Diseases of Ginger

Ginger is one of the earliest known oriental spices grown for its edible rhizome, which is widely used as a fresh vegetable, spice, and as a popular folk medicine. Ginger crop is being affected by insect pests, and pathogenic and non-pathogenic diseases cause production constraints. Severely, various pathogenic diseases of viral, bacterial, fungal, and nematode origin reduce its potential yields drastically. Among the various diseases, soft rot, yellows, Phyllosticta leaf spot, storage rot, bacterial wilt, mosaic, and chlorotic fleck are important. The present chapter includes the symptoms, causative agent, disease cycle, epidemiology and host resistance, cultural, biological, chemical, and integrated management of these diseases

Study on Prognostic Value of Electrophysiological Tests and Efficacy of Steroids and Acyclovir in Bell's Palsy.

Bell's palsy is the most frequent disease of the seventh cranial nerve, with a good prognosis. More than 70% patients attain complete clinical recovery, with no noticeable residua. Persistent sequellaes are usually noted in cases with profound axonal loss only. Electrophysiological tests may offer valuable information in defining the severity of nerve injury and a possible residual dysfunction. Treatment of Bell’s palsy is still controversial. Therapy is difficult to evaluate, because as many as two thirds of patients with Bell’s palsy spontaneously recover and achieve near-normal function. Many patients begin to improve as early as 10 days after the onset, even without treatment . Drug therapy mainly consists of corticosteroids with or without an antiviral (acyclovir). These drugs hasten the recovery and lessen the ultimate degree of dysfunction. One hundred and one patients with clinical signs of Bell's palsy were included in this study. Clinical signs were recorded (the degree of facial muscle palsy) and treated with steroids and acyclovir in combination or separately. Electrophysiological tests (amplitude and latency of compound muscle action potential CMAP) were done on first week and fourteenth day of the onset of palsy. The results were analysed in regard to the usefulness of electrophysiological studies in prognostication and which combination of drugs is most useful in management of Bells palsy. The most reliable prognostic data is obtained after the fourteenth day from the onset of palsy. • Electrophysiological studies can predict duration of the clinical recovery and the outcome of the illness. • Amplitude ratio of CMAP is the most reliable parameter in assessing the prognosis • Latency measurement as an independent factor is not much helpful in assessing the prognosis, however when combined with the amplitude ratio predicts the prognosis. • Simultaneous subclinical facial nerve involvement does occur on the contralateral side in 16% of the cases. • Bell’s palsy patients with incomplete facial paralysis have excellent outcomes • Steroids are safe and are probably effective in management of bells palsy which improves the rate of recovery. • Acyclovir in combination with prednisolone is safe and has a definite role in improving facial functional outcomes in patients with Bell’s palsy than using the drug alone • Early treatment in cases with incomplete paralysis hastens the recovery and it has no effect on cases with severe deficit

Demographic, clinico-pathological features and management pattern of primary bone tumors in a tertiary care hospital of South India

Background: Primary bone tumors are very rare tumors. The true incidence of bone tumors is not well established and is under reported due to rarity and lack of accurate registries. Hence it is essential to study about the demographic, clinico-pathological features and the pattern of surgical management of bone tumors. The aim of this study is to analyze the demographic and clinico-pathological features of primary bone tumors that were managed by surgery.Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients with primary bone tumor who were treated by surgery from 2012 to 2019 was done. The age, sex distribution, histopathology, location of the tumor and surgical procedure done were analyzed.Results: Among 103 patients analyzed, 66 (64%) were men and 37 (36%) were women. Primary bone tumors most commonly presented in 11 to 20 years of age with 35 (33.9%) patients occurring in this age group. Osteosarcoma was the most common primary bone tumor and it occurred in 49 (47.6%) patients, out of which 34 (69.3%) patients were below 20 years of age. Giant cell tumor was the most common benign bone tumor and it occurred in 22 patients, out of which nine (40.9%) patients were of age 21 to 30 years. Distal femur was the most common site with 39 (37.9%) patients. The limb preservation rate for malignant appendicular bone tumors was 69.0%.Conclusions: The diagnosis of bone tumor depends not only on histopathological features but also needs correlation with age, clinical features, tumor location and radiological features for confirmation of diagnosis

Analysis of Barthel index and care giver strain index in stroke patients in tertiary care hospital in South India

Background: Stroke patients have high rate of mortality and morbidity and survivors suffer from physical, cognitive and emotional issues. Quality of life of stroke survivors depends on severity of disability. These disability or morbidities not only affect stroke survivors but also has impact on physical and psychological wellbeing of caregivers providing support for daily routine. Aim of this study is to analyse the dependency using Barthel Index in stroke patients and care giver strain (CSI) among caregivers. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Study duration of 5 months. 150 Patients admitted for stroke meeting the inclusion criteria were included for the study. Caregiver was interviewed after Informed consent and briefing of purpose of study. Berthel index and modified care giver strain index questionnaire was filled by interviewer with caregiver. Findings were described in simple descriptive manner. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of 150 patients male 64% female 36%. Care giver strain score of <7 (40%), 8-14 (42%), >14 (18%). Sleep deprivation 68%, physical strain 85%, family adjustment problems 32%, work adjustment problems 67%, financial strain 76%, emotional adjustment problems 33%, personal plans problems 44%, upsetting behavior problems 44%. Only 17% termed it as inconvenient, 24% completely overwhelmed, 29% confining. Barthel index of >80 able to live independently (13%), 61-80 minimally dependent (32%), 41-60 partially dependent (26%), 21-40 very dependent (13%), <20 total dependency (16%). Conclusions: In stroke care caregiver strain is high when patient is dependent for routine activities. This includes physical as well as psychological strain. There is need to develop strategic home based or community based programs to reduce caregiver stress and improve their quality of life

