DSDV, DYMO, OLSR: Link Duration and Path Stability

In this paper, we evaluate and compare the impact of link duration and path stability of routing protocols; Destination Sequence Distance vector (DSDV), Dynamic MANET On- Demand (DYMO) and Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) at different number of connections and node density. In order to improve the efficiency of selected protocols; we enhance DYMO and OLSR. Simulation and comparison of both default and enhanced routing protocols is carried out under the performance parameters; Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), Average End-to End Delay (AE2ED) and Normalized Routing Overhead (NRO). From the results, we observe that DYMO performs better than DSDV, MOD-OLSR and OLSR in terms of PDR, AE2ED, link duration and path stability at the cost of high value of NRO

On Link Availability Probability of Routing Protocols for Urban Scenario in VANETs

This paper presents the link availability probability. We evaluate and compare the link availability probability for routing protocols; Ad hoc On-demand Distance vector (AODV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and Fisheye State Routing (FSR) for different number of connections and node density. A novel contribution of this work is enhancement in existing parameters of routing protocols; AODV, DSR and FSR as MOD-AODV, MOD-DSR and MOD-FSR. From the results, we observe that MOD-DSR and DSR outperform MOD-AODV, AODV, MODOLSR and OLSR in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), Average End-to End Delay (AE2ED), link availability probability at the cost of high value of Normalized Routing Overhead (NRO).Comment: IEEE Conference on Open Systems (ICOS2012)", Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 201

Vasopressin for the management of catecholamine-resistant anaphylactic shock

Severe anaesthetic anaphylaxis is relatively uncommon. Oxygen, fluids and epinephrine are considered to be the mainstay for treatment of cardiovascular collapse and current guidelines for the management of anaphylaxis list only epinephrine as a vasopressor to use in the event of a cardiovascular collapse. Recently, evidence has emerged in the support of the use of vasopressin in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it is also recommended for the treatment of ventricular fibrillation, septic shock and post-cardiopulmonary bypass distribution shock. Currently, there is no algorithm or guideline for the management of anaphylaxis that include the use of vasopressin. We report a 24-year-old woman who developed severe anaphylactic shock at induction of anaesthesia while undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Circulation shock was refractory to epinephrine and high doses of pure alpha-agonist phenylephrine and norepinephrine. Single intravenous dose of two units of vasopressin re-established normal circulation and blood pressure

Trends in breeding oat for nutritional grain quality - An overview

Oat is an economically important crop and ranks sixth in world cereal production after maize, wheat, rice, barley and sorghum. It has been primarily utilized as livestock feed. However, the utilization of oats for human consumption has increased progressively, owing to its dietary and health benefits which relies mainly on the total dietary fibre and ?-glucan content, which significantly reduces postprandial blood glucose, insulin and blood lipids, especially serum total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Henceforth, enhancing Oat b-glucan content forhuman consumption is desirable. As it is a polygenic trait controlled mainly by genes with additive effects, phenotypic selection for greater b-glucan content would be effective for developing cultivars with elevated b-glucan contents. Oat b-glucan concentration has been found to be positively correlated with protein content and negatively correlated with oil content. ?-glucan yield (i.e., Product of grain yield and ?-glucan content) has been found to correlate positively with both grain yield (r = 0.92) and ?-glucan content (r = 0.66). Hence, this nutritional oat grain quality has been improved through selection for improved grain yield as they both increase simultaneously. Among wild accessions, A. atlantica genotypes have high ?-glucan content (2·2–11·3%) and have been used in breeding programmes for increasing the ?-glucan content of adapted elite local germplasm. Besides conventional breeding approaches, molecular breeding approaches have made possible to identify several molecular markers linked to ?-glucan rich regions across oat genome hence enabling mapping and dissection of ?-glucan rich genomic regions and accelerating the improvement in nutritional grain quality

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Peptic Ulcer Patients of Highly Endemic Kashmir Valley

Objective This study aimed to find out prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in peptic ulcer disease (PUD) which is highly endemic disease in Kashmir

