Geochemistry of some ferruginous soils of Kerala, India

The four representative ferruginous soils on lateritic cover developed over Precambrian rocks in parts of Kottayam of Kerala were studied to understand the weathering pattern and genesis through geochemistry. These soils are strongly to moderately acidic, reddish brown with low Cation exchange capacity CEC and base saturation having SiO2 - 33 to 57%, Al2O3 - 16-31%, Fe2O3 - 8 to 15% and TiO2 -0.7 to 1.4%. Kanjirapalli (P3) and Athirampuzha (P4) soil series were more intensely weathered as compared to the Kinalur (P1) and Chingavanam series (P2) with silica to alumina -iron ratio less than 2 and had a significant negative relationship with Chemical index of alteration CIA ( -0.75**), Harnois index ( -0.678**), Richie index (-0.953**) and Plagioclase Index of Weathering (-0.705**). The trace elemental concentration ranges were above the values of world soils having an enrichment index more than 1 in Kanjirapalli series (P3) and Ni contamination in genetic horizons (Ni > 200µgg-1 ). The cluster analysis showed similar major oxide concentration pattern in Group -1 and Group - 2 but varied in trace elemental pattern with Cr > Ba > Cu in Group - 1 and Cu > Cr > Ba in Group- 2 soils whereas Zr > Ni > Mn in Group - 3 to Ni > Mn > Zr in Group - 4 soils. The study further showed that differential rate of weathering in soils under tropical climate was further accelerated due to anthropogenic activities such as improper land use practices and deforestation on sleep slopes

The effect of antenatal corticosteroids on maternal glycemic control, in a tertiary care centre in North Kerala - India

Background: Antenatal glucocorticoid therapy (ACT) can be life-saving in preterm babies and risk of PTL is increasing in. The prevalence of GDM also increasing. Virtually, all women will experience deterioration in their glycaemic control following ACT. The NICE guideline recommends additional insulin and the national Indian guidelines recommend a 20% increase. Objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in maternal serum glucose following corticosteroids in antenatal women.Methods: Prospective controlled trial of 206 patients, divided into 2 groups. Group 1:105 patients with no GDM and Group 2: 101 patients with GDM. Ethical committee approved. FBS and PPBS measured for following 5 days of D1. BMI and starting dose of insulin and dose of insulin hike were recorded. FBS >90 mg/dL and PPBS >120 mg/dL were taken as abnormal. Data were analyzed using SPSSV22.Results: There were a total of 206 of which 105 were in group 1(51%) and 101(49%) were in Group 2. FBS >90 mg/dL in over 65% of all women on D2 10 new cases on D3 and PPBS >120 mg/dL in over 66% of all women on D2 and 13 new cases on D3. Insulin was started in a total of 66 patients of 105 (62.9%) in Group 1 and 33 out of 40 (82.5%) in GDM on MNT. Of the 66 patients who started on insulin in Group 1, 17 (16.2%) patients had to continue insulin and out of 33. In MNT subgroup 10 (25%) had to continue. BMI was high in the patients, who was given and continued insulin.Conclusions: The findings support the concept of increasing the dose of insulin even before the hyperglycemia documented. In the Group 1 66 of 105 patients were started on insulin due to hyperglycemia and 17 had to continue insulin 25.7%), and 33 of 40 patients in GDM on MNT were started on insulin and 10 (30.33%) had to continue. We suggest testing all patients for hyperglycemia and to start  insulin especially in the those with high BMI (>25 as per the Asian Indian)

Band-like Stress Fiber Propagation in a Continuum and Implications for Myosin Contractile Stresses

Stress fibers are band-like features that form with sarcomere-like actin and myosin arrangement between cell regions, resisting myosin contractility. We consider three aspects of stress fiber formation: (1) they form by cytoskeletal actin–myosin interaction when myosin contractile forces are resisted, (2) they propagate in a band-like manner, and (3) they maintain a level of stress and material continuity with the cytoskeleton. This suggests that any description of myosin force should capture the band-like propagation of stress fibers within the constraints of a continuum model. Recent studies describe myosin force as increasing proportional to the cytoskeletal resistance in that direction, but do not capture the band-like propagation of myosin stresses in a continuum. While the spreading of myosin stresses in continuum models is commonly attributed to the elliptic nature of continuum equations, we show that it comes from an incomplete description of the myosin force. Qualitative observations of cytoskeletal actin–myosin interaction indicate the interaction to be ‘zipper-like’; myosin contractile forces get transmitted by bending actin filaments in directions away from that of the cytoskeletal resistance. A simple coarse-grained implementation of the lateral myosin forces that arise from the zippering action reproduces band-like stress propagation within a continuum model for the first time. This model also shows actin packing into the stress channel and its propagation along the edge for square and triangular constrained cells; features not captured earlier. Physically, the lateral contractile forces prevent stress spreading by balancing perpendicular shear forces that arise when stress channels through a continuum. Mathematically, these forces render the continuum stress equation hyperbolic. This paper presents a theoretical argument, based on continuum mechanics principles, that it is the zippering actin–myosin action that allows for band-like stress fiber propagation within a coarse-grained cytoskeletal continuum, and that any visualization of the cytoskeletal stress field should account for lateral contractile forces accompanying the much-acknowledged contractile force along a stress fiber

