A prospective comparative study of functional outcome of distal extra articular tibia fracture fixed with intramedullary nail versus locking compression plate

Background: Distal tibia fractures are one of the most common long bone fractures and their management presents with a series of problems due to the soft tissue surroundings and even more at risk due to their proximity to ankle joint. In our paper we showed functional outcome of distal extra articular tibia fracture while comparing its management between intramedullary nailing and locking compression plate.Methods: There were 40 patients from November 2019 to November 2020 with distal extra articular tibia fracture. Patients were divided into 2 groups, first group included 20 patients managed with intramedullary nail and the second group included 20 patients managed with locking compression plate. Patients were followed preoperatively, intraoperatively and postoperatively for functional outcome and assessed clinically using AOFAS score and radiologically using X-ray.Results: Out of the 40 cases treated in this manner, all cases were available for the follow up for a period of 1 year. Overall results by 1 year follow up showed excellent in 7 cases (35%) good in 13 cases (65%) in nailing group and in plating group showed excellent in 4 cases (20%), good in 12 cases (60%), fair in 3 cases (15%) and poor in 1 case (5%).Conclusions: All fractures united well. Complications were encountered in 4 patients, 2 patients had superficial wound infections,1 patient had deep infection and another had persistent ankle pain in plating group and 2 patients had superficial wound infection in nailing group. No cases showed malunion or nonunion in both plating as well as nailing group

The hemostatic activity of Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen latex associated with fibrinogenolytic activity

Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen (Sapotaceae), is widely used in traditional medicine for various ailments like, diarrhea, pulmonary diseases, piles, ulcers and to treat wounds. The present study evaluates the role of M. zapota latex in hemostasis. The processed latex named as M. zapota natant latex (MzNL), has proteins at the concentration of 8 mg/ml and showed protein bands in Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The proteolytic activity of MzNL was evaluated using casein in comparison with trypsin. The phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) inhibited the protease activity indicating the possible presence of serine protease. The effect of temperature, pH and metal ions on proteolytic activity was evaluated. MzNL exhibited fibrinogenolytic activity by hydrolysing A? and B? subunits of fibrinogen. However, ? subunit remained resistant for hydrolysis. MzNL hydrolyzed all the subunits of collagen type I and IV at the concentration of 8 µg and 25 µg in 20 µl each respectively. MzNL showed procoagulant activity and is devoid of hemolytic activity. Fibrinogenolytic activity and procoagulant nature of MzNL suggests its possible role in blood coagulation that in turn restores hemostasis

Performance of a megawatt-scale grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant in Kolar District in Karnataka

A megawatt scale grid-connected photovoltaic power plant was commissioned on 27 December 2009 in Yalesandra in Kolar district in Karnataka. The Yalesandra plant is one among more than 20 such Megawatt size solar power plants in India during the past few years. The performance of this plant during its first year of operation has been discussed. The total electrical energy generated by the Yelasandra plant during 2010 was 3.34 million kWh. Although the performance of photovoltaic modules was good, there were problems associated with the inverters which led to reduction in energy generation. The impact of temperature variation of modules on their performance has been highlighted

Data Reduction Techniques for High Contrast Imaging Polarimetry. Applications to ExPo

Imaging polarimetry is a powerful tool for detecting and characterizing exoplanets and circumstellar environments. Polarimetry allows a separation of the light coming from an unpolarized source such as a star and the polarized source such as a planet or a protoplanetary disk. Future facilities like SPHERE at the VLT or EPICS at the E-ELT will incorporate imaging polarimetry to detect exoplanets. The Extreme Polarimeter (ExPo) is a dual-beam imaging polarimeter that currently can reach contrast ratios of 10^5, enough to characterize circumstellar environments. We present the data reduction steps for a dual-beam imaging polarimeter that can reach contrast ratios of 10^5. The data obtained with ExPo at the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) are analyzed. Instrumental artifacts and noise sources are discussed for an unpolarized star and for a protoplanetary disk (AB Aurigae). The combination of fast modulation and dual-beam techniques allow us to minimize instrumental artifacts. A proper data processing and alignment of the images is fundamental when dealing with large contrasts. Imaging polarimetry proves to be a powerful method to resolve circumstellar environments even without a coronagraph mask or an Adaptive Optics system.Comment: 9 pages, 12 Figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Deriving Telescope Mueller Matrices Using Daytime Sky Polarization Observations

Telescopes often modify the input polarization of a source so that the measured circular or linear output state of the optical signal can be signficantly different from the input. This mixing, or polarization "cross-talk", is defined by the optical system Mueller matrix. We describe here an efficient method for recovering the input polarization state of the light and the full 4 x 4 Mueller matrix of the telescope with an accuracy of a few percent without external masks or telescope hardware modification. Observations of the bright, highly polarized daytime sky using the Haleakala 3.7m AEOS telescope and a coude spectropolarimeter demonstrate the technique.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS

