A STUDY ON EPIPHYTIC LICHENS FROM PRUNUS PERSICA

 Objective: The objective of this study is to explore and identify the epiphytic lichens on the tree bark of Prunus persica from Kodaikanal area and analyze its phytochemical properties.Methods: Samples were collected from Kodaikanal area, identified by morphological and chemical constituents. Macromolecules present were quantified by DNS method, Lowry's method, and lipid tests. The secondary metabolites present were analyzed by standard phytochemical tests and thin-layer chromatography.Results and Conclusion: It was interesting to observe that species belonging to the lichen genera - Parmotrema, Ramalina, and Usnea dominated the area. The samples have been identified and deposited in LWG herbarium, NBRI, Lucknow. As lichens form an ideal model to study the humongous secondary metabolites present in it, a preliminary investigation was performed to understand the nutritive value as well as phytochemicals present in the lichens. The results indicate that these organisms can be of potential medicinal value with Ramalina and Usnea species contributing good amount of macronutrients present in them, while qualitative analysis of phytochemicals reports all the lichens for enormous metabolites

Visual and Surface Properties of CdTe Thin Films on CdS/FTO Glass Substrates

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film material was deposited ontop of Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) substrate using vacuum evaporation technique. The sample was characterized using X-ray diffraction(XRD) and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. XRD studies revealed that the sample was polycrystalline in nature. The SEM image showed that the sample is columnar in structure and the grains are uniform. Optical band gap of the CdTe thin film was estimated from transmittance and reflectance data and it was found 1.53eV.The structural, optical and surface properties of the film showed that the CdTe thin film materials can be used for fabrication of CdTe thin film solar cell

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM FOR OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM IN MICROGRIDS

The modern heuristic techniques mainly include the application of the artificial intelligence approaches such as genetic algorithm, particle swarmoptimization algorithm, ant colony optimization, stochastic diffusion search, differential evolution, etc. The main aspect of these techniques is theirflexibility for solving the optimization problems that have different mathematical constraints. In a power system area, the competition between theelectric utilities is gradually increased due to the deregulation of the electrical markets. For this reason, the generation expansion problem presentsitself as an important issue that needs to be considered in order to achieve reasonable economic decisions.Keywords: Genetic algorithm, Particle swarm optimization, Artificial intelligence

Demographic and clinical analysis of post sterilization failure cases in a tertiary care hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Background: The most common permanent method of family planning accepted in India is female tubal sterilization as it has a very low failure rate of 0.1- 0.8% in the first year and over all pregnancy chances of 1 in 200. It can be done by open method but laparoscopic method has now gained wide popularity.Methods: Ours was a retrospective study of post female sterilization failure cases admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital within a 10 year time period between April 2007 and March 2017.Results: Over a decade we had 134 post sterilization failures. 71 patients presented with intrauterine pregnancy whereas 63 presented as ectopic pregnancy following sterilization. Majority of patients belonged to 26-30 year age group and the median age was 28 years. 40.3% ectopic presented at 5-6 weeks gestational age. Over 90% of sterilization failures were done by open method and around 35.8% were done during caesarean section. Around 65.0 % sterilization failures were seen within 5 years of sterilization but 2 patients presented as late as 17 years post sterilization. In four cases (3%) failure was due to improper surgical procedure.Conclusions: Female sterilization may result in failure even after years of sterilization. In the present study, pregnancy after sterilization is higher in the youngest age group (15-30) years than for the age group (31-35) years and stabilized in the oldest age group (36-49) years. Open sterilization had a higher failure rate than laparoscopic sterilization. The most common mode of sterilization failure was intrauterine pregnancy than the ectopic pregnancy and it was almost equal to each other. Therefore, patients undergoing sterilization must be counselled about chances of failure; even though it is a permanent method, and to consult immediately if missed period else at a later stage they may go in for rupture ectopic leading to high maternal morbidity and mortality

A comparative study of PPIUCD acceptance between primiparaous and multiparaous women in a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu

Background: Postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (PPIUCD) is a postpartum family planning method which provides spacing to the next pregnancy and also it helps to avoid unwanted / unintended pregnancy during postpartum period. Our aim is to study the willingness and PPIUCD acceptance between primiparaous and multiparaous women and compare them as a factor of route of insertion (vaginal versus caesarean).Methods: 1060 vaginal and caesarean deliveries conducted over a period of three months and 676 PPUCD insertions was done among the deliveries in a tertiary care hospital. A comparative cross-sectional study was done on the acceptance of PPIUCD by postpartum mothers between primiparous and multipararous women among the deliveries for the study period.Results: The proportion of willingness for PPIUCD was 68.8% among the postpartum mothers. The percentage of acceptance of PPIUCD was 73.8% and 51.4% in respect of primiparous and multiparous postpartum mothers. The route of PPIUCD insertion was more in caesarean deliveries (34.1%) than in vaginal deliveries (29.7%) in the total deliveries. The PPIUCD insertion in primiparous women was effective and statistically significant at p-value is <0.05.Conclusions: PPIUCD is a strong weapon in the family planning and should be encouraged in both vaginal and caesarean deliveries. The acceptability of PPIUCD by postpartum mothers was more in primiparous than in multiparous women

