NMR investigation of contextuality in a quantum harmonic oscillator via pseudospin mapping

Physical potentials are routinely approximated to harmonic potentials so as to analytically solve the system dynamics. Often it is important to know when a quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO) behaves quantum mechanically and when classically. Recently Su et. al. [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 85}, 052126 (2012)] have theoretically shown that QHO exhibits quantum contextuality (QC) for a certain set of pseudospin observables. In this work, we encode the four eigenstates of a QHO onto four Zeeman product states of a pair of spin-1/2 nuclei. Using the techniques of NMR quantum information processing, we then demonstrate the violation of a state-dependent inequality arising from the noncontextual hidden variable model, under specific experimental arrangements. We also experimentally demonstrate the violation of a state-independent inequality by thermal equilibrium states of nuclear spins, thereby assessing their quantumness.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 Figures, context dependency illustrated, error below eq. 5 correcte

Effect of fixed dose combinations of different α1-blockers with dutasteride on quality of life in patients of lower urinary tract symptoms with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Background: Fixed dose combination (FDC’s) of α1-blockers and 5α-reductase inhibitors have commonly been used in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study compared the effect of FDC’s of tamsulosin, alfuzosin and silodosin with dutasteride on quality of life (QoL) in patients of LUTS with BPH.Methods: Ninety-six male patients aged ≥45 years diagnosed with LUTS and BPH were randomized to receive FDC’s of dutasteride with tamsulosin (group 1), alfuzosin (group 2) and silodosin (group 3) over a period of 16 weeks. Quality of life was assessed using International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) 8th question, BPH impact index (BII) and modified Patient Perception of Study Medication (PPSM) questionnaire.Results: IPSS 8th question score improved significantly by 61.68%, 57.63% and 63.4% in group 1, 2 and 3 respectively. BPH Impact Index score also improved significantly by 62.95%, 60.13% and 61.82% in group 1, 2 and 3 respectively. All the three treatments were found to be similar in improving the QoL. Majority of patients were satisfied with their treatment and wanted to receive the medication again while a small number of patients were neutral with the study medication. None of the subjects was dissatisfied with any of the treatment.Conclusions: All the FDC’s improved QoL and were found to be satisfactory as per patient perception of study medications

Risk factors influencing the bone health in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Background: Bone loss is being increasingly identified in premenopausal and early postmenopausal women. The significance of low bone mineral density (BMD) in females needs to be addressed. Female reproductive system plays a major role in regulating the bone loss from menarche to senescence. The purpose of our study is to identify the menstrual and reproductive factors that may lead to decreased bone mass during the premenopausal period so that early intervention could lead to improved bone health.Methods: The study was conducted on 100 women aged 40 - 60 years attending the outpatient department in Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana, India. Their age, parity, body mass index, age at menarche, age at first pregnancy, duration of breast feeding, use of combined oral contraceptive, interpregnancy interval and BMD values were recorded. BMD was measured by dual- energy x-ray absorptiometry. Pearson test was used for correlation analysis. Comparison between the groups was conducted using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test.Results: A significant negative correlation was established between parity, age at menarche, duration of breast feeding and BMD values. On the other hand, BMI and duration of oral contraceptive use showed a significant positive correlation with BMD values.Conclusions: Identification of risk factors for low BMD will provide the opportunity for early intervention to preventosteoporosis and will reduce the burden of unnecessary BMD testing in elderly age group for screening of osteoporosis

ESTIMATION OF AMLODIPINE BESYLATE AND IRBESARTAN IN PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATION BY RP-HPLC WITH FORCED DEGRADATION STUDIES

