MINERAL CONTENT OF SOME EDIBLE MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT LEAFY VEGETABLES OF KAMRUP DISTRICT OF ASSAM, INDIA

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the mineral components of Amaranthus spinosus, Oxalis corniculata, Bacopa monnieri, Paedaria foetida and Centella asiatica.Methods: Mineral compositions of the five selected edible medicinally important leafy vegetables were evaluated following standard methods including AAS.Results: All the examined vegetables were found to be the rich source of macroelements as well as trace minerals. Potassium was the most abundant macroelement ranging from 4570.0-16030.0 mg/kg, followed by sodium, calcium and magnesium. Among the trace elements iron was highest (184.1- 518.2 mg/kg), followed by zinc, manganese and copper.Conclusion: From the present study it can be concluded that the plants under investigation are potential source of both macro and micronutrients and proper consumption prove to be beneficial as they cure several deficiency as well as other deadly diseases.Â

Optical conductivity study of screening of many-body effects in graphene interfaces

Theoretical studies have shown that electron-electron (e-e) and electron-hole (e-h) interactions play important roles in many observed quantum properties of graphene making this an ideal system to study many body effects. In this report we show that spectroscopic ellipsometry can enable us to measure this interactions quantitatively. We present spectroscopic data in two extreme systems of graphene on quartz (GOQ), an insulator, and graphene on copper (GOC), a metal which show that for GOQ, both e-e and e-h interactions dominate while for GOC e-h interactions are screened. The data further enables the estimation of the strength of the many body interaction through the effective fine structure constant, $\alpha_{g}^{*}$. The $\alpha_{g}^{*}$ for GOQ indicates a strong correlation with an almost energy independent value of about 1.37. In contrast, $\alpha_{g}^{*}$ value of GOC is photon energy dependent, is almost two orders of magnitude lower at low energies indicating very weak correlation.Comment: Main Article (4 pages, 4 figures); Supporting Online Material (12 pages, 9 figures

Surgical site infections in emergency abdominal surgeries in a tertiary care hospital of North-East India

Background: Most of the emergency abdominal surgeries are either contaminated or dirty, they carry a higher rate of complications, aided by lack of optimization of the patient before surgery as opposed to elective surgeries. Complications related to surgical site encompasses a majority and may be aggravated by pre-existing co-morbid conditions. Seroma, hematoma, wound dehiscence, surgical site infection (SSI) are some of the major complications of surgical wounds. A prospective study was carried out in Department of General Surgery, Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh, Assam to find out the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI), clinical presentations and causative organisms including their antibiogram.Methods: Total 280 patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgeries in Department of General Surgery, AMCH from June 2017 to May 2018 were included in the study. Preoperative, intraoperative and post-operative details were collected, recorded and analysed. In case of SSI, wound swab was taken for culture and sensitivity and antibiotics tailored accordingly. Regular follow-up for at least 30 days post-operatively was maintained.Results: The incidence of SSI was 21.43%, with male: female ratio being 1.22:1. SSI was highest in the age group above 50 years; 33.33%, and with co-morbidities. SSI seen highest in class 4 wounds (55%). Commonest clinical features were erythema, tenderness, edema around the wound in superficial SSI and deep SSI. Organ space SSI was associated with fever, trachycardia and leucocytosis. The most common isolates were Staphylococcus aereus (55%), Escherichia coli (21.67%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.67%), Klebsiella species (3.3%).  Conclusions: To reduce the incidence of SSI, strict adherence to antisepsis protocol specially during intraoperative and postoperative is of paramount importance in emergency surgeries

On spectra of Hermitian Randic matrix of second kind

We propose the Hermitian Randi\'c matrix $R^\omega(X)=(R^\omega_{ij})$, where $\omega=\frac{1+i \sqrt{3}}{2}$ and $R^\omega_{ij}={1}/{\sqrt{d_id_j}}$ if $v_iv_j$ is an unoriented edge, ${\omega}/{\sqrt{d_id_j}}$ if $v_i\rightarrow v_j$, ${\overline{\omega}}/{\sqrt{d_id_j}}$ if $v_i\leftarrow v_j$, and 0 otherwise. This appears to be more natural because of $\omega+\overline{\omega}=1$ and $|\omega|=1$. In this paper, we investigate some features of this novel Hermitian matrix and study a few properties like positiveness, bipartiteness, edge-interlacing etc. We also compute the characteristic polynomial for this new matrix and obtain some upper and lower bounds for the eigenvalues and the energy of this matrix