Immunity elicitors for induced resistance against the downy mildew pathogen in pearl millet

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is a globally important cereal whose production is severely constrained by downy mildew caused by Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.). In this study, immunity eliciting properties of 3,5-dichloroanthranilic acid (DCA), Cell Wall Glucan (CWG), Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and Glycinebetaine (GB) was deciphered through enzymatic and protein studies based on elicitor treatment activated defense mechanisms. Glycinebetaine, LPS, CWS and DCA elicited enzyme activities and gene expression of the defense enzymes, such as β-1,3-glucanase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), peroxidase (POX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), lipoxygenase (LOX) and defense protein hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs). However, the speed and the extent of elicitation differed. High levels of enzyme activities and gene expression in elicitor-treated P. glaucum positively correlated with the increased downy mildew resistance. A very rapid and large changes in elicitor-treated seedlings, in contrast to the delayed, smaller changes in the untreated susceptible control seedlings suggests that the rate and magnitude of defense gene expression are important for effective manifestation of defense against pathogen. As compared to other elicitors and control, GB promoted increase in enzyme activities and gene expression, implicating that GB is a promising elicitor of downy mildew resistance in P. glaucum

"Of Mice and Measures": A Project to Improve How We Advance Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Therapies to the Clinic

A new line of dystrophic mdx mice on the DBA/2J (D2) background has emerged as a candidate to study the efficacy of therapeutic approaches for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). These mice harbor genetic polymorphisms that appear to increase the severity of the dystropathology, with disease modifiers that also occur in DMD patients, making them attractive for efficacy studies and drug development. This workshop aimed at collecting and consolidating available data on the pathological features and the natural history of these new D2/mdx mice, for comparison with classic mdx mice and controls, and to identify gaps in information and their potential value. The overall aim is to establish guidance on how to best use the D2/mdx mouse model in preclinical studies

Seasonal Variations of Water Vapor in the Lower Stratosphere Inferred from ATMOS/ATLAS-3 Measurements of H2O and CH4

Stratospheric measurements of H2O and CH4 by the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) Fourier transform spectrometer on the ATLAS-3 shuttle flight in November 1994 have been examined to investigate the altitude and geographic variability of H2O and the quantity H = (H2O + 2CH4) in the tropics and at mid-latitudes (8 to 49 deg N) in the northern hemisphere. The measurements indicate an average value of 7.24 +/- 0.44 ppmv for H between altitudes of about 18 to 35 km, corresponding to an annual average water vapor mixing ratio of 3.85 +/- 0.29 ppmv entering the stratosphere. The H2O vertical distribution in the tropics exhibits a wave-like structure in the 16- to 25-km altitude range, suggestive of seasonal variations in the water vapor transported from the troposphere to the stratosphere. The hygropause appears to be nearly coincident with the tropopause at the time of observations. This is consistent with the phase of the seasonal cycle of H2O in the lower stratosphere, since the ATMOS observations were made in November when the H2O content of air injected into the stratosphere from the troposphere is decreasing from its seasonal peak in July-August

MSK-Mediated Phosphorylation of Histone H3 Ser28 Couples MAPK Signalling with Early Gene Induction and Cardiac Hypertrophy

Heart failure is a leading cause of death that develops subsequent to deleterious hypertrophic cardiac remodelling. MAPK pathways play a key role in coordinating the induction of gene expression during hypertrophy. Induction of the immediate early gene (IEG) response including activator protein 1 (AP-1) complex factors is a necessary and early event in this process. How MAPK and IEG expression are coupled during cardiac hypertrophy is not resolved. Here, in vitro, in rodent models and in human samples, we demonstrate that MAPK-stimulated IEG induction depends on the mitogen and stress-activated protein kinase (MSK) and its phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28 (pH3S28). pH3S28 in IEG promoters in turn recruits Brg1, a BAF60 ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling complex component, initiating gene expression. Without MSK activity and IEG induction, the hypertrophic response is suppressed. These studies provide new mechanistic insights into the role of MAPK pathways in signalling to the epigenome and regulation of gene expression during cardiac hypertrophy

(2R)-4-[(9H-Fluoren-9-ylmeth­oxy)carbon­yl]-2-methyl­piperazin-1-ium chloride

The synthesis of the title salt, C20H23N2O2 +·Cl−, was carried out with a precursor of known absolute configuration (R) and the X-ray analysis confirmed that the product retained the absolute configuration. In the crystal, the dominant packing motif is a chain running along [010] generated by N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding. C—H⋯O and C—H⋯Cl inter­actions are also observed