A comparative clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of Darvyadi Kashaya and Vidangadi Kashaya in Prameha vis-a-vis Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Prameha is a Mutratipravrutta Vyadhi which is characterized by Prabhuta Mutra and Avila Mutra. Prameha is considered as a Daruna Vyadhi as it involves Tridosha, affects Basti which is a Mahamarma, is Anushangi with many Upadrava. Kapha, Meda and Shareera Kleda play an important role in its manifestation. This disease has closer resemblance with Type II Diabetes mellitus. In Ayurveda classical texts, various formulations in the form of Kashaya, Ghritha, Asava and Arishta have been explained in the context of treatment of Prameha. Darvyadi Kashaya and Vidangadi Kashaya mentioned as Sarvaprameha Hara Yoga in Charaka Samhita and Yogaratnakara respectively are taken up for study in the management of Prameha vis-a-vis Type II Diabetes mellitus. Objective: To compare the efficacy of Darvyadi Kashaya and Vidangadi Kashaya in Prameha vis-`a-vis Type II Diabetes mellitus. Method: It was a comparative clinical study involving two groups, Group A and Group B, each consisting of 25 patients. For Group A, Darvyadi Kashaya was administered and for Group B, Vidangadi Kashaya was administered for 90 consecutive days.  Result: After completion of treatment, it was observed that glycemic control was considerable in both the groups. Darvyadi Kashaya showed slightly better results in Karapada Daha and Prabhuta Mutra at night. In fresh cases, significant glycemic control was observed compared to treated cases in both the groups. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the results that both Darvyadi Kashaya and Vidangadi Kashaya are equally effective in management of Prameha vis-a-vis Type II Diabetes mellitus

Eosinophilia as Initial Presentation of Occult Malignancy

Eosinophilia is not an uncommon finding on a routine complete blood count (CBC) during a primary care visit. The differential diagnosis is varied including allergic/atopic disease, drug reaction, infection, inflammatory conditions, and malignancy. An 80-year-old male was incidentally found to have leukocytosis on routine labs. White blood cell (WBC) was 27.5 K/ul with eosinophilia 4.3 K/ul (normal range 0-0.6 Kul) and Hemoglobin/Platelet counts were normal. Patient was asymptomatic. Denied history of medication change or allergy. Chest X-Ray (CXR) followed by Computed tomography (CT) showed 5 cm pulmonary mass with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Patient developed progressively enlarging left neck mass, hoarseness, weight loss and decreased appetite in the next 3 weeks. WBC increased steeply to 65 K/ul with eosinophil count - 18.5 K/ul. CT neck revealed a large heterogeneous mass of the thyroid extending to the trachea, esophagus, and mediastinum. Patient decided not to proceed with further diagnostic workup and management given his age and comorbidities. Eosinophilia can be asymptomatic or present with nonspecific symptoms like cough, fatigue, skin rash or neuropathy. Eosinophilia work up starts with a comprehensive history detailing travel history, exposure to well water/spring water, analysis of past medical history to include asthma, atopy and especially medication history. Physical exam with attention to atopy/eczema and skin rash is vital. Work up may include a CBC, peripheral blood smear, stool test (for ova and parasite), IgE/tryptase levels and evaluation for occult malignancy (CXR is an ideal first step). Further testing with Bone marrow biopsy and CT scans is a consideration if a clear diagnosis is not achieved. Life-threatening complications of untreated hyper-eosinophilia include thromboembolism, endomyocardial fibrosis, cognitive disturbances, and respiratory failure. Incidence of eosinophilia is 1% in malignant tumors. Malignancy encompasses hematological cancers (acute leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, systemic mastocytosis, lymphoid neoplasms) and solid tumors (lung, thyroid, breast and gastrointestinal tract cancers). Eosinophilia suggests advanced disease in solid tumors and portends poor prognosis. Paraneoplastic eosinophilia has been reported in thyroid cancer (sclerosing muco-epidermoid) and lung cancer (squamous and adenocarcinoma). Pathophysiology of eosinophilia in solid tumors is related to bone marrow stimulation through cytokines (interleukin-5, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and interleukin-2). Primary eosinophilia responds to steroids and hydroxyurea. Treating the underlying malignancy is the cornerstone of paraneoplastic eosinophilia management. We present a case of extreme progressive eosinophilia secondary to a malignancy which would be of interest to the primary care clinician

Design and Implementation of C-Band Frequency Synthesizer Using LMX2592 IC

The paper presents the design scheme and implementation of a PLL-based-frequency synthesizer using LMX2592 IC. The frequency synthesizer have vital role in the development of up-converter and down-converter equipments. Therefore, on the RT-Duroid RO4350 substrate, a low phase noise and stable carrier generator is designed and implemented. Graphical User Interface (GUI) & LAN based programming is developed to easily change the synthesizer frequency. The control system analysis using root locus and bode plot is presented for system stability. The experimental results representing the performance parameters, like frequency range, frequency step size, output power, phase noise, carrier stability, harmonics, and spurious, etc., are also presented in the paper. The analysis of spurious and phase noise performance at near integer boundary conditions are done by changing loop bandwidth and phase margin.&nbsp

