Study of pulmonary function tests in patients with hypothyroidism

BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a relatively common disease worldwide. It is defined as a clinical state resulting from insufficient secretion of thyroid hormone from thyroid gland due to some structural and/or functional impairment of thyroid hormone production. Hypothyroidism affects all organ systems. Respiratory system like any other organ system is affected by Hypothyroidism though respiratory manifestations are seldom the major complaints in hypothyroidism. The spectrum of disease involvement can range from mild dyspnea to more severe and life threatening respiratory failure. Lung volumes are usually normal but studies have shown findings suggestive of restrictive pattern of impairment. This has been attributed to decrease in both expiratory and inspiratory muscle strength, alveolar hypoventilation due to depression of hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilator drives and decrease in maximal breathing capacity in patients with Hypothyroidism. Difficulty in weaning hypothyroid patients from assisted ventilation is another associated complication. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim was to study clinical and investigative profile of patients with Hypothyroidism and to determine if there is any correlation between thyroid function with the pulmonary function among the study population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 50 cases admitted in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore was done in the period from July 2016 to June 2017. All patients will be subjected to Biochemical investigations such as Thyroid function tests-Serumtriiodothyronine (T3) Serumthyroxine (T4) and Serum Thyroid Stimulating hormone(TSH),Pulmonary Function tests such as Forced Vital capacity (FVC),Forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), Peak expiratory flow rate(PEFR), Forced expiratory flow (FEF)-(25%-75%). OBSERVATION: Hypothyroidism can have numerous effects on the respiratory system. Nevertheless, it does affect the respiratory system including respiratory muscle weakness, alveolar hypoventilation due to decreased hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilator drives, upper airway obstruction, central and obstructive sleep apnoea and even pleural effusion. Lung volumes are usually normal or mildly reduced, but maximal breathing capacity and diffusing capacity are usually reduced. FVC & FEV1 Values were found to be lower in hypothyroids. But it was significant only for FVC. The FEV1/FVC value is significantly increased among hypothyroid patients. The degree and duration of thyroid disorders lead to reduced ventilator lung function in patients with hypothyroidism. There is a significant difference in the lung functions between those subjects not on treatment and those on thyroid hormone replacement therapy. The decrease in spirometric measurements in hypothyroidism can be corrected by hormone replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: The presence of impaired pulmonary function tests in hypothyroidism has been already demonstrated in various studies. There is significant reduction in the dynamic lung functions of hypothyroid patients. Respiratory system can be affected in hypothyroidism. Simple spirometry can be considered as a means for evaluation of pulmonary function tests in these patients

The first sighting of Longman’s beaked whale, Indopacetus pacificus in the southern Bay of Bengal

Information on at-sea sightings of beaked wholes are rare from the Indian and Sri-Lankan waters because of the relative rarity of vessels working in deep oceans where these species are encountered. A recent survey onboard FORV ‘Sagar Sampada’ brought out the first confirmed sighting of live animals of Longman’s beaked whole. Indopacetus pacificus from the southern Bay of Bengal. The details of the sighting, illustrated with photographs are presented in this note

Integrating IoT and Novel Approaches to Enhance Electromagnetic Image Quality using Modern Anisotropic Diffusion and Speckle Noise Reduction Techniques

Electromagnetic imaging is becoming more important in many sectors, and this requires high-quality pictures for reliable analysis. This study makes use of the complementary relationship between IoT and current image processing methods to improve the quality of electromagnetic images. The research presents a new framework for connecting Internet of Things sensors to imaging equipment, allowing for instantaneous input and adjustment. At the same time, the suggested system makes use of sophisticated anisotropic diffusion algorithms to bring out key details and hide noise in electromagnetic pictures. In addition, a cutting-edge technique for reducing speckle noise is used to combat this persistent issue in electromagnetic imaging. The effectiveness of the suggested system was determined via a comparison to standard imaging techniques. There was a noticeable improvement in visual sharpness, contrast, and overall clarity without any loss of information, as shown by the results. Incorporating IoT sensors also facilitated faster calibration and real-time modifications, which opened up new possibilities for use in contexts with a high degree of variation. In fields where electromagnetic imaging plays a crucial role, such as medicine, remote sensing, and aerospace, the ramifications of this study are far-reaching. Our research demonstrates how the Internet of Things (IoT) and cutting-edge image processing have the potential to dramatically improve the functionality and versatility of electromagnetic imaging systems

Effect of drought on gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence of groundnut genotypes