Studies on the Energy Band Discontinuities in SnS/ZnMgO Thin Film Heterojunction

AbstractTin sulfide (SnS), with a direct energy band gap of 1.3eV and high absorption coefficient >104cm-1 is a promising candidate for application as an absorber material for solar cell fabrication. Although several research groups have fabricated SnS-related solar cells, the reported efficiencies were low (< 3.0%). One of the reasons for this low efficiency is the mismatch at the band edges in the heterojunction. In the present work, SnS films have been synthesized by sulfurization of Sn layers deposited by evaporation and RF sputtering onto SnO2 coated glass. The structural properties of the layers were discussed. All RF sputtered Zn0.8Mg0.2O (ZMO) and ZnO:Ga were coated on SnS as buffer and window layers respectively. The band offsets at the SnO2/SnS and ZMO/SnS heterojunctions were evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The conduction band (ΔEc) and valence band (ΔEv) discontinuities were determined as approximately 1.0eV and 3.5eV for SnO2/SnS and 0.4eV and 1.7eV for ZMO/SnS junction. The related energy band diagram was constructed and the results discussed

A comparative single dose study of oral acetaminophen 650 mg to its standard 500 mg dose in adult pyrexia patients in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Acetaminophen commonly called as paracetamol is the most used ‘over-the-counter’ analgesic for headache, musculoskeletal pain, dysmenorrhoea etc. It is the best drug to be used as antipyretic for fever due to any cause and safest to be prescribed in all age groups. Antipyretic dose of acetaminophen is 325 to 650 mg; 3 to 4 times a day and is available in the strength of 650 mg and 500 mg tablets. This study was conducted to analyse the antipyretic efficacy and safety profile of two different doses of acetaminophen in patients with low grade fever.Methods: 300 hospitalised patients aged more than 18 years, in department of General Medicine, having low grade fever (38º to 39º C) were randomly allocated into two groups of 150 each, group A received 500 mg and group B received 650 mg of single oral dose of acetaminophen tablets. Oral temperature was measured before dosing, 30 minutes after dosing, one hour, two hourlies thereafter for 6 hours after the dose. Safety was assessed by monitoring for adverse effects during the study and 24 hours after administration of the assigned drug.Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in temperature in group B patients from baseline 39.06±0.87º C to 37.02±0.89º C at the end of 6th hour as compared with 39.18±0.80º C to 38.03±0.77º C in Group A patients (p=0.031).Conclusions: Our study concluded that acetaminophen in a dose of 650 mg is highly efficacious antipyretic drug compared to acetaminophen 500 mg with no adverse effects

A Comparative study to assess the effectiveness and safety of cilnidipine versus amlodipine in patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension: insights from a single centre prospective observational study

Background: Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are proposed to play a pivotal role for the management and control of hypertension. Dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blockers (CCBs) like Amlodipine are frequently used because for their strong antihypertensive and minimal adverse side effects. However, it is commonly associated with the causation of pedal edema among the patients. Cilnidipine, which is a novel new generation calcium channel blocker, is presumed to cause lesser pedal edema with a satisfactory clinical control of hypertension along with negligible side effects. This study was carried out to compare clinical effectiveness and safety profile between Amlodipine and Cilnidipine.Methods: A prospective, randomized, open label study of 12 weeks’ duration was conducted amongst 60 patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension. 30 patients of one group received Tab. Amlodipine 5 mg and 30 patients of same age groups received Tab. Cilnidipine 10mg.Results: There was a highly statistically significant decrease in the level of blood pressure in the Cilnidipine group compared to the Amlodipine group mainly at day 90 (P<0.001). Cilnidipine treated group had a fall in blood pressure of 23 ± 8 mmHg and the Amlodipine group had a decrease in the blood pressure of 12±7mmHg. Additionally, there was also significant reduction in pulse rate in the cilnidipine group. Only 4 patients in the Cilnidipine group developed ankle edema which completely disappeared at the end of 12 weeks of therapy compared to 9 patients in the Amlodipine group which persistently worsened at the completion of the study.Conclusions: Our study concluded that cilnidipine was a well-tolerated anti-hypertensive drug amongst patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension and associated with minor adverse effects