LDL levels and ejection fraction in ischemic stroke patients: a hospital based cross-sectional study

Background: Ischemic stroke is a top contributor to mortality amongst non-infectious diseases. Atherosclerosis is a major risk factor. This study aims to assess LDL levels and ejection fraction in ischemic stroke patients. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Government Thoothukudi Medical College from November, 2022 to April, 2023. 35 patients admitted in the neuromedicine ward and diagnosed as acute ischemic stroke were included in the study after informed consent and ethical clearance. Patients with acute neurological deficit and evidence of infarct on diffusion-weighted MRI were included. Patients with no evidence of infarct on DWI, those already on lipid lowering therapy, patients with a history of cerebrovascular disease or transient ischemic attacks were excluded. Blood for lipid profile taken after 8 hours of overnight fasting. Echocardiography done for all patients. Results: Of the 35 patients, 26 (74.28%) were men, mean age was 62.4. 57.14%  ischemic stroke patients had their LDL levels elevated, 28.57% had decreased HDL, 28.57% had total cholesterol levels elevated, and in 14.28% triglycerides was elevated. This study also observed the cardiac status of the patients which showed 29% patients had decreased ejection fraction. Conclusions: This study concluded that most patients had elevated LDL levels which is an independent risk factor of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. LDL levels were also associated with decreased ejection fraction in a significant number of patients. Thereby it can be concluded that elevated LDL cholesterol levels can add to the cardiac risk, potentially contributing to stroke morbidity and mortality

Low mass fraction impregnation with graphene oxide (GO) enhances thermo-physical properties of paraffin for heat storage applications

Whereas previous researchers analyzed the thermal behavior of paraffin waxes impregnated with graphene oxide nanoparticles (P-GONP) at high mass fraction ( > 1%), this paper analyzes behavior and stability at only 0.3% mass fraction. GONP was prepared by Hummer’s method. The morphology was studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transformation-Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometer and the thermal properties were measured using laser flash analyser (LFA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermal cycling. LFA showed a 101.2% and 94.5% increase in the thermal conductivity of P-GONP compared to pure paraffin (P) in solid and liquid state respectively. Melting and solidifying temperatures and latent heat were found to be 63.5, 59 °C & 102 kJ/kg and 57.5, 56 °C & 64.7 kJ/kg for P and P-GONP respectively. Thermal cycling over 4000 cycles showed that P-GONP was 27% more stable than P. The latent heat was 64.7 kJ/kg, a 36.5% deterioration compared to virgin paraffin. Compared against higher mass fraction impregnation, lower mass fraction P-GONP was found to have almost equivalent thermo-physical properties (namely thermal conductivity, melting and solidifying characteristics, thermo-chemical stability and reliability) while providing considerable cost saving

Empirical investigation to explore potential gains from the amalgamation of Phase Changing Materials (PCMs) and wood shavings

The reduction of gained heat, heat peak shifting and the mitigation of air temperature fluctuations are some desirable properties that are sought after in any thermal insulation system. It cannot be overstated that these factors, in addition to others, govern the performance of such systems thus their effect on indoor ambient conditions. The effect of such systems extends also to Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems that are set up to operate optimally in certain conditions. Where literature shows that PCMs and natural materials such as wood-shavings can provide efficient passive insulation for buildings, it is evident that such approaches utilise methods that are of a degree of intricacy which requires specialist knowledge and complex techniques, such as micro-encapsulation for instance. With technical and economic aspects in mind, an amalgam of PCM and wood-shavings has been created for the purpose of being utilised as a feasible thermal insulation. The amalgamation was performed in the simplest of methods, through submerging the wood shavings in PCM. An experimental procedure was devised to test the thermal performance of the amalgam and compare this to the performance of the same un-amalgamated materials. Comparative analysis revealed that no significant thermal gains would be expected from such amalgamation. However, significant reduction in the total weight of the insulation system would be achieved that, in this case, shown to be up to 20.94%. Thus, further reducing possible strains on structural elements due to the application of insulation on buildings. This can be especially beneficial in vernacular architectural approaches where considerably large amounts and thicknesses of insulations are used. In addition, cost reduction could be attained as wood shavings are significantly cheaper compared to the cost of PCMs

The power of His power (Video)

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatschapelservices/7242/thumbnail.jp

The implications of ecumenical discussions on mission and theological education in India from 1938 to 1998

The relationship between missionary and convert changed as India became a secular democracy in 1947 and Indian Christians began to rethink the mission of the Church in the new Indian setting. The result of this rethinking on the global scenario was evident in the rediscovery at the IMC conference at Willingen 1952 that mission depends first and foremost on God's own activity, i.e. Missio dei. Thus, the strong emphasis on the centrality of the Church in mission was replaced by a larger perspective that included an interpretation of world events as determining factors for mission. It called for a reframing of the nature, purpose, and practice of theological education. In India many denominational colleges merged to form regional seminaries which were identified as the ecumenical theological colleges and were affiliated with and led by the Senate of Serampore College. This thesis discusses the context of complex realities of India that demand a critical self-reflection and evaluation of theological education as a whole, especially its curriculum. It is noteworthy that the Senate of Serampore curricula show evidence of having recognized these conceptual developments. The research spans six decades of discussion and points out the rapid social change in society, the emphasis on contextualization and doing theology in context, the contemporary trends in mission thinking, and the developments in the pursuit of relevant theological education and their immediate effect on theological education in India. The contextual slant and the notion of “integral mission” offers a more inclusive training by equipping all the members of the Church for the ministry and this thesis illustrates these developments through a concise study of a chosen institution