ASSESSMENT OF THE INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF DRY EYES IN DIABETIC INDIVIDUALS AND IT’S EFFECT ON VISUAL ACUITY

Objective: To find out the incidence and prevalence of Dry Eyes in Diabetic patients and find out its effect on visual acuity. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in Saveetha Medical College and Hospital. Schirmer’s test was done for 100 diabetic patients taking part in the research. Those with dry eyes were tested for their visual acuity and were asked to fill a questionnaire based on associated ocular symptoms. The collected data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Results: There is about an incidence of 82% of dry eyes in diabetic patients. It’s more prevalent among elderly women. There seems to be a significant effect of dry eys on visual acuity as 31% of those tested with dry eyes have a moderate visual impairment. Conclusion: People with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dry eye. So diabetic patients should undergo regular ocular examination and must be screened for dry eyes. Early diagnosis and treatment of dry eyes is the best choice to prevent ocular complications in the future

Lithological Discrimination of Anorthosite using ASTER data in Oddanchatram Area, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India

The present study applies with hyperspectral remote sensing techniques to map the lithology of the Oddanchatram anorthosite. The hyperspectral data were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), Pixel Purity Index (PPI) and n-Dimensional Visualization for better lithology mapping. The proposed study area has various typical rock types. The PCA, ICA and MNF have been proposed best band combination for effectiveness of lithological mapping such as PCA (R: G: B=2:1:3), MNF (R: G: B=4:3:2) and ICA (R: G: B=3:1:2). The derived lithological map has compared with published geological map from Geological Survey of India and validated with field investigation. Therefore, ASTER data based lithological mapping are fast, cost-effective and more accurate

The impacts of climate change on the winter water cycle of the western Himalaya

Some 180 million people depend on the Indus River as a key water resource, fed largely by precipitation falling over the western Himalaya. However, the projected response of western Himalayan precipitation to climate change is currently not well constrained: CMIP5 GCMs project a reduced frequency and vorticity of synoptic-scale systems impacting the area, but such systems would exist in a considerably moister atmosphere. In this study, a convection-permitting (4 km horizontal resolution) setup of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to examine 40 cases of these synoptic-scale systems, known as western disturbances (WDs), as they interact with the western Himalaya. In addition to a present-day control run, three experiments are performed by perturbing the boundary and initial conditions to reflect pre-industrial, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 background climates respectively. It is found that in spite of the weakening intensity of WDs, net precipitation associated with them in future climate scenarios increases significantly; conversely there is no net change in precipitation between the pre-industrial and control experiments despite a significant conversion of snowfall in the pre-industrial experiment to rainfall in the control experiment, consistent with the changes seen in historical observations. This shift from snowfall to rainfall has profound consequences on water resource management in the Indus Valley, where irrigation is dependent on spring meltwater. Flux decomposition shows that the increase in future precipitation follows directly from the projected moistening of the tropical atmosphere (which increases the moisture flux incident on the western Himalaya by 28%) overpowering the weakened dynamics (which decreases it by 20%). Changes to extreme rainfall events are also examined: it is found that such events may increase significantly in frequency in both future scenarios examined. Two-hour maxima rainfall events that currently occur in 1-in-8 WDs are projected to increase tenfold in frequency in the RCP8.5 scenario; more prolonged (one-week maxima) events are projected to increase fiftyfold

A review of Kesha as diagnostic and prognostic tool in Ayurveda

Hair is one of the essential characteristic features which not only adds beauty to the person but also helps maintain normal physiological functions, especially by excreting sweat through the  Lomakupa, which is considered one of the roots of  Swedavaha Strotas. It also helps in thermoregulation, protection etc. It is  Pitruja Bhava  and is the  Mala  of  Asthidhatu. Depending upon the Hair conditions, one can assess some of the underlying pathological status of the body. Aims & Objectives: Review the literature concerned with  Prakruta  and  Vikruta Lakshnas  of hairs in Ayurvedic classical texts for diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Material and Methods: Material related to Hair has been collected from Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Astanga Samgraha, and Ashtanga Hridaya  along with respective commentaries available and data associated with a topic general at different journals and books. Observations: As  Kesha  is one of the factors which build up a person's personality, Ayurvedic classics state the advantages of hair maintenance. In the present era, changes in lifestyle, food habits, excess use of shampoos, and hair dyes, lack of oil massage to Hair, pollution, stress and strain etc., may be the cause of different types of hair problems like  Khalitya  (Alopecia totalis),  Palitya  (premature greying of Hair) etc. Therefore a proper understanding of  Prakruta Lakshanas  of  Kesha  will help in understanding the  Vaikrutha Avastha  which will thus ease the line of treatment.  Results: Thus,  Kesha  and  Loma  play an essential role in diagnosing the   Prakruta   and   Vaikrutha   Lakshana  and help in the prognosis of the disease.