(E)-1-(3-Nitro­phen­yl)ethanone (2-methyl­phen­yl)hydrazone

In the title Schiff base compound, C15H15N3O2, the azomethine double bond adopts an E configuration. The dihedral angle between the two aromatic rings is 13.4 (12)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are arranged in wave-like layers parallel to (100) without any classical hydrogen bonding

N-acetyl-B-D-glucosaminidase and inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass

OBJECTIVE: To determine the changes in activity of plasma N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, a marker for inflammation as well as renal, pulmonary and cardiac damage and proinflammatory cytokines in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and find out the relationship between their plasma levels with clinical outcome of patients. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from January to June 2003. PATIENTS AND METHODS: N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity and concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha of (TNFalpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL8) and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were monitored in plasma samples of 12 angina patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), before, immediately after and 5 days post-surgical procedure. Serum glucose concentrations were also monitored in those patients. Patient\u27s clinical condition was monitored during this time period. RESULTS: No significant increase was observed in plasma NAG activity (a marker of inflammation) or in plasma levels of TNFalpha, IL-6, IL-8 and GM-CSF immediately after surgery, indicating that cardiopulmonary bypass itself does not produce any significant amount of inflammation immediately after CABG. However, 5 days post surgery, there was a significant increase in plasma NAG activity (p=0.001), TNFalpha (p=0.047) and GM-CSF (p=0.045). There was no relationship between plasma NAG activity and clinical outcome because various parameters of renal, cardiac and pulmonary functions, though slightly affected, remained within the normal limits. CONCLUSION: Increased levels of NAG and TNFalpha did not affect clinical outcome. However, data suggest that NAG can be a potential marker for inflammation and end organ damage following CABG. An increase in GM-CSF on day 5 following CABG indicates enhanced body\u27s defense mechanism against infection

Prevalence of Self-Medication of Psychoactive Stimulants and Antidepressants among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Twelve Pakistani Cities

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students of Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey on self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students was conducted with a structured and validated questionnaire distributed to a total of 2981 final year undergraduate pharmacy students in 12 major Pakistani cities (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Dera Ismail Khan, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar) of Pakistan. Out of this, 2516 (718 male and 1798 female) students completed and returned the questionnaire.Results: Prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants was 1.31 (1.13 – 1.75 for 95% CI) and antidepressants was 8.34 (8.03 – 8.85 for 95% CI). A majority of the students (63 %) identified academic competition as a driving force for indulging in self-medication of psychoactive stimulants while nearly all the students (96 %)admitted using antidepressants to obtain relief from the pressure of studies (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Pakistani pharmacy students, despite being aware of the hazards of psychoactive stimulants, indulge in self-medication. Prevalence of self-medication with antidepressants is very high among the students due to the pressure of studies. Primarily, academic competition is the major driving force for the use of psychoactive stimulants.Keywords: Self-medication, Psychoactive stimulants, Antidepressants, Pharmacy students, Academicpressur

Effect of &#946-Glucuronidase on Extraction Efficiency of Silymarin from Human Plasma Samples Using Validated HPLC-UV Analysis

Purpose: To investigate the effect of β-glucuronidase on the extraction efficiency of silymarin (mainly as silybin) from spiked human plasma using a sensitive and reproducible high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.Methods: The importance of β-glucuronidase was evaluated by comparing the extraction efficiency of silymarin in β-glucuronidase-treated and untreated plasma samples. Isocratic HPLC with simple UV detection (288 nm) was applied to analyze the major silymarin components using Thermo-Electron C18 column (200 mm, 4.6 mm I.D., 5μm particle size). The mobile phase, consisting of methanol and 20 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (50:50 v/v pH 2.8), was pumped at 1 ml/min.Results: The mean extraction efficiency was 98.97 % (CV = 1.69 %) for treated and 40.88 % (CV = 2.77 %) for untreated plasma samples, compared with nominal concentrations.Conclusion: The studied method showed 60 % reduced extraction efficiency of untreated samples compared to treated samples.Keywords: Silymarin, Silybin, Extraction Efficiency, β-glucuronidase, HPL