states. Our quarks are actually the N=2 hypermultiplets which arise when D7-brane probes are included in the AdS_5 x S^5 geometry. We work in the quenched approximation, treating the N=2 matter multiplets as external sources coupled to the N=4 SYM fields. We first derive appropriate massive-particle boundary conditions for the string scattering worldsheets. We then find an exact worldsheet which corresponds to the scattering of two massive quarks and two massless gluons and extract from this the associated scattering amplitude. We also find the worldsheet and amplitude for the scattering of four massive quarks. Our worldsheet solutions reduce to the four massless gluon solution of Alday and Maldacena in the limit of zero quark mass. The amplitudes we compute can also be interpreted in terms of 2-2 scattering involving gluons and massive W-bosons.Comment: 46 pages, 11 figures, v4: additional comments added to intr

Role of probiotics in lower reproductive tract infection in women of age group 18 to 45 years

Background: This study has been designed to assess the effectiveness of the probiotic strains having Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 in the management of lower genital infections (bacterial vaginosis and candidiasis) as an integral therapy with antibiotics.Methods: Double blind, randomized placebo controlled study in women between 18-45 years attending Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital (SATH), Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, India with symptoms of bacterial vaginosis and vulvovaginal candidiasis. Women giving consent were given probiotics along with conventional antibiotics and were followed up over a period of two months. Outcome is measured as percentage of women showing a score of less than 4 at the end of thirty days of treatment, and sixty days of treatment in the test and control group in the case of bacterial vaginosis and no discharge and absence of hyphae and pseudohyphae in wet smear and gram stain in case of candidiasis.Results: Out of 42 women studied, 32 had bacterial vaginosis and 10 had vulvovaginal candidiasis. 81.3% women with BV had a normal vaginal picture after sixty days of treatment as compared to placebo which was only 31.3%. The p value is 0.004 which is significant. In the treatment of VC, the percentage of women cured was the same in both probiotic and placebo group.Conclusions: In the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, addition of probiotics to the conventional antibiotics can improve the cure rate of bacterial vaginosis and reduce the rate of recurrences. In the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis, addition of probiotics to the conventional antifungal did not have a significant improvement

PRELIMINARY PHTOCEMICAL INVESTIGATION AND ANTI-VENOM ACTIVITY OF COIX LACRYMAJOBI ROOT EXTRACT AGAINST DABOIA RUSSELLI VENOM-INDUCED MYONECROSIS

Objective: The aim of the study was to carry out the preliminary phytochemical investigation and to evaluate the inhibition of Daboia russellivenom‑induced myonecrosis by root extract (RE) of Coix lacrymajobi.Methods: The roots of C. lacrymajobi were subjected to differential extraction by soxhlet extraction using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate,and ethanol. The resultant extracts were subjected to the preliminary phytochemical investigation to identify the different chemical groups present inthe extracts. Myonecrotic activity was conducted, to assess the ability of ethanolic RE to inhibit the myonecrosis induced by D. russelli venom in rats.Results: The preliminary phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of triterpenoids, resins, steroids and fixed oils in petroleum ether extract,flavonoids, triterpenoids, saponins and fixed oils in chloroform extract and alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, glycosides, resins, saponins, steroids,and tannins. Ethanolic extract was found to have maximum number of phytochemicals, and hence, it was used for further study. The ethanolic REsignificantly inhibited the myonecrotic activity at dose level 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight.Conclusion: The screening of phytochemicals presents on the different fractions of the RE was studied successfully. Supporting the use of roots bytraditional healers, ethanolic extract successfully inhibited D. russelli venom‑induced myonecrosis in rats.Keywords: Coix lacrymajobi, Daboia russelli, Myonecrosis

INHIBITORY EFFECT OF ETHANOLIC ROOT EXTRACT OF COIX LACHRYMAJOBI ON HYALURONIDASE AND L-AMINO ACID OXIDASE OF NAJA NAJA AND DABOIA RUSSELLI VENOM