Objective: To develop and validate a simple, specific, accurate, precise and sensitive reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method with forced degradation studies for the simultaneous estimation of amlodipine besylate and irbesartan in the pharmaceutical formulation. Methods: The chromatographic separation of the two drugs were achieved using Enable C 18G column (250 ×4.6 mm; 5 µm) in isocratic mode with mobile phase consisting of sodium acetate buffer (pH 4.0) and acetonitrile (30:70, % v/v) with a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. Ultraviolet(UV) detection was carried out at 238 nm. The proposed method was validated for linearity, range, accuracy, precision, robustness, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The tablet formulation was subjected to stress conditions of degradation including acidic, alkaline, oxidative, thermal and photolysis. Results: The retention time for amlodipine besylate and irbesartan were found to be 5.512 and 6.321 min respectively. Linearity was observed over a concentration range 4-32 µg/ml for amlodipine besylate (r2 =0.9999) and 10-70 µg/ml for Irbesartan (r2 =0.9998). The % relative standard deviation (RSD) for Intraday and Interday precision was found to be 0.436 and 0.699 for amlodipine besylate and 0.435 and 0.30 for irbesartan. Amlodipine besylate shown stability towards acidic and thermal whereas in basic, oxidative and photolytic it shown less stability in which it degraded to more extent. Irbesartan shown stability towards thermal conditions whereas in remaining conditions it degrades to more extent especially in oxidative conditions. Conclusion: The developed reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method was also found to be simple, precise and sensitive for the simultaneous determination of amlodipine besylate and irbesartan in the tablet dosage form

A comparative study between placental alpha microglobulin-1 rapid immunoassay and standard diagnostic methods for detection of rupture of membranes

Background: To determine the efficacy of an immunoassay to measure levels of placental alpha-microglobulin-1 in cervico-vaginal secretions.Methods: 100 ANC cases admitted in Dr D. Y. Patil Hospital with symptoms of rupture of membranes during study period. Inclusion criteria-Pregnant women who presented with symptoms of ROM either in labour or not in labour, gestational age from 28 weeks onwards and who have given consent.Results: In 9 cases, the immunoassay test was negative, in 91 cases, it was positive and in one case, the liquor had a lot of meconium, the woman had to undergo an emergency cesarean section. This patient was deemed to have a false negative result by the test. Pooling was positive in 87 cases, nitrazine test in 86 cases and ferning in 88 cases. Hence, in comparison to immunoassay test which had 100% specificity and 98.91% sensitivity due to incomplete evaluation, nitrazine test had 95.58% sensitivity and 100% specificity, Pooling has 97.79% sensitivity and 100% specificity, whereas ferning has 98.34% sensitivity and 100% specificity.Conclusions: The PAMG1 is a non-invasive, rapid, one step test with very high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy as compared to the conventional methods together and also individually. Preforming this test instead of conventional methods can aid the early detection of rupture of membranes and largely affect the outcome of maternal and fetal health as timely decision can be taken once diagnosis is confirmed

A rare presentation of perioperative myocardial infarction as a consequence of stent thrombosis in non-cardiac surgery

Perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) is a major cause of long term morbidity and mortality associated with non-cardiac surgery. In patients with recent coronary artery stent placement undergoing non-cardiac surgery perioperative management is always challenging. We reported an interesting case of a 67 year old man posted for head neck surgery with recent history of angioplasty with drug eluting stent developing perioperative MI and the challenges faced by an anaesthesiologist

Application of Parallel Processing for Object Oriented Discrete Event Simulation of Manufacturing Systems

Industrial Engineering and Managemen

Pulseless Electrical Activity: Echocardiographic Explanation of a Perplexing Phenomenon

Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is considered an enigmatic phenomenon in resuscitation research and practice. Finding individuals with no consciousness or pulse but with continued electrocardiographic (EKG) complexes obviously raises the question of how they got there. The development of monitors that can display the underlying rhythm has allowed us to differentiate between VF, asystole, and PEA. Lack of clear understanding of the emergence of PEA has limited the research and development of interventions that might improve the low rates of survival typically associated with PEA. Over 30 years of studying and practicing resuscitation have allowed the authors to see a substantial rise in PEA with variable survival rates, based on the patients' illness spectrum and intensity of monitoring. This paper presents a small case series of individuals with brain death whose family members consented to the echocardiographic observation of the dying process after disconnection from life support. The observation from these cases confirms that PEA is a late phase in the clinical dying process. Echocardiographic images delineate the stages of pseudo-PEA with ineffective contractions, PEA, and then asystole. The process is contiuous with none of the sudden phase shifts seen in dysrhythmic events such as VF, VT or SVT. The implications of these findings are that PEA is a common manifestation of tissue hypoxia and metabolic substrate depletion. Our findings offer prospects for studies of the development of interventions to improve PEA survival