Impact of dietary changes on hepatic homocysteine metabolism in young broilers

Information regarding the impact of sulfur amino acids (SAA) on hepatic homocysteine (Hcy) flux through the various metabolic pathways competing for Hcy in young broilers is lacking. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of varying levels of dietary methionine (Met), choline, and betaine on hepatic Hcy flux in young broiler chickens. A standard starter basal diet was fed to chicks until 8 d of age; 12 experimental diets were given from 8-22 d. The experimental basal diet contained deficient levels of Met and cysteine (Cys); supplemental Met (0, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.24%) was added to the basal diet in combination with isomethyl levels of choline (0 or 0.25%) or betaine (0 or 0.28%). The 12 dietary treatments were replicated with three pens containing five chicks each (15 birds per treatment). Weight gain and feed efficiency increased (P \u3c 0.05) with Met addition and were maximized with the addition of 0.16% digestible Met. No significant interactions (P \u3e 0.05) with choline or betaine addition were noted for weight gain, feed intake, or feed efficiency, but numerical improvements for these variables were observed with the addition of choline and betaine to the Met-deficient basal diet. Analysis of liver tissue indicated that folate-dependent remethylation of Hcy predominated over betaine-dependent remethylation. Further, folate-dependent remethylation of Hcy appeared to be impacted by dietary choline and betaine levels, whereas betaine-dependent remethylation appeared to be more impacted by dietary SAA levels

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF APPLYING VARIOUS CUTTING EDGES ON WIPER MILLING INSERTS IN FACE MILLING AISI 1070 STEEL

In metal cutting industry, edge preparation on carbide inserts have a significant effect on the productivity of a machine. In this study, the effect of various cutting edge preparations on wiper facet which influences various force components and surface finish in the rough milling operation of AISI 1070 steel were experimentally investigated. Tungsten Carbide inserts with three distinct edge preparations and AISI 1070 steel blocks were used. Three-factor (Cutting speed, Feed and Geometry), three-level full factorial design experiments were conducted under dry conditions. During the rough milling operation, three components of forces and surface finish of the machined surface were measured. This study shows that the effect of various edge geometries is more significant on surface finish and has very little impact on the force components

Serum Cortisol Level as a Predictor of In-Hospital Mortality in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Intervention for ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Introduction: Various laboratory markers have been proposed to assess prognosis in myocardial infarction. Serum cortisol is one such laboratory marker. There are only few studies done in the recent past which prove that cortisol is a prognostic marker in STEMI.Methods: We studied a total of 168 patients who presented with STEMI and underwent primary percutaneous intervention (PPCI) within 12 hours of symptom onset between April 2016 and November 2016.Results: The average age of study population was 61 ± 0.12 years. Males were predominant (n = 132, 78.57%). 155 patients survived, whereas 13 patients died in the hospital. Mean syntax score was 16.65 ±5. 33 among patients who died, whereas it was 13.11 ± 5.62 among survivors (P = 0.03). Mean cortisol was significantly higher among the patients who died (46.13 ± 14.61 mcg/dl) than the survivors (31.16 ± 13.16 mcg/dl) (P = 0.003). The ROC AUC for in-hospital mortality was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.645–0.897). An optimal cut-point identified from the ROC curve was a random serum cortisol concentration of 33.66 mcg/dl, with corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 69.2 % and 64 %, respectively. At a cut-point of 29.55 mcg/dl, sensitivity and specificity were 84.6 and 50 %, respectively.Conclusion: This study showed that serum cortisol level is a strong predictor of mortality in patients undergoing PPCI for STEMI. Levels more than 33.66 mcg/dl can predict mortality with a sensitivity of almost 70 percent and specificity of 64 percent

Narrativising a Department of English

The Department of English in a country like India too often witnesses contestations of varied kinds. Debates range from Macaulay's prod to the madness of the method and beyond. Identity crisis - that of the department and that of its members - is one such problematic context. Sidestepping desires to sing notes of self-congratulation, this paper attempts to self-reflexively critique the values, aspirations, practices and its resultant consequences in the Department of English, Christ University, Bangalore. Such a critique will look at specific issues, concerns of, and about English Studies at Christ, based on three experience-enabled narratives. The first narrative aims at exploring 1. complexities of a fresh “pocopomo” (postcolonial-postmodern) English Studies teacher in such a reputed, metropolitan institution, 2. complexities of locating Cultural Studies within an English Studies framework in the institution, and 3. complexities of studentship in such a context. The personal is always treated with a sense of suspicion and accompanied by a supposition that it may not be authentic. Humanities - despite the growing disrespect it faces - is one of the last bastions where the personal is not looked downupon. However, when it comes to research, even Humanities expects the shedding of the experiential and the personal, assuming that critical rigour is likely to get compromised. As the authors of this article, it is our firm belief that listening to personal experience will open doors to unexplored critical insights. We are deeply aware of the dangerous terrain we are treading in and hence we have titled it as "narrativising...", signifying the subjective takes involved. Further, the idea of giving multiple accounts coming from different standpoints (that of a new faculty, a moderately experienced faculty and a student) is to highlight the plural nature of experiences and perspectives

Prevalence of Coronary Artery Disease and Its Risk Factors in Patients Undergoing Permanent Pacemaker Implantation

Introduction: Some pacemaker implanted patients have an atherosclerotic disease which promotes conduction system ischemia and conduction disturbances. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and its risk factors in patients undergoing permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI).Methods: This prospective, single-center hospital based study examined patients older than 40 years who required PPI. Presence of atherosclerotic risk factors and CAD was examined.Results: Of 258 patients undergoing PPI, CAD was present in 50 (19.37 %) patients. CAD was more common among middle age and elderly patients (P = 0.03). Patients older than or equal 76.5 years had specificity of 78.8% for an association with CAD. Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio: 1.042; 95% confidence interval: 1.009–1.075; P = 0.01) and diabetes (odds ratio: 3.437; 95% confidence interval: 1.618–7.303; P = 0.001) had a statistically significant association with CAD. Of 169 patients with involvement of the atrioventricular (AV) node, 28 (16.6 %) had associated left anterior descending artery (LAD) involvement with P = 0.01, suggesting an association between LAD disease and chronic degenerative changes in the AV node.Conclusion: CAD was present in 19.4% of patients undergoing PPI. Age and diabetes had a strong association with CAD. LAD stenosis was significantly more prevalent in AV nodal/ infra-hisian disease compared with sinus nodal disease