A randomized controlled trial to compare ramipril and sacubitril/valsartan in post-acute coronary syndrome patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction in terms of improvement in ejection fraction

Background: Ramipril and sacubitril/valsartan are used in the management of ACS patients with left ventricle systolic dysfunction. The objective of the study was to compare ramipril and sacubitril/valsartan in improving LVEF in post ACS patients with LVEF <40%. Methods: A randomized, prospective, open label, comparative study was carried out in department of pharmacology and cardiology at Dr. R. P. G. M. C. Kangra at Tanda, Himachal Pradesh. The study was carried for a period of one and a half year. Out of 80 patients, 38 patients were in ramipril group and 42 were in sacubitril/valsartan group. Data was presented as mean±SD, frequency and percentage. Student’s t test and chi square test were used and p value<0.05 was considered significant. Results: In both the groups, a statistically significant improvement was observed in terms of improvement in LVEF at 6th month when compared to baseline, however, at 6th month both the groups were comparable in terms of LVEF improvement with p value of 0.275. Conclusions: The study concluded that both the drugs have same efficacy in improving LVEF in post ACS patients at 6th month

Coordinated Static and Mobile Sensing for Environmental Monitoring

Distributed embedded sensor networks are now being successfully deployed in environmental monitoring of natural phenomena as well as for applications in commerce and physical security. While substantial progress in sensor network performance has appeared, new challenges have also emerged as these systems have been deployed in the natural environment. First, in order to achieve minimum sensing fidelity performance, the rapid spatiotemporal variation of environmental phenomena requires impractical deployment densities. The presence of obstacles in the environment introduces sensing uncertainty and degrades the performance of sensor fusion systems in particular for the many new applications of image sensing. The physical obstacles encountered by sensing may be circumvented by a new mobile sensing method or Networked Infomechanical Systems (NIMS). NIMS integrates distributed, embedded sensing and computing systems with infrastructure-supported mobility. NIMS now includes coordinated mobility methods that exploits adaptive articulation of sensor perspective and location as well as management of sensor population to provide the greatest certainty in sensor fusion results. The architecture, applications, and implementation of NIMS will be discussed here. In addition, results of environmentally-adaptive sampling, and direct measurement of sensing uncertainty will be described

A study of correlation of antinuclear antibody immunofluorescence patterns with immune profile using line immunoassay in a tertiary care centre of western Uttar Pradesh

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) such as systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis are systemic diseases which are often associated with a challenge in diagnosis. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are autoantibodies that are reactive with antigens in the nucleoplasm. The presence of ANA indicates the possibility of autoimmunity and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay on Hep-2 cells and primate liver is the standard blood test to detect ANA. Our aim of this study is to understand a definite association between ANA patterns and specific antibodies by line immunoassay in the serum of the patients. A total of 360 serum samples from patient attending in the OPD and IPD clinics of the C.S.S.H., Subharti Medical College, Meerut were processed by biochip method. The serum samples which were found positive were confirmed by line immunoassay. In our study 68/360 (18.9%) cases were found to be positive by IIF method in a 1:100 dilution. The positive cases were further confirmed by ANA Profile method. Out of 68 samples positive by ANA-IIF tests, 62 samples gave concordant result with line immunoassay. ANA by IIF method therefore may be used as a cost effective and rapid screening method for patients with criterion for autoimmune diseases in daily clinical practice. These correlations are useful for the diagnosis of a specific rheumatic disease

Comparative evaluation of shear bond strength of newer resin cement (RelyX ultimate and RelyX U200) to lithium disilicate and zirconia ceramics as influenced by thermocycling

