Atypical presentation of visceral leishmaniasis from non-endemic region

A case of atypical and acute presentation of visceral leishmaniasis from non-endemic region, characterised by exudative pleural effusion and hepatitis is reporte

Agricultural growth and structural changes in the Punjab economy: an input-output analysis

Agriculture Economic aspects India Punjab., Punjab (India) Economic conditions., Input-output analysis India Punjab.,

Fuzzy Logic Applications in Filtering and Fusion for Target Tracking

A fuzzy Kalman filter algorithm is developed for target tracking applications and itsperformance evaluated using several numerical examples. The approach is relatively novel. Acomparison with Kalman filter and an adaptive tuning algorithm is carried out. The applicabilityand usefulness of fuzzy logic in data fusion is also demonstrated. The performance of both theextended Kalman filter and fuzzy extended Kalman filter is evaluated using real data of amanoeuvering target and it is found that fuzzy extended Kalman filter shows better performanceas compared to extended Kalman filter

Impact of Supplemental Oxygen on Obstructive Sleep Apnea of Infants

Abstract: Treatment options may be limited for infants with obstructive sleep apnea when there is no surgically correctable upper airway lesion. We therefore evaluated, retrospectively, the efficacy of low-flow oxygen as a therapeutic option for infant obstructive sleep apnea. We reviewed the medical charts of 23 infants who had undergone a therapeutic trial of low-flow oxygen during polysomnography. Split-night polysomnography was used in 21/23 subjects while 2/23 had undergone two separate, full-night polysomnography sleep architecture and respiratory findings on the baseline polysomnogram segment that was obtained in room air were compared with the segment on low-flow oxygen (0.25–1 L/min). Wilcoxon signed rank or McNemar’s test were used as indicated for comparing apnea hypopnea index and measures of sleep architecture at baseline and with oxygen therapy. The mean (plus/minus SD) age of subjects was 4.8 (plus/minus 2.7) months, with 52% being males. The median apnea hypopnea index fell from a baseline of 18 (range 7–43) to 3 (range 1–19; p = 0.001) on oxygen. The baseline median obstructive/mixed apnea index decreased from 2 (range 1–16) to 1 during oxygen therapy (range 0–1; p = 0.003). Additionally, a significant decrease in central apnea index (median interquartile range (IQR) 1 (0–2) vs. 0 (0–1), p = 0.002) was noted. Sleep efficiency remained unaffected, while O2 saturation (SaO2) average and SaO2 nadir improved on oxygen. We were able to confirm the utility of low-flow oxygen in reducing central, obstructive, and mixed apneas and improving average oxygen saturation in infants with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Chronic Mountain Sickness-Phobrang Type

Clinical0 features of 27 cases of Chronic Mountain Sickness (CMS) from the Himalayas are reported. They are compared with 75 native highlanders (NH). All CMS patients were immigrants to high altitude. Mean duration of stay at high altitude was seven years. Mean values for haematocrit and haemoglobin were 80% and 23 G% respectively for the CMS group and 40% and 17.9 G% respectively for the native highlande group. Mean QRS axis in the former was +118 and in the latter +76. Incidence and quantum of protienuria were significantly higher in the CMS group. Cardiac catheteri -sation studies done in eight CMS cases showed elevated Pulmonary Artery (PA) pressures even after a mean of 14.2 days at sea level. The disease which has four diagnostic elements-hypoxemia and polycythemia, pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular enlargement and nephropathy with dense proteinuria-is a variant of 'Monge's Disease' and a name CMS Phobrang Type is suggested, along with a new approach to clinical classification which may help in diagnosis before cor pulmonale sets in. Limited therapeutic trials conducted at highaltitude seem to indicate that yogic deep breathing exercises, low-dose aspirin and diamox may be beneficial in the prevention and therapy of CMS Phobrang Type at high  altitude

What have we learned about primary liver transplantation under tacrolimus immunosuppression? - Long-term follow-up of the first 1000 patients

Objective: To summarize the long-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients, as well as to examine the factors that influence long-term morbidity and mortality rates. Background: Tacrolimus (FK506, Prograf) was introduced as primary immunosuppression for primary liver transplantation in 1989; many subsquent trials have verified the association of tacrolimus with decreased rates of acute rejection and steroid-resistant rejection after OLT. Cumulative experience with tacrolimus has also defined its short- and intermediate-term toxicity. Methods: One thousand consecutive patients undergoing primary OLT at a single center from August 1989 to December 1992, under tacrolimus immunosuppression, were followed until January 1999. Patients were categorized by age. Mean follow-up was 93.4 ± 11 months after OLT. Patient survival, graft survival (with corresponding causes of death and retransplantation), and rejection rates (and corresponding doses of immunosuppression) were examined as efficacy parameters. Hypertension, renal function, incidence of malignancies, incidence of diabetes, and other toxicities were examined as safety parameters. Results: Actual 6-year overall patient survival rate was 68.1% and graft survival rate was 62.5%, with significant differences in the patterns of survival among the different age groups. After the first post-OLT year, infection, recurrence of disease, de novo malignancies, and cardiovascular events were the main causes of graft loss and death during the long-term follow-up. Graft loss related to either acute or chronic rejection was rare. The rate of acute rejection beyond 2 years was approximately 3% per year, and most were steroid-responsive. Approximately 70% of the patients were receiving tacrolimus monotherapy beyond year 1; at the latest follow-up, 74.2% were maintained on tacrolimus alone. In 6.1% of the survivors, end- stage renal disease developed during the follow-up period, requiring either dialysis or kidney transplantation. Hyperkalemia and hypertension was observed in approximately one third of the patients. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (including patients who had diabetes before the transplant) was observed in 14% in year 1, dropping to 11% in year 7. In 82 patients, de novo malignancies developed; in 41 patients, lymphoproliferative disorders developed during the entire follow-up period. Conclusions: Long-term patient and graft survival rates are excellent under tacrolimus immunosuppression. Pediatric patients have a better long-term outcome than adults, in part because of the limited recurrence of the original disease, which was the most common cause of late graft loss (other than patient death, most commonly the result of late de novo malignancies and cardiovascular events). Graft loss from late rejection was rare

