Morpho-Anatomical Characterisation of the Rhizomes of Ten Species of Curcuma L. (Zingiberaceae) from south India

The morphological and anatomical characterisation of ten medicinally and economically important species of Curcuma L. from South India namely, C. aeruginosa (neela-kua), C. amada (manga-inchi), C. aromatica (kasturi-manjal), C. aurantiaca, C. caesia (kari-manjal), C. haritha (karpura-kua), C. longa (manjal), C. montana, C. zanthorrhiza (manja-kua) and C. zedoaria (chenthandan-kua) were studied and compared. Eventhough, all the species show similarity in their characters, striking differences were noticed with respect to morphological characters such as shape and size of mother rhizome and lateral branches, colour of the cut surface, aroma and taste of rhizomes etc. Differences were also observed in some anatomical characters such as nature of endodermoid layer, size and shape of starch grains, oil cells and curcumin cells, etc. Based on the distinct morpho-anatomical features, an artificial dichotomous key was proposed for taxonomic delimitation of the species with their rhizome

Clinical profile of patients attending the obstetric medicine clinic in a tertiary care centre in south india: a descriptive study

Setting This is an observational study conducted in the department of General Medicine at Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore over a period of 11 months. All pregnant patients attending the Obstetric Medicine clinic, who newly register or are referred, from September 2016 to July 2017, were enrolled. Design This is an observational study with a follow up of a historical cohort. The historical cohort consists of patients who attend the clinic from September 2016 to March 2017. The prospective cohort consists of patients who attend the clinic from April 2017 to July 2017. Objective To study the common reasons for referral to the Obstetric Medicine clinic To ascertain the frequency of common medical disorders in pregnancy To study maternal and fetal outcomes of patients referred to the Obstetric Medicine clinic To determine the correlation between age and frequency of medical disorders 2 Participants All pregnant patients who attend the Obstetric Medicine clinic are enrolled at their first visit. All patients below the age of 18 years as per hospital records were excluded. Postnatal patients who may also be referred to this clinic were excluded. Patients who refused an informed consent were excluded. Results In this study 445 patients attended the Obstetric Medicine clinic from September 2016 to July 2017. Out of which 52 were excluded. 393 patients were included in the analysis. 78 patients were yet to deliver at the end of the study period and 8 were lost to follow up. Hence 307 patient outcomes were available. The mean age of the population was 27±4.9 years. 49.4% were primigravida. Mean gestational age at delivery was 36±4.6 weeks. The mean birth weight was 2.8 ±0.5 kg. 57.3% delivered vaginally. 20% of patients delivered preterm and 25% were low birth weight. There were 16 abortions and 1 neonatal death. There were no maternal deaths. The most common reason for referral was for the evaluation of hypothyroidism (22.1%) followed by respiratory tract symptoms (20.4%), cardiac symptoms, control of blood pressure and blood sugar. The most common diagnosis made in the Obstetric Medicine clinic was hypothyroidism (25.4%), infections (17.5%) and chronic hypertension (13.4%). There was no correlation of age (≥35 years) and the common medical diseases in pregnancy. There was a significant correlation of chronic hypertension and preeclampsia with preterm birth (p <0.001), low birth weight (p- 0.002, <0.001) and other fetal complication (p- 0.012, <0.001). There was a significant association of family history of diabetes mellitus with gestational diabetes (p- 0.01) and family history of hypertension with chronic hypertension (p <0.001) and preeclampsia (p- 0.003). 3 Outcome: The most common reason for referral was for management of hypothyroidism. There was no correlation of age (≥35 years) with the common medical disorders. There was a significant correlation of chronic hypertension and preeclampsia with preterm birth, low birth weight and foetal complication. Conclusion This study illustrates the importance of an Obstetric Medicine referral clinic in helping manage the common medical illness and describes its impact on maternal and fetal outcome. Early diagnosis and targeted intervention can result in reducing the maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality

