NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN CHILDREN (1 – 5 YRS) – A RURAL STUDY

Research question: What is the prevalence of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in 1 – 5 yrs of age and factors associated with it. Objective: 1. To assess prevalence of protein energy malnutrition in children 1 – 5 yrs of age. 2. To identify the socio-economic and cultural factor associated with protein energy malnutrition Setting: Rural Health Training Centre, Jawan, Department of Community Medicine, J N Medical College, Aligarh. Study design: Cross-sectional study Study variable: Nutritional status, sex, family size, caste, social class, literacy status of parents. Statistical analysis: Chi-square (÷²) test of significance Result: Overall prevalence of PEM was 56.4% in study population, with higher prevalence in female (58.6%) as compared to males (54.2%). Significant relationship was seen between PEM and sex, social class, caste, literacy status of parents and mother

Alleviation of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia by Phyllanthus virgatus forst extract and its partially purified fraction in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

Since, we previously demonstrated that sequentially extracted methanolic fraction showed marked antioxidant and antidiabetic property in vitro, the present study was design to evaluate the beneficial effects of Phyllanthus virgatus methanolic extract and its partially purified fraction on hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. The plant extract was subjected to repeated thin layer chromatographic fractionation followed by GC-MS analysis of active fraction. TLC data illustrated the presence of six prominent bands and the prelimnary screening of these bands against α-amylase inhibitory activity showed that the band with Rf value 0.514 has marked inhibitory property (IC50, 48 μg/ml). The diabetic rats were treated for four weeks with methanolic extract of P. virgatus (50 and 10mg/rat/day), partially isolated active fraction (0.5 and 0.1 mg/rat/day) and glibenclamide (0.1 mg/rat/day). The level of fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and insulin were significantly alleviated in plant extract and partially purified fraction treated group after 28 days of administration. Moreover, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were also markedly ameliorated in the entire treatment group, with a maximum restoration observed in group treated with partially purified fraction (0.5 mg/rat/day). The results demonstrate a strong anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic impact of plant extract and its partially purified fraction coupled with their potent antioxidative property, which can provide additional benefits in the inhibition of oxidative stress and hence in the prevention and treatment of diabetes as well as diabetes linked hyperlipidemia

Targeted Genome Editing for Cotton Improvement

Conventional tools induce mutations randomly throughout the cotton genome—making breeding difficult and challenging. During the last decade, progress has been made to edit the gene of interest in a very precise manner. Targeted genome engineering with engineered nucleases (ENs) specifically zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) RNA-guided nucleases (e.g., Cas9) has been described as a “game-changing technology” for diverse fields as human genetics and plant biotechnology. In eukaryotic systems, ENs create double-strand breaks (DSBs) at the targeted DNA sequence which are repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed recombination (HDR) mechanisms. ENs have been used successfully for targeted mutagenesis, gene knockout, and multisite genome editing (GenEd) in model plants and crop plants such as cotton, rice, and wheat. Recently, cotton genome has also been edited for targeted mutagenesis through CRISPR/Cas for improved lateral root formation. In addition, an efficient and fast method has been developed to evaluate guide RNAs transiently in cotton. The targeted disruption of undesirable genes or metabolic pathway can be achieved to increase quality of cotton. Undesirable metabolites like gossypol in cottonseed can be targeted efficiently using ENs for seed-specific low-gossypol cotton. Moreover, ENs are also helpful in gene stacking for herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance

Comprehensive Assessment of Economic, Productive, Phenotypic, and Morphometric Traits in Azikheli Buffalo Breed of Northern Pakistan

