Surgical management of intracapsular fracture neck femur by hemiarthroplasty between uncemented bipolar prosthesis and Austin Moore’s prosthesis: a comparative study in elderly population

Background: Intracapsular femoral neck fractures are common in elderly population after a simple fall. To avoid the drawbacks of internal fixation and for the early mobilization, hemiarthroplasty is performed in elderly. The aim of this study is to compare the outcome AMP with uncemented bipolar prosthesis in geriatric patients.Methods: 51 patients above 60 years and an acute displaced fracture of the femoral neck were randomly allocated to treatment by either AMP (Austin Moore prosthesis) or bipolar hemiarthroplasty, in the Department of Orthopaedics, Sri Siddhartha medical college, Tumkur between April 2014 and May 2017. The patients were summoned at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. Functional outcome was assessed and compared with modified Harris hip score and radiological parameters.Results: The mean Harris hip score in bipolar and AMP group was 86.31±12.1 and 79.86±15.42, respectively (p=0.182). The range of motion was 204.52±28.2 and 183.62±36 (p=0.014) respectively. Functional activities like use of public transport and ability to wear shoe or socks was better with bipolar group. Incidence of complications like painful hip, posterior dislocation, periprosthetic fracture and acetabular erosion was encountered in AMP group.Conclusions: The use of uncemented bipolar endoprosthesis in the management of displaced femoral neck fractures in the elderly was associated with better mean Harris hip score and incidence of complications was limited. Hence, bipolar would be a better option in elderly patients with fracture neck of femur.

Electronic structure studies of Fe- ZnO nanorods by x-ray absorption fine structure

We report the electronic structure studies of well characterized polycrystalline Zn_{1-x}Fe_xO (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) nanorods synthesized by a co-precipitation method through x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that Fe doped ZnO crystallizes in a single phase wurtzite structure without any secondary phase. From the XRD pattern, it is observed that peak positions shift towards lower 2\theta value with Fe doping. The change in the peak positions with increase in Fe contents clearly indicates that Fe ions are replacing Zn ions in the ZnO matrix. Linear combination fittings (LCF) at Fe K-edge demonstrate that Fe is in mixed valent state (Fe3+/Fe2+) with a ratio of ~ 7:3 (Fe3+:Fe2+). XAFS data is successfully fitted to wurtzite structure using IFEFFIT and Artemis. The results indicate that Fe substitutes Zn site in the ZnO matrix in tetrahedral symmetry.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, regular articl

Review of Fuel Management practices at various stages of nuclear fuel cycle in PHWRs in view of Environmental effects

Nuclear Power is emerging as a promising source of environmentally benign energy source alternate from both pollution free environment as well as solution to global warming because of minimal carbon footprint. However, release of radiation and radioactive contamination during fuel cycle operations comprising the optimum fuel utilization in Nuclear Reactors, still remains a challenge to contain the sources of radiation and contamination away from public domain. This review article envisages qualitatively the environmental effects w.r.t. radiation during flow of Natural Uranium fuel used in Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (IPHWRs) at various stages of mining, fabrication, transportation, operation in nuclear reactors, and storage after operation. The review has been completed by detailed compilation and study of the involved activities in the nuclear fuel cycle. Advanced modelling and computational analysis techniques are being employed at various stages, which form the basis for various administrative and technical measures to ensure minimal radiation exposure. It is concluded that organizations engaged in these activities are committed to minimum environmental impact and follow a safety culture in their system and among workers to ensure best administrative control in handling of radiation and radiation sources to limit exposure to public domain. In view of the limitations of LNT (Linear No Threshold) principle and the presence of radiation due to natural sources in the environment, it is desirable to revisit the provisions of ALARA principle (As low as reasonably achievable) as presently being followed in carrying out any activity related to radiation and radiation sources

On the optical properties of Ag^{+15} ion-beam irradiated TiO_{2} and SnO_{2} thin films

The effects of 200-MeV Ag^{+15} ion irradiation on the optical properties of TiO_{2} and SnO_{2} thin films prepared by using the RF magnetron sputtering technique were investigated. These films were characterized by using UV-vis spectroscopy, and with increasing irradiation fluence, the transmittance for the TiO_{2} films was observed to increase systematically while that for SnO_{2} was observed to decrease. Absorption spectra of the irradiated samples showed minor changes in the indirect bandgap from 3.44 to 3.59 eV with increasing irradiation fluence for TiO_{2} while significant changes in the direct bandgap from 3.92 to 3.6 eV were observed for SnO_{2}. The observed modifications in the optical properties of both the TiO_{2} and the SnO_{2} systems with irradiation can be attributed to controlled structural disorder/defects in the system.Comment: 6 pages, ICAMD-201