An empirical examination of the role of characteristics of the format, standard setting alliance and alliance partners in the market acceptance of formats

New product introductions rely on technologies that are often subject to strongly contested standards wars. In an attempt to ensure that the technical formats that their products are built upon, are the ones that gain widespread market acceptance and thereby emerge as industry standards, firms often engage in alliances to develop and/or market these technical formats. This research examines the relationships between the characteristics of standard setting alliances, those of the alliance partners, the technical formats and the market acceptance of the formats. In doing so, I seek to complement prior research by developing and empirically testing a theoretical framework of these relationships. While a few studies (Axelrod et al. 1995; Chiao, Lerner and Tirole 2007) have examined how firms form and organize standard setting alliances, the relationship between the characteristics of such alliances and their success (i.e., the market’s acceptance of the technical format supported by the alliance) is an under-researched subject. A format that is widely accepted by the market (adopted in more products and adopted by more firms) is in turn more likely to emerge as a standard. Using a unique data set of formats and standard setting alliances in the consumer electronics industry, assembled from multiple sources, I examine this link between standard setting alliances and format characteristics, and the market’s acceptance of the format. Results indicate that the relationship between the size of a standard setting alliance (number of partners in alliance) and the market acceptance of a format is inverted U-shaped. This suggests that a larger membership in the development alliance does not always imply that the alliance activities will lead to market acceptance of the format. I find that alliances with a greater proportion of generalists are shown to be capable of developing formats that find greater acceptance in the market. Marketing intensity in the years prior to forming the alliance is found to be important. The results also suggest that the broader the applicability of a technical format across industries, the greater its market acceptance. Interestingly though, the hypothesis that formalized alliances lead to greater market acceptance of the format was not supported by the data. I conclude with a discussion of the potential contributions and implications of the findings for marketing practice and future research

Primary intra-articular osteotomy for varus malunion of the medial condyle of the tibial plateau

Background: Reconstructive operative procedures for post-traumatic deformities of the tibial plateau have been described in literature, though rarely. We report short term follow-up of eleven such cases of primary intra-articular osteotomy.Methods: From 2005 through 2011, a primary intra-articular osteotomy for varus malunion of the medial condyle of the tibial plateau was performed in eleven consecutive cases. The patients were assessed clinically and radiologically at a minimum of 28 months post-operatively. The functional outcome was assessed using Rasmussen score.  Paired ‘t’ test was used to determine the statistical significance.Results: There were eleven male patients. Average follow up was 59 months (range 28 to 159). Articular congruity was restored to acceptable in all patients and varus malalignment was corrected from a mean of 1.5 degrees varus to 5.7 degrees of valgus (statistically significant, two-tailed P value of 0.0056) to an extent comparable to the normal side (mean 5.8 degrees). There were no infections. All patients had good to excellent functional outcome.Conclusions: A primary intra-articular osteotomy and osteosynthesis for malunited medial condyle fracture of the tibial plateau would help to restore mechanical alignment and improve functional outcome

Quadriceps-splitting midline approach in the treatment of distal femur infected nonunion with stiff knee and severely scarred soft tissues

Background: Treatment of infected distal femur non-union with a stiff knee and severely scarred soft tissues is a challenging problem. We describe a method of addressing the non-union using quadriceps splitting approach to the distal femur.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 5 patients with distal femur infected nonunion and knee stiffness, who, after infection control, required distal femur bone grafting. All patients had autogenous iliac crest bone grafting of the distal femur using the quadriceps splitting approach. The parameters assessed were the time to surgical wound healing, wound infection, time to bony union, and if any additional procedures were needed.Results: 5 patients were referred with distal femur infected non-union in addition to knee stiffness, with or without an implant in situ. All patients underwent debridement, implant exit, and external fixation of the femur spanning the knee as the primary surgery here, followed later on by iliac crest bone grafting of the distal femur using the above approach. All patients united well within 12 to 16 weeks, without the need for additional procedures.Conclusions: In the presence of pre-existing knee stiffness with severely scarred and contracted soft tissues the quadriceps-splitting approach is a useful method to address bony problems in the distal femur, without the need for a separate procedure for soft tissue or flap cover