Objective: This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of inhibitory effect of ethanolic root extract (ERE) of plant Coix lachrymajobi (Poaceae) on hyaluronidase and L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO) of Daboia russelii and Naja naja venom. Methodology: The ethanolic root extract of C. lachrymajobi is used to treat snake bite victims by traditional healers as folk medicine for centuries, was tested in-vitro to determine its ability to inhibit D. russelli and N. naja hyaluronidase and LAAO activities.  In-vitro studies were carried out with different doses of ERE.Results & Discussion: which effectively neutralized hyaluronidase and LAAO activities of both D. russelli and N. naja venom.  ERE at doses of 2000µg successfully inhibited D. russelli (50 µg) hyaluronidase activity by 67.04% and LAAO activity by 77.86%.  The hyaluronidase activity of N. naja venom (50 µg) was inhibited by 71.83% and LAAO activity was reduced by 74.83%.  From the results, It is evident that the ERE of Coix lachrymajobi effectively neutralizes important toxic enzymes of the D. russelli and Naja naja venoms.Keywords: Daboia russelii; Naja naja; Coix lacryma-jobi; Hyaluronidase; L-amino acid oxidas

A study on the obstetric outcome in preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes

Background: The major risks to the baby following preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes (PPROM) are related to the complications of prematurity. Since the goal of management in PPROM is prolongation of pregnancy, the most commonly accepted management scheme for the patient less than 34 weeks is expectant management in the hospital which consists of careful observation for signs of infection, labour or fetal distress in an effort to gain time for fetal growth and maturation.Methods: Patients admitted in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department SAT Hospital, Medical College Trivandrum, Kerala with PPROM meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study. They were followed in the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period and the babies were also followed in the postnatal ward. The maternal and neonatal outcome were analysed and studied.Results: Maternal chorioamnionitis developed in 12.1% of cases, abruption 1.7%, puerperal pyrexia 8.8%, early onset neonatal sepsis in 22.9% of cases, congenital pneumonia in 17% cases and neonatal deaths in 6.3% of cases. The mean gestational age at delivery in this study was 33.42 weeks with majority of cases delivering between 32-34 weeks.Conclusions: The study suggests that maternal chorioamnionitis, puerperal pyrexia, congenital pneumonia, early onset neonatal sepsis, neonatal death, and requirement for ICU care occur with increased frequency in cohorts with PPROM. The present study concluded that most common maternal morbidity associated with PPROM was chorioamnionitis, that of neonatal morbidity was prematurity and its complications. A team effort by the obstetrician and neonatologist in a tertiary care setting can ensure healthy and fruitful life for the mother and her baby

Correlation between obstetric outcome and amniotic fluid index (AFI) in preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM)

Background: The purpose was to determine whether AFI 5 after PPROM between 24- and 37-weeks’ gestation

Clock and Trigger Synchronization between Several Chassis of Digital Data Acquisition Modules

In applications with segmented high purity Ge detectors or other detector arrays with tens or hundreds of channels, where the high development cost and limited flexibility of application specific integrated circuits outweigh their benefits of low power and small size, the readout electronics typically consist of multi-channel data acquisition modules in a common chassis for power, clock and trigger distribution, and data readout. As arrays become larger and reach several hundred channels, the readout electronics have to be divided over several chassis, but still must maintain precise synchronization of clocks and trigger signals across all channels. This division becomes necessary not only because of limits given by the instrumentation standards on module size and chassis slot numbers, but also because data readout times increase when more modules share the same data bus and because power requirements approach the limits of readily available power supplies. In this paper, we present a method for distributing clocks and triggers between 4 PXI chassis containing DGF Pixie-16 modules with up to 226 acquisition channels per chassis in a data acquisition system intended to instrument the over 600 channels of the SeGA detector array at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Our solution is designed to achieve synchronous acquisition of detector waveforms from all channels with a jitter of less then 1 ns, and can be extended to a larger number of chassis if desired.Comment: CAARI 200