Swift-heavy-ion-irradiation-induced enhancement in electrical conductivity of chemical solution deposited La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 thin films

Epitaxial thin films of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 manganite, deposited using Chemical Solution Deposition technique, were irradiated by 200 MeV Ag+15 ions with a maximum ion dose up to 1x10^12 ions/cm2. Temperature- and magnetic field-dependent resistivity measurements on all the films (before and after irradiation) reveal a sustained decrease in resistivity with increasing ion dose. A maximum dose of 1x10^12 ions/cm2 suppresses resistivity by factors of 3 and 10, at 330 K [insulator-metal (I-M) transition] and at 10 K, respectively. On the other hand, with increasing ion dose, the magnetoresistance (MR) enhances in the vicinity of I-M transition but decreases at low temperatures. These results, corroborated by surface morphology of films, suggest that the origin of such properties lies in the irradiation induced improved crystallinity and epitaxial orientation, enhanced connectivity between grains, and conglomeration of grains which result in better conductivity at grain boundaries.Comment: To appear in 'Applied Physics Letters

Effect of omega-3 fatty acids enriched diet on semen characteristics in Marwari horses

The effect of w-3 fatty acid supplementation in the diet on various characteristics of fresh and frozen semen was investigated in Marwari horses. Stallions (6) were fed a standard diet daily from week –13 to week 0 (pre- supplementation phase) followed by supplementation of fish oil, a rich source of n-3 PUFA @64 mg/kg BW from week 1 to 14 (fish oil treatment phase) in diets. Ejaculates were collected from all the stallions on weekly basis from week –5 to 0 and week 9 to 14 during pre-supplementation and fish oil treatment phase, respectively. Effect of n-3 PUFA on ejaculate volume, color and consistency; total and progressive sperm motility, seminal pH, sperm concentration, live sperm and abnormal sperm in fresh semen was non-significant. Similarly, there was no change in the percentage of sperm PTM, HOS reacted sperm, live and abnormal sperm in frozen semen. It was concluded that dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation @64mg/ kg BW to horses for 14 weeks did not affect the semen quality. However, the beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA on semen quality may require longer period of supplementation

A Study on the Effect of Peristalsis and Cilia of MHD Micropolar Fluid Flow through an Inclined Porous Channel

The study of the influence of magnetic field, channel inclination, porous medium and cilia on the Micropolar fluid under different boundary conditions is carried out. The methods of solving Navier Stokes equation specific to Micropolar fluid under the joint influence of these effects are presented. The profiles of velocity (along the flow direction), the micro rotation vector and the variation of pressure rise with time average flow rate for fixed values of other parameters were carried out and the results are discussed

Parameter estimation in spatially extended systems: The Karhunen-Loeve and Galerkin multiple shooting approach

Parameter estimation for spatiotemporal dynamics for coupled map lattices and continuous time domain systems is shown using a combination of multiple shooting, Karhunen-Loeve decomposition and Galerkin's projection methodologies. The resulting advantages in estimating parameters have been studied and discussed for chaotic and turbulent dynamics using small amounts of data from subsystems, availability of only scalar and noisy time series data, effects of space-time parameter variations, and in the presence of multiple time-scales.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 4 Tables Corresponding Author - V. Ravi Kumar, e-mail address: [email protected]

Detection of Toxigenic and Atoxigenic Strains of Aspergillus flavus in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

In groundnut Aspergillus flavus causes aflatoxin contamination which is a qualitative problem occurring at both pre-and post-harvest stages. These aflatoxins have carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and immuno-suppressive effects. The A. flavus strains which produces aflatoxins are called as toxigenic and which do not produce toxins are called as atoxigenic starins. To detect the toxigenic and atoxigenic starins of A. flavus from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP), pod samples were collected from eight selected oil mills/traders’ in Mahaboobnagar, Rangareddy, Nizamabad, Karimnagar (Telangana); and Anantapur (AP) districts. A total of 24 A. flavus cultures were isolated from the collected pod samples. These isolates were identified as toxigenic/atoxigenic using cultural detection methods on Yeast extract sucrose (YES) media and coconut agar medium (CAM). Based on cultural methods, it was confirmed that there were18 toxigenic, five atoxigenic and one false positive/negative strain out of the 24 A. flavus isolates obtained from surveyed oil mills. Atoxigenic strains were obtained from Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts of Telangana