The study was conducted to illuminate the phenotypic, morphometric, and productive characteristics of the Azikheli buffalo breed. One thousand two hundred pure Azikheli buffaloes (male: female) were randomly selected from the main hub of the Azikheli buffalo breed in Swat (Azikhel). The data were analyzed for comparison and frequency distribution. Phenotypic characteristic of the female buffalo shows that more than 73 % of the body color was golden yellowish. In contrast, in males, this value was 83 %, followed by white-albino and grayish colors. The shape of horns were semi sickle and grayish in color. Morphometric parameters of the breed indicated that the average body weight of female and male buffaloes was 480 ± 20 kg and 422 ± 20 kg, body length 131.3 ± 2.5 cm vs. 121.4 ± 1.3, height at withers 127.48 ± 0.5 cm vs. 124.9 ± 0.4 cm and heart girth 185.8 ± 3 cm vs. 172.5 ± 2 cm. The male is slightly narrow, and more compact in body structure than the female. Average daily milk production was 7.80 liters with a range of 5-16 liters/day. The milk fats % was very high compared to other local buffalo breeds and ranges from 6.5 to 9.70 g/100 g and make the milk selling at a high rate in the swat local market ranges from 250-270 Pakistani rupees/liter compared to other buffalo milk (200-220 Pakistani rupees). It may be concluded that the Azikheli buffalo is an asset for the people of northern Pakistan, providing livelihood support through the sale of milk and animals. The farmer income may be further enhanced through good feeding practices

Design and analysis of evolutionary and swarm intelligence techniques for topology design of distributed local area networks

Topology design of distributed local area networks (DLANs) can be classified as an NP-hard problem. Intelligent algorithms, such as evolutionary and swarm intelligence techniques, are candidate approaches to address this problem and to produce desirable solutions. DLAN topology design consists of several conflicting objectives such as minimization of cost, minimization of network delay, minimization of the number of hops between two nodes, and maximization of reliability. It is possible to combine these objectives in a single-objective function, provided that the trade-offs among these objectives are adhered to. This thesis proposes a strategy and a new aggregation operator based on fuzzy logic to combine the four objectives in a single-objective function. The thesis also investigates the use of a number of evolutionary algorithms such as stochastic evolution, simulated evolution, and simulated annealing. A number of hybrid variants of the above algorithms are also proposed. Furthermore, the applicability of swarm intelligence techniques such as ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization to topology design has been investigated. All proposed techniques have been evaluated empirically with respect to their algorithm parameters. Results suggest that simulated annealing produced the best results among all proposed algorithms. In addition, the hybrid variants of simulated annealing, simulated evolution, and stochastic evolution generated better results than their respective basic algorithms. Moreover, a comparison of ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization shows that the latter generated better results than the former.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Computer Scienceunrestricte

Fuzzy logic based multi-criteria wind turbine selection strategy : a case study of Qassim, Saudi Arabia

The emergence of wind energy as a potential alternative to traditional sources of fuel has prompted notable research in recent years. One primary factor contributing to efficient utilization of wind energy from a wind farm is the type of turbines used. However, selection of a specific wind turbine type is a difficult task due to several criteria involved in the selection process. Important criteria include turbine’s power rating, height of tower, energy output, rotor diameter, cut-in wind speed, and rated wind speed. The complexity of this selection process is further amplified by the presence of conflicts between the decision criteria. Therefore, a decision is desired that provides the best balance between all selection criteria. Considering the complexities involved in the decision-making process, this paper proposes a two-level decision turbine selection strategy based on fuzzy logic and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. More specifically, the fuzzy arithmetic mean operator is used in the decision process. The proposed approach is applied to wind data collected from the site of Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Results indicate that the proposed approach was effective in finding the optimal turbine from a set of 20 turbines of various capacities.Deanship of Research at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia, under project number IN141039.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/energiesam2017Computer Scienc

Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy Vs Milligan-Morgan Hemorrhoidectomy

Background: To compare Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy (HSH) with classical Milligan Morgan Hemorrhoidectomy (MMH) in terms of operation time and post-operative pain to establish effectiveness of this novel procedure.Methods: A total of 62 patients planned for excision hemorrhoidecotmy were randomly selected into HSH and MMH groups. Mean operation time was calculated during surgery and pain at time of first defecation was recorded on visual analog scale (VAS).Results: Mean VAS after surgery at time of first defecation was 4.32 (SD 0.909) in HSH group and 6.97 (SD 1.426) in MMH group (p value <0.000). Mean Operation time in HSH group was 18.13 (SD 3.956) minutes and that of MMH group was 22.90 (SD 4.901) minutes (P value <0.000).Conclusion: Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy is better than Milligan Morgan hemorrhoidectom