Gravity Table Sorting of Commodity Corn

Gravity tables are used in the seed industry to sort seed corn and other seeds for upgrading seed quality. Tests were conducted to determine if commodity corn could be sorted for quality by gravity table. Three commodity corn lots were sorted using an Oliver model 50 gravity table. Samples were drawn at three times from the feed and from four discharge fractions: heavy, heavy/medium, medium, and light. All samples were tested for test weight, breakage susceptibility, moisture, Chowdhury damage, starch, protein, oil, and density. Three measurements of physical properties (test weight, breakage susceptibility, and Chowdhury damage) showed many significant differences among fractions at a = 0.05. Quality of the heavy fractions was highest, and decreased through the lighter fractions with the light fractions having the poorest quality. There were few differences among sampling times. Chemical properties (protein, oil, starch) and moisture showed little difference among fractions at a = 0.05. Removal of the light fraction from commodity corn lots can result in lower BCFM levels in this corn at final destinations, overseas or domestic

Nanosilver: Potent antimicrobial agent and its biosynthesis

Silver ions and its salts are well known for their potent antimicrobial agent. These days, the nanosilver are widely used in a growing number of applications ranging from home disinfectants and medical devices to water purifier due to properties of silver at the nano level. Nanosilver has a large ratio of surface which dramatically increases the potential for silver ions to be accessed anywhere in body where larger silver particles cannot. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles has been reported using chemical and physical methods. This review describes a cost effective and ecofriendly approach for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Thus, in this review we focus on the role of microorganisms and plants in the synthesis of nanosilver and their potent application as antimicrobial agent.Keywords: Nanosilver, antimicrobial, disinfectant, nanoparticlesAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(4), pp. 546-554, 22 January, 201

High efficiency multi-junction solar cell design

Energy from the sun is the best option for electricity generation as it is abundantly available everywhere and sustainable source. Advance of Photovoltaic (PV) technology in recent years has made solar energy one of the practical alternative energy sources available in the energy market. In order to make the PV energy more affordable and cost effective, major focus of the research community and industry is improvement on power efficiency of PV systems. Early stage of solar panel manufacturing known as process technology plays a crucial role in achieving above limits. This paper presents a novel process technology for solar panel with 6 junctions

Role of blood transfusion in saving mothers

Background: Blood transfusion is recognised as one of the eight essential components of the comprehensive emergency obstetric care module which has been designed to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality rates after major obstetric hemorrhage and anemia.Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted between April1, 2016 to September 30, 2018 in department of obstetrics and gynecology, Government Medical College, Patiala. The MNM cases given transfusion were analysed in respect of number of antenatal visits, type of admission, distance of place of first referral unit from tertiary health care facility, amount of blood transfused, indications of blood transfusion, causes of haemorrhage and intervention performed.Results: During this period, there were 123 cases of MNM, 90 patients required blood transfusion and were considered in this study. Maximum number of cases (94.45%) were between 20-35 years of age. Majority of cases were primipara (52.22%). 47.77% cases were in 3rd trimester, 33.33% postnatal cases and 16.66% cases were in first trimester. 88.88% cases requiring transfusion belong to low socioeconomic status. There was no antenatal visit in 80% cases who required blood transfusion. 78.8% patients required more than 4packed red cell transfusions. Haemorrhage was the indication in 60% cases for blood transfusion and anaemia in 40% cases. Postpartum haemorrhage (28.4%) was most common indication for blood transfusion followed by ruptured ectopic pregnancy (27.77%), antepartum haemorrhage (11.11%), rupture uterus (7.4%), rectus sheath hematoma (5.55%), placenta accreta (5.55%) and inversion uterus (3.7%).  Surgical interventions were performed in 51 cases.Conclusions: Prevention and timely treatment of anaemia must receive attention by more active participation in term of antenatal check-ups. Skilled management of patients at the first referral units is advocated. There should be familiarity with the local protocol of relevant members of staff for management of massive hemorrhage. All major hemorrhages should be reviewed to ensure that there is no delay in provision of blood products

Maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital: a five-year review

Background: This study was aimed at analyzing the maternal mortality ratio over five years, the causes leading to maternal deaths in a tertiary care hospital and factors which are preventable.Methods: The records of maternal death from August 2010 to July 2015 (5 years) were collected and analyzed. Various factors like maternal age, parity, literacy, place of residence, antenatal registration, admission-death interval, mode of delivery and causes of deaths were reviewed.Results: The mean maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was 1039. The direct causes of maternal mortality were hemorrhage (22.4%), eclampsia (21.2%), sepsis (18.78%) and amniotic fluid embolism (8.48%). Indirect obstetric deaths were due to hepatitis (10.9%), anemia (3.6%), respiratory diseases (6.06%), heart diseases (3.03%), CNS disease (5.45%).  Most of the deaths (69.7%) occurred in age group 20 and30 years. 63.6% were multigravida and 85.4% were unbooked cases.Conclusions: Antenatal care, screening and management of high risk pregnancies are most important to prevent complications and maternal deaths by timely detection and intervention