Background/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the shear bond strength of high strength ceramics to cut dentine as influenced by different resin cement types after thermocycling. Materials and Methods: Shear bond strength testing was carried out for 56 sound, freshly extracted first permanent molars. Specimens were divided at random into 2 groups (n = 28) Lithium disilicate and Zirconia. Lithium disilicate and Zirconia specimens were further subdivided depending upon luting with Rely X ultimate cement bonded with single bond universal adhesive and Rely X U200 cement. Half of the specimens of each material luted with cements were subjected to thermocycling. Shear bond strength was evaluated using Universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. Results were compared and evaluated using t-test at a significance level of 0.05. The nature of bond failure was observed under a stereomicroscope for each sample. Results: The mean difference of Lithium disilicate test specimens bonded with Rely X ultimate cement bonded with single bond universal adhesive with and without thermocycling was found to be 42.95+/-17.41MPa and 120.62+/-56.46 MPa respectively. The mean difference of Zirconia test specimens with Rely X ultimate cement bonded with single bond universal adhesive, with and without thermocycling, was found to be 8.74+/-2.90 MPa and 164.28+/-43.78 MPa respectively. The mean difference of Lithium disilicate test specimens bonded with Rely X U200 with and without thermocycling was found to be 2.36+/-0.63 MPa and 36.79.62+/-17.21MPa respectively. The mean difference of Zirconia test specimens bonded with Rely X U200 with and without thermocycling was found to be 5.96+/-3.11MPa and 122.46+/-23.01MPa respectively. Conclusion: Zirconia was found to have better shear bond strength than Lithium discilicate. The use of single bond universal adhesive improves bonding to newer higher strength ceramics such as Zirconia. Cohesive failure was predominant at cement dentine interface

Case report: laparoscopic management of a giant ovarian cyst

Ovarian cysts are of common occurrence in women but sometimes they acquire huge sizes and need to be differentiated meticulously from malignancy. Correct diagnosis can usually be made by clinical examination and use of diagnostic modalities like ultrasonography, CECT abdomen and biochemical markers. Management varies from case to case and includes both conservative and surgical modalities

MAS 3: Coordinated Actuation for Environment Observation

The resolution at which a sensor network observes the environment is a crucial parameter of performance since it governs the range of applications that are feasible using that network. A higher resolution, in most situations, enables more applications and improves the reliability of existing ones. For science applications for instance, a higher resolution may yield newer insights into the phenomenon than available from lower resolution data. In this poster we discuss a system architecture that uses controlled motion to provide virtual high-resolution in a network of cameras. Several orders of magnitude advantage in resolution is achieved. We discuss several system design choices in the context of our prototype camera network implementation that realizes the proposed architecture. Real world data is collected using our prototype system and used for the evaluation of our proposed methods

Sister mary joseph nodule as a clinical sign in a case of advanced gastric carcinoma

Sister Mary joseph nodule as a cutaneous marker of gastrointestinal and pelvic malignancies almost always implies advanced stage of malignancy with poor survival rates and palliative care as the only treatment modality in majority of cases

Cholecystocutaneous fistula: a rare presentation of cholelithiasis

Cholecystocutaneous fisutla as a complication of calculus cholecystitis is a rare clinical entity with less than 20 cases reported in literature in last 50 years .It is hardly seen these days due to early diagnosis and treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics and timely surgical intervention. We present such a case in a 40 yr old diabetic female

Investigating the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Materials Joined using Advanced Welding Techniques

The science of materials joining has witnessed the emergence of advanced welding techniques, which have become crucial operations. These techniques provide improved manipulation and regulation of the microstructure and mechanical characteristics of welded joints. The primary objective of this work is to examine the complex correlation between the microstructure and mechanical characteristics of materials that have undergone joining processes utilising sophisticated welding methods. The present research provides insight into the development of many microstructural characteristics, including grain growth, phase transitions, and defect creation, and their influence on the mechanical properties of welded joints. The mechanical characteristics being examined span a broad spectrum of factors, such as tensile strength, toughness, hardness, and fatigue resistance. The evaluation of these qualities is conducted by subjecting specimens obtained from the welded joints to a variety of mechanical tests. Through the correlation of microstructural traits with the observed mechanical behaviour, a more profound comprehension of the structure-property link in advanced welding is attained. In addition, this study investigates the impact of welding parameters, including welding speed, heat input, and shielding gas composition, on the microstructure and mechanical characteristics. The objective of this inquiry is to optimise the welding parameters in order to get the specified material characteristics in the welded connections, while simultaneously minimising the development of faults and ensuring the maintenance of structural integrity