A New Method of Image Compression Using Irreducible Covers of Maximal Rectangles

In recent years there has been a tremendous spurt in research and activity in finding efficient compression techniques for image processing applications. Particularly when an image is structured over a non-rectangular region it is always advantageous to define a method of covering a region by minimal numbers of maximal rectangles. Towards this objective, we analyze the binary image compression problem using irreducible cover of maximal rectangles. We also give a bound on the minimum rectangular cover problem for image compression under certain conditions that previously have not been analyzed. It is demonstrated for a simply connected image that, the irreducible cover proposed here uses less than four times the number of the rectangles in a minimum cover. With n pixels in a square, the parallel algorithm of obtaining the irreducible cover presented in the paper uses (n/log n) concurrent-read-exclusive-write (CREW) processors in O(log n) time

In Vitro Propagation and Conservation of Inula Racemosa Hook. F. an Endangered Medicinal Plant of Temperate Origin

Inula racemosa is an endangered medicinal plant. It is commonly known as Pushkarmool, Pushkar and Manu. The great sage Charaka has characterized it as Hikka magrahana (stops hiccups) and Savasahara (helpful in asthma). Also, he has cited it as the best medicament for pleurisy along with cough and asthma (http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/charaka-samhita). Due to the fragile nature of its habitat and exploitation due to its commercial medicinal properties, the species are facing the onslaught of indiscriminate over-exploitation. So far, this plant has not got the required attention from researchers, hence, except for a few efforts, not much work has been done for its cultivation and conservation. Plant tissue culture offers an attractive and quick method for its multiplication and further conservation. In the present investigation, effective procedures for micropropagation and in vitro conservation by vitrification were developed. In vitro propagation using aseptically grown seedlings and in vitro conservation via vitrification were standardized. The in vitro conserved material could be retrieved and multiplied normally on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium fortified with 1.00 mg l-1BA (benzyl adenine) which has been recorded as the best performing medium for in vitro shoot multiplication. The conserved shoots showed normal in vitro propagation and after retrieval from vitrification, platelets were hardened and successfully established in the experimental fields under Nauni (Solan, HP) conditions at an elevation of around 1275 meters above mean sea level

X-Atlas: An Online Archive of Chandra's Stellar High Energy Transmission Gratings Observations

The high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy made possible by the 1999 deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory has revolutionized our understanding of stellar X-ray emission. Many puzzles remain, though, particularly regarding the mechanisms of X-ray emission from OB stars. Although numerous individual stars have been observed in high-resolution, realizing the full scientific potential of these observations will necessitate studying the high-resolution Chandra dataset as a whole. To facilitate the rapid comparison and characterization of stellar spectra, we have compiled a uniformly processed database of all stars observed with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG). This database, known as X-Atlas, is accessible through a web interface with searching, data retrieval, and interactive plotting capabilities. For each target, X-Atlas also features predictions of the low-resolution ACIS spectra convolved from the HETG data for comparison with stellar sources in archival ACIS images. Preliminary analyses of the hardness ratios, quantiles, and spectral fits derived from the predicted ACIS spectra reveal systematic differences between the high-mass and low-mass stars in the atlas and offer evidence for at least two distinct classes of high-mass stars. A high degree of X-ray variability is also seen in both high and low-mass stars, including Capella, long thought to exhibit minimal variability. X-Atlas contains over 130 observations of approximately 25 high-mass stars and 40 low-mass stars and will be updated as additional stellar HETG observations become public. The atlas has recently expanded to non-stellar point sources, and Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) observations are currently being added as well

Effect of salt on survival and P-solubilization potential of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms from salt affected soils

AbstractA total of 23 phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and 35 phosphate solubilizing fungi (PSF) were isolated from 19 samples of salt affected soils. The ability of 12 selected PSB and PSF to grow and solubilize tricalcium phosphate in the presence of different concentrations of NaCl was examined. Among 12 PSB, Aerococcus sp. strain PSBCRG1-1 recorded the highest (12.15) log viable cell count at 0.4M NaCl concentration after 7days after incubation (DAI) and the lowest log cell count (1.39) was recorded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PSBI3-1 at 2.0M NaCl concentration after 24h of incubation. Highest mycelial dry weight irrespective of NaCl concentrations was recorded by the Aspergillus terreus strain PSFCRG2-1 (0.567g). The percent Pi release, in general, was found to increase with increase in NaCl concentration up to 0.8M for bacterial solubilization and declined thereafter. At 15 DAI, strain Aerococcus sp. strain PSBCRG1-1 irrespective of NaCl concentrations showed the maximum P-solubilization (12.12%) which was significantly superior over all other isolates. The amount of Pi released in general among PSF was found to decrease with increase in NaCl concentration at all the incubation periods. Aspergillus sp. strain PSFNRH-2 (20.81%) recorded the maximum Pi release irrespective of the NaCl concentrations and was significantly superior over all other PSF at 7 DAI