Aggressive angiomyxoma of vagina: a rare entity

Aggressive angiomyxoma a soft tissue tumor arising in the pelvis and perineal regions of women in reproductive age group is a rare entity. It is slow growing locally aggressive myxoid mesenchymal tumor, with a marked tendency to local recurrence. Preoperative clinical diagnosis is usually difficult due to absence of diagnostic features as well as rarity of the disease. We describe a case of aggressive angiomyxoma of vagina in a 47-year-old para 4 woman with multiple fibromyoma (upto 22-week size of pregnant uterus) with 10*10 cms posterior vaginal cyst. Total abdominal hystrectomy with surgical excision of vaginal wall cyst done. A retrospective diagnosis-Aggressive Angiomyxoma of the vagina was made after histological confirmation. Surgical excision with wide margins and long term follow up remains treatment of choice

Ultrasonographic evaluation of antenatal umbilical cord coiling index (aUCI) in second trimester of gestation and pregnancy outcome

Background: To evaluate the role of antenatal umbilical cord coiling index (aUCI) obtained during routine second trimester ultrasound as a predictor of perinatal outcome.Methods: Fetal ultrasound of 100 pregnant women was done between 18-24 weeks of gestation. Antenatal UCI was calculated as a reciprocal value of the distance between a pair of coils. Patients were followed up till delivery for perinatal outcome. UCI was correlated with: (1) gestational age (2) mode of delivery, (3) presence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, (4) APGAR scores and (5) birth weight.Results: aUCI was categorized as hypocoiled, normocoiled or hypercoiled. Hypocoiled cord was associated with LBW (1%), preterm delivery (1%) while hypercoiled cord was associated with LBW (4%). No statistical difference was found for birth weight, gestational age, APGAR scores and MSAF between the groups with normal and abnormal aUCI.Conclusions: In present study, no association was found between abnormal aUCI with higher prevalence of interventional delivery, presence of MSAF, preterm and LBW. Therefore, more specific parameters need to be developed as promising prognostic marker for predicting adverse perinatal outcome and further studies are needed to test this hypothesis

Indigenous Lakadong turmeric of Meghalaya and its future prospects

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has long been used in traditional Indian medicine. India accounts for 80% of total global turmeric production. Lakadong turmeric gets its name from the tiny village of Lakadong, which is located in the foothills of the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya, India. It is known for having a high curcumin content of more than 7%, as opposed to 2 - 4% in regular varieties. The tribes of this region brought Lakadong turmeric from the forest and domesticated it for medicinal purposes centuries ago. Growth in local coal industries and a gradual decline in the market have had a significant impact on and reduced Lakadong turmeric production. To resurrect the industry, the Meghalaya government has embarked on a mission to increase production of Lakadong turmeric to 50,000 metric tons (MT) per year by 2023, up from 20,000 MT currently. However, most farmers in this region have abandoned Lakadong turmeric cultivation due to low returns. To ensure farmers’ livelihoods, policymakers and the government must address future production challenges and create a viable market for such commodities. This review paper discusses the traditional history of Lakadong cultivation and its current status, challenges, and prospects. The paper also discusses the agronomic, phytochemical, and medicinal properties of turmeric

The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Statistically Corrected Operative Risk Evaluation (AAA SCORE) for predicting mortality after open and endovascular interventions

BackgroundAccurate adjustment of surgical outcome data for risk is vital in an era of surgeon-level reporting. Current risk prediction models for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair are suboptimal. We aimed to develop a reliable risk model for in-hospital mortality after intervention for AAA, using rigorous contemporary statistical techniques to handle missing data.MethodsUsing data collected during a 15-month period in the United Kingdom National Vascular Database, we applied multiple imputation methodology together with stepwise model selection to generate preoperative and perioperative models of in-hospital mortality after AAA repair, using two thirds of the available data. Model performance was then assessed on the remaining third of the data by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and compared with existing risk prediction models. Model calibration was assessed by Hosmer-Lemeshow analysis.ResultsA total of 8088 AAA repair operations were recorded in the National Vascular Database during the study period, of which 5870 (72.6%) were elective procedures. Both preoperative and perioperative models showed excellent discrimination, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of .89 and .92, respectively. This was significantly better than any of the existing models (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for best comparator model, .84 and .88; P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). Discrimination remained excellent when only elective procedures were considered. There was no evidence of miscalibration by Hosmer-Lemeshow analysis.ConclusionsWe have developed accurate models to assess risk of in-hospital mortality after AAA repair. These models were carefully developed with rigorous statistical methodology and significantly outperform existing methods for both elective cases and overall AAA mortality. These models will be invaluable for both preoperative patient counseling and accurate risk adjustment of published outcome data