LIPID PEROXIDE LEVELS AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN HEALTHY AND ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS PATIENTS

Background: Alcohol remains the single most significant cause of liver disease throughout the Western world, responsible for between 40 and 80% of cases of cirrhosis in different countries. Material & Methods:The study was conducted in Department of Biochemistry, Santosh medical college & Hospital, Ghaziabad and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Govt. Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, 164 alcoholic hepatitis patients were subjected to detailed clinical examination and laboratory investigations and the results were compared with 82controls. Blood samples were collected for oxidative stress parameters. It was observed that there was a significant increase in activities of Catalase, SOD, MDA, GPX and GR activity in patients with alcoholic hepatitis when compared to controls. Results: Results of our study show higher oxygen free radical production, evidenced by elevated levels of MDA and decreased levels of Catalase, SOD, GPx, GR, and TAS activity, supporting the evidence of oxidative stress in alcoholic hepatitis patients. Decreased concentrations of antioxidant support the hypothesis that alcoholic hepatitis is an important causative factor in pathogenesis of lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: Theantioxidant defense mechanisms might be impaired in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. These findings also provide a theoretical basis for development of novel therapeutic strategies, such as antioxidant supplementation. Keywords: Alcoholic Hepatitis; Catalase; Glutathione Peroxidase; Glutathione Reductase; Malondialdehyde; Superoxide dismutase; Total antioxidant status

LIPID PEROXIDE LEVELS AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN HEALTHY AND ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS PATIENTS

Background: Alcohol remains the single most significant cause of liver disease throughout the Western world, responsible for between 40 and 80% of cases of cirrhosis in different countries. Material & Methods:The study was conducted in Department of Biochemistry, Santosh medical college & Hospital, Ghaziabad and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Govt. Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, 164 alcoholic hepatitis patients were subjected to detailed clinical examination and laboratory investigations and the results were compared with 82controls. Blood samples were collected for oxidative stress parameters. It was observed that there was a significant increase in activities of Catalase, SOD, MDA, GPX and GR activity in patients with alcoholic hepatitis when compared to controls. Results: Results of our study show higher oxygen free radical production, evidenced by elevated levels of MDA and decreased levels of Catalase, SOD, GPx, GR, and TAS activity, supporting the evidence of oxidative stress in alcoholic hepatitis patients. Decreased concentrations of antioxidant support the hypothesis that alcoholic hepatitis is an important causative factor in pathogenesis of lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: Theantioxidant defense mechanisms might be impaired in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. These findings also provide a theoretical basis for development of novel therapeutic strategies, such as antioxidant supplementation. Keywords: Alcoholic Hepatitis; Catalase; Glutathione Peroxidase; Glutathione Reductase; Malondialdehyde; Superoxide dismutase; Total antioxidant status

Phase structure of charged AdS black holes surrounded by exotic fluid with modified Chaplygin equation of state

By considering the concept of the modified Chaplygin gas (MCG) as a single fluid model unifying dark energy and dark matter, we construct a static, spherically charged black hole (BH) solution in the framework of General Relativity. The $P-V$ criticality of the charged anti-de Sitter (AdS) BH with a surrounding MCG is explored in the context of the extended phase space, where the negative cosmological constant operates as a thermodynamical pressure. This critical behavior shows that the small/large BH phase transition is analogous to the van der Waals liquid/gas phase transition. Accordingly, along the $P-V$ phase spaces, we derive the BH equations of state and then numerically evaluate the corresponding critical quantities. Similarly, critical exponents are identified, along with outcomes demonstrating the scaling behavior of thermodynamic quantities near criticality into a universal class. The use of \emph{geometrothermodynamic} (GT) tools finally offers a new perspective on discovering the critical phase transition point. At this stage, we apply a class of GT tools, such as Weinhold, Ruppeiner, HPEM, and Quevedo classes I and II. The findings are therefore non-trivial, as each GT class metric captures at least either the physical limitation point or the phase transition critical point. Overall, this paper provides a detailed study of the critical behavior of the charged AdS BH with surrounding MCG