The magnetic environment in the central region of nearby galaxies

The central regions of galaxies harbor some of the most extreme physical phenomena, including dense stellar clusters, non-circular motions of molecular clouds and strong and pervasive magnetic field structures. In particular, radio observations have shown that the central few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy has a striking magnetic field configuration. It is not yet clear whether these magnetic structures are unique to our Milky Way or a common feature of all similar galaxies. Therefore, we report on (a) a new radio polarimetric survey of the central 200 pc of the Galaxy to better characterize the magnetic field structure and (b) a search for large-scale and organized magnetized structure in the nuclear regions of nearby galaxies using data from the Very Large Array (VLA) archive. The high angular resolution of the VLA allows us to study the central 1 kpc of the nearest galaxies to search for magnetized nuclear features similar to what is detected in our own Galactic center. Such magnetic features play a important role in the nuclear regions of galaxies in terms of gas transport and the physical conditions of the interstellar medium in this unusual region of galaxies.Comment: 8 pages; Proceedings for "The Universe under the Microscope" (AHAR 2008), held in Bad Honnef (Germany) in April 2008, to be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by Institute of Physics Publishing, R. Schoedel, A. Eckart, S. Pfalzner, and E. Ros (eds.

Study of echocardiography in thalassemia (major/intermedia) patients at tertiary care center

Objective: The objective of this study is to study the cardiovascular complications and to establish the role of echocardiography (ECHO) screening in beta thalassemia major (TM) and intermedia patients, aged 2–12 years, receiving one or more transfusions per month for 2 or more years. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done at tertiary care center from June 2015 to November 2015. Hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and 2D ECHO were done before the blood transfusion. Results: Male preponderance was seen with a ratio of 1.7:1. 87% (n=47) had TM and remaining had thalassemia intermedia (TI). Serum ferritin in TM was >1000 ng/ml in 80.9% (n=38) of cases and <1000 ng/ml in 19% (n=9) of cases. Serum ferritin in TI was above 1000 ng/ml in 42.8% (n=3) and <1000 ng/ml in 57.14% (n=4) of cases. 64% (n=35) had cardiomegaly in X-ray. 2D Echo showed increased LV mass in 71.1% (n=27) of cases and normal LV mass in 28.9% (n=11) of cases. Pulmonary hypertension was seen in 21.2% (n=10) of cases of TM and 42% (n=3) of cases with TI. Conclusion: ECHO combined with electrocardiogram should be used for regular periodic monitoring of transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients

Boxicity of graphs on surfaces

The boxicity of a graph $G=(V,E)$ is the least integer $k$ for which there exist $k$ interval graphs $G_i=(V,E_i)$, $1 \le i \le k$, such that $E=E_1 \cap ... \cap E_k$. Scheinerman proved in 1984 that outerplanar graphs have boxicity at most two and Thomassen proved in 1986 that planar graphs have boxicity at most three. In this note we prove that the boxicity of toroidal graphs is at most 7, and that the boxicity of graphs embeddable in a surface $\Sigma$ of genus $g$ is at most $5g+3$. This result yields improved bounds on the dimension of the adjacency poset of graphs on surfaces.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Trials for neurodegenerative diseases:time to innovate

The remarkable progress in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases heralds an era when neurologists would be at the vanguard of regenerative medicine, instead of chroniclers of decline. To capitalise on these advances that are identifying ever more therapeutic candidates, whether repurposed or entirely new, there is an urgent need for refined methods to test these putative medicines in clinical trials. Our field has the opportunity to learn from innovations in trial design, particularly those pioneered in oncology

Volumetric Ultrasound: A Novel Methodology for 3D Evaluation of Cardiovascular Structure and Function

Three-dimensional reconstructions (3DR) of the heart and great vessels are conventionally formed by scanning a single two-dimensional (2-D) plane, and then combining the data in this scan with data obtained from other scan planes taken at different levels. Missing data between planes are filled in by interpolation. Applications of such 3DR’s from ultrasonic, radionuclide and magnetic resonance images have yielded promising results (1). 3DR’s of the left ventricle have been obtained from cardiac ultrasonic and ultrafast computed tomographic images in our laboratory (2,3). We have also utilized the reconstructed geometries for analysis of mechanical deformation of the ventricular chamber and quantitative assessment of wall motion abnormalities in diseased states (4)

Status of woolly aphid Ceratovacuna lanigera and establishment of the parasitoid Encarsia flavoscutellum in sugarcane germplasm

Woolly aphid Ceratovacuna lanigera Zehntner (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a native of north-eastern India, appeared in the world sugarcane germplasm maintained at the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute Research Center (ICAR-SBIRC), Kannur, Kerala State, India, first in 2004. The aphid colonized Indian hybrids and accessions of Saccharum officinarum, Saccharum sinense, Saccharum robustum and Saccharum barberi in the first year of occurrence and every year thereafter. Early detection and spot application of insecticide were adopted to manage the aphid and protect germplasm. Soap solution was applied in the later years to conserve the predators Dipha aphidivora Metrics (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae) and Micromus sp. (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae) that occurred intermittently. The parasitoid Encarsia flavoscutellum Zehntner (Hymenoptera: Aphelenidae) maintained at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu State, India, was released in the germplasm thrice, i.e. in January 2009, November 2014 and June 2015. Post-release, E. flavoscutellum parasitism was detected first during April-June 2015 at low levels (2.0- 3.5%). Clear-cut evidence of establishment was witnessed during September-October 2021 when aphids showed a high 27.0% parasitism. Since E. flavoscutellum was found to regulate populations of woolly aphid wherever it established, it is expected to reach similar equilibrium with the aphid in the germplasm, D. aphidivora and Micromus sp. playing a complementary role at high aphid densities. However, continuous monitoring of aphid and natural enemies, and use of safer emergency control measures would go a long way in maintaining the germplasm free from woolly aphid