Drought is one of the major threats to groundnut productivity, causing a greater loss than any other abiotic factor. Water stress conditions alter plant photosynthetic activity, impacting future growth and assimilating mobilization towards sink tissues. The purpose of this study was to investigate how drought impacts the photosynthesis of plants and its links to drought tolerance. The influence of reproductive stage drought on photosynthetic activity and chlorophyll fluorescence of groundnut is well studied. The experiment was conducted in Kharif 2019 (Jul-Sep), where recent series in groundnut genotypes (60 nos) sown under rainfed conditions and water stress was created by withholding irrigation for 20 days between 35-55 days after sowing in the field to simulate drought conditions. Imposition of water deficit stress reduced PS II efficiency, which significantly altered the photosynthetic rate in the leaf. Observation of gas exchange parameters viz., photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate after 20 days of stress imposition revealed that of all 60 genotypes, 20 genotypes (VG 17008, VG 17046VG 18005, VG 18102, VG 18077, VG 19572, VG 19709, VG 18111, VG19561, VG19576, VG 19620, VG 19681, VG 19688, etc.,) had better Photosynthetic rate, Stomatal conductance. Similarly, PS II efficiency analyzed through fluorescence meter revealed that among the 60 and all the genotypes given above recorded higher value in Fv/Fm. Results obtained from Cluster analysis and PCA confirmed that photosynthetic rate and Fv/Fm is useful parameter in screening adapted cultivars under drought stress. These findings lay the groundwork for a future study to decipher the molecular pathways underpinning groundnut drought resistance

A rare landing of a large sawfish at Thikkodi, Calicut.

Sawfishes belonging to the family Rajidae usually occur in deeper waters beyond 80m depth. They are irregularly distributed along the Indian coast. The fishery for this species is not fully established. In India they are generally caught in hook & line from a depth of 80 to 150m

Characterization of 10-hydroxygeraniol dehydrogenase from Catharanthus roseus reveals cascaded enzymatic activity in iridoid biosynthesis

Catharanthus roseus [L.] is a major source of the monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs), which are of significant interest due to their therapeutic value. These molecules are formed through an intermediate, cis-trans-nepetalactol, a cyclized product of 10-oxogeranial. One of the key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of MIAs is an NAD(P)+ dependent oxidoreductase system, 10-hydroxygeraniol dehydrogenase (Cr10HGO), which catalyses the formation of 10-oxogeranial from 10-hydroxygeraniol via 10-oxogeraniol or 10-hydroxygeranial. This work describes the cloning and functional characterization of Cr10HGO from C. roseus and its role in the iridoid biosynthesis. Substrate specificity studies indicated that, Cr10HGO has good activity on substrates such as 10-hydroxygeraniol, 10-oxogeraniol or 10-hydroxygeranial over monohydroxy linear terpene derivatives. Further it was observed that incubation of 10-hydroxygeraniol with Cr10HGO and iridoid synthase (CrIDS) in the presence of NADP+ yielded a major metabolite, which was characterized as (1R, 4aS, 7S, 7aR)-nepetalactol by comparing its retention time, mass fragmentation pattern and co-injection studies with that of the synthesized compound. These results indicate that there is concerted activity of Cr10HGO with iridoid synthase in the formation of (1R, 4aS, 7S, 7aR)-nepetalactol, an important intermediate in iridoid biosynthesis

New electroactive macromonomers and multi-responsive PEDOT graft copolymers

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxithiophene) (PEDOT) is the conducting polymer with the biggest prospects in the field of organic electronics due to its high electrical conductivity and transparency as thin films.Marie Curie IF BIKE Project No. 74286

Gas porosity defect – what it means and how to respond

The foundries are facing problem-related to the selection of the parameter’s value for minimum rejection and maximum productivity. The furan no-bake binders system guaranteed dimensional stability and a comparative good surface finish of the casting. Based on past data in the industry, it is found that gas porosity defect is one of the highest. The phenomenon of the formation of the bubble in the fissures of the mould-metal interface, and later on trapping during the solidification leads to gas porosity. The current research work is focused on the minimization of the defect by the selection of the optimum range of input variables. Based on rigorous literature survey and industrial expert’s opinion, it is found that the parameters like grain fineness number (GFN) of the sand, loss on ignition (LoI) of the used sand, the sand temperature at the mixing time, potential of hydrogen (pH) are important parameters for gas porosity defect in the casting.Design-Expert software and particularly response surface methodology (RSM) and sequential approach using the face-centered central composite design is used for the experiments. The results show that a quadratic model with the removal of some insignificant term is a comparatively best fit for gas porosity defects. After analysis, various favorable levels of different parameters are obtained. The research work is based on realistic problems of the foundries and based on the experimental work. Thus, the provided solution is very much useful for foundries to reduce the rejection, particularly for furan no-bake with furfuryl alcohol as resin and sulphonic acid as catalyst. The research problem addressed in the paper is a genuine problem of the foundries and the sole work is based on experimental evidence

Note on a bramble shark landed at Calicut.

Bramble sharks belong to the family Echinorhinidae. Two species of bramble sharks, Echinorhinus brucus (Bonnaterre, 1788) and E. cookie (Pitschman, 1928) are known to occur in the Indian seas. They are generally found at a depth of 450-900 m and rarely seen in shallow waters. Bramble sharks have discontinuous distribution on shelves and slopes of cold-temperate and tropical waters