Kemijski sastav i antibakterijsko djelovanje eteričnog ulja iz rizoma biljke Hedychium larsenii

The composition of essential oil from the rhizomes of Hedychium larsenii M. Dan & Sathish was examined by GC-FID and GC-MS techniques. 99% of the oil consisted of monoterpenoids. Sesquiterpenoids were present only in negligible quantities. Linalool and 1,8-cineole identified as the major components. The oil showed moderate antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Kemijski sastav eteričnog ulja iz rizoma biljke Hedychium larsenii M. Dan & Sathish ispitivan je pomoću GC-FID i GC-MS. Najvažniji sastojci ulja bili su linalol i 1,8-cineol, a na monoterpene otpada 99%. Seskviterpeni su prisutni samo u zanemarivim količinama. Eterično ulje je pokazalo umjereno antibakterijsko djelovanje na Gram-pozitivne i Gram-negativne bakterije

Sastav i antimikrobno djelovanje eteričnog ulja iz plodova biljke Amomum cannicarpum

Essential oil from the fruits of Amomum cannicarpum (Wight) Bentham ex Baker (Zingiberaceae), was hydrodistilled and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major constituents in the oil were betha-pinene (14.00%), elemol (10.45%) and alpha-cadinol (8.50%). Thirty-three (91.48%) out of forty-one constituents were identified by GC-MS and subsequent data analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the oil against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and some fungi were determined by the disc diffusion assay. The oil showed good antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris and very good antifungal activity against Candida albicans and C. glabrata.Eterično ulje iz plodova biljke Amomum cannicarpum (Wight) Bentham ex Baker (Zingiberaceae) dobiveno je destilacijom vodenom parom, a zatim je pomoću plinske kromatografije i masene spektrometrije (GC-MS) određen njegov sastav. Najvažniji sastojci u ulju bili su -pinen (14.00%), elemol (10.45%) i -kadinol (8.50%). Ukupno je od 41 sastojka identificirano 33 sastojka (91.48%). Disk-difuzijskom metodom određeno je antimikrobno djelovanje ulja na Gram-pozitivne i Gram-negativne bakterije i neke gljivice. Dosta snažno antimikrobno djelovanje zapaženo je na bakterije Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa i Proteus vulgaris ten a gljivice Candida albicans i C. glabrata

Sastav i antimikrobno djelovanje eteričnog ulja iz plodova biljke Amomum cannicarpum

Essential oil from the fruits of Amomum cannicarpum (Wight) Bentham ex Baker (Zingiberaceae), was hydrodistilled and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major constituents in the oil were betha-pinene (14.00%), elemol (10.45%) and alpha-cadinol (8.50%). Thirty-three (91.48%) out of forty-one constituents were identified by GC-MS and subsequent data analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the oil against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and some fungi were determined by the disc diffusion assay. The oil showed good antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris and very good antifungal activity against Candida albicans and C. glabrata.Eterično ulje iz plodova biljke Amomum cannicarpum (Wight) Bentham ex Baker (Zingiberaceae) dobiveno je destilacijom vodenom parom, a zatim je pomoću plinske kromatografije i masene spektrometrije (GC-MS) određen njegov sastav. Najvažniji sastojci u ulju bili su -pinen (14.00%), elemol (10.45%) i -kadinol (8.50%). Ukupno je od 41 sastojka identificirano 33 sastojka (91.48%). Disk-difuzijskom metodom određeno je antimikrobno djelovanje ulja na Gram-pozitivne i Gram-negativne bakterije i neke gljivice. Dosta snažno antimikrobno djelovanje zapaženo je na bakterije Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa i Proteus vulgaris ten a gljivice Candida albicans i C. glabrata