Fire behaviour of insulation panels commonly used in high-rise buildings

The energy efficiency of buildings drives the replacement of traditional construction materials with lightweight insulating materials. However, energy-efficient but combustible insulation might contribute to the building’s fire load. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the reaction-to-fire properties of various insulating materials to provide a better understanding of designing a fire-safe structure. In this study, reaction-to-fire tests were carried out to assess the fire behaviour of lightweight polystyrene insulating panels commonly employed in high-rise buildings. The flammability characteristics of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) were determined using a cone calorimeter under two distinct external irradiance regimes, 35 kW/m2 and 50 kW/m2, to approximate small to medium fire exposure situations. To investigate the effect of a fire-rated (FR) foil layer on a sandwich panel, three distinct test configurations were used: (i) sample without FR layer (standard sample), (ii) sample with FR layer (FR foil), and (iii) damaged layer (foil and vent) for EPS. Except for the smoke toxicity index (STI), the overall fire performance of EPS is superior to that of XPS. The findings of this study are useful in analysing fire performance and fire safety design for lightweight insulation panels

A Jatropha biomass as renewable materials for biocomposites and its applications.

This review deals with the study of Jatropha biomass as renewable materials for biocomposites and its applications. Jatropha curcas is a multipurpose plant with many attributes and considerable potential. Jatropha plant is cultivated worldwide but it has specific cultivation area in Central and South America, Africa, and South Asia. The Jatropha plant produces many useful products, especially the seed from which oil can be extracted. Extracted oil has similar properties to palm oil and possible to obtain many products after processing. As biomass, Jatropha plant can used as a reinforcement in biocomposite development. Jatropha contain high amount of carbon especially in seed/husk, fruit shell and seed cake and can be used as filler in composite fabrication in the form of carbon black and activated carbon.In this review, we will discuss the distribution of Jatropha around the globe, chemical composition of various parts and extracts of Jatropha and their mechanical and physical properties. We will also cover the use of Jatropha biomass in various technical and biocomposite applications. With the development of green technology, Jatropha latex can be reduced to nanoparticle size. The chemical and physical properties of Jatropha contribute to its applications in food and non-food Products

Nanobioceramic composites: a study of mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties

The aim of this study was to explore the incorporation of biomass carbon nanofillers (CNF) into advanced ceramic. Biomass from bamboo, bagasse (remains of sugarcane after pressing), and oil palm ash was used as the predecessor for producing carbon black nanofillers. Furnace pyrolysis was carried out at 1000 °C and was followed by ball-mill processing to obtain carbon nanofillers in the range of 50 nm to 100 nm. CNFs were added to alumina in varying weight fractions and the resulting mixture was subjected to vacuum sintering at 1400 °C to produce nanobioceramic composites. The ceramic composites were characterized for mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties. A high-resolution Charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was used to study the fracture impact and the failure mechanism. An increase in the loading percentage of CNFs in the alumna decreased the specific gravity, vickers hardness (HV), and fracture toughness values of the composite materials. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity and the thermal stability of the ceramic composite increased as compared to the pristine alumina

Synthesis, structure elucidation and antibacterial screening of some novel 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives

1636-1651Anovel sequence of 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives has been synthesized with an endeavour to explore their consequence on in vitro growth of microbes causing the microbial contagion. In vitro antimicrobial activity has been performed against the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) which are Gram-negative (Gram-ve) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermis) which are Gram-positive (Gram+ve) by using disk diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) has been distinguished by employing the double dilution method. The result of percent inhibition area/µg of the compounds has been differentiated with the standard drug “Ciprofloxacin”. Several compounds portray excellent activity as compared to the standard drug Ciprofloxacin while some of them presented a considerable zone of inhibition. The evaluated compounds for cytotoxicity effects via Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line by MTT-assay and findings reveal that the experimental compounds display a viability of ≥80% at 100 µM. In molecular docking studies, the 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives demonstrate the ligandreceptor interaction with amino acids which exist on the active sites of the peptide deformylase and the 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives exhibit their antibacterial potential as peptide deformylase inhibitors

Synthesis, structure elucidation and antibacterial screening of some novel 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives

Anovel sequence of 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives has been synthesized with an endeavour to explore their consequence on in vitro growth of microbes causing the microbial contagion. In vitro antimicrobial activity has been performed against the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) which are Gram-negative (Gram-ve) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermis) which are Gram-positive (Gram+ve) by using disk diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) has been distinguished by employing the double dilution method. The result of percent inhibition area/µg of the compounds has been differentiated with the standard drug “Ciprofloxacin”. Several compounds portray excellent activity as compared to the standard drug Ciprofloxacin while some of them presented a considerable zone of inhibition. The evaluated compounds for cytotoxicity effects via Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line by MTT-assay and findings reveal that the experimental compounds display a viability of ≥80% at 100 µM. In molecular docking studies, the 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives demonstrate the ligand-receptor interaction with amino acids which exist on the active sites of the peptide deformylase and the 1,3,4-oxadiazoline derivatives exhibit their antibacterial potential as peptide deformylase inhibitors.