Neuropsychological side effects of anti-epileptic drugs in epilepsy patients: a cross sectional study

Background: Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in world. Managing an epilepsy with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) either as monotherapy or polytherapy is necessary to reduce the deleterious effect of the disease and to provide neuroprotection. AEDs exert their negative effects on cognition by suppressing neuronal excitability or enhancing inhibitory neurotransmission. These neuropsychological side effects are found to be modest when the drug level is within the therapeutic concentration and used as monotherapy. Objectives were to assess the prevalence of neuropsychological side effects among epilepsy patients who were on antiepileptic drug therapy. Methods: An open label, cross-sectional, clinical study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, 126 participants were recruited. Participants demographic data, detailed medical and seizure history followed by neuropsychological tests was performed. The prevalence was assessed based on the number of participants scoring <15th percentile in one or more tests. Results: Out of 126 participants who were recruited, 82 participants were on monotherapy and 44 participants were on polytherapy. Levetiracetam was the most commonly prescribed drug as monotherapy, followed by phenytoin, carbamazepine and valproate; whereas in polytherapy levetiracetam, clobazam followed by phenytoin were the commonly prescribed AED. The most common adverse effect was drowsiness, followed by headache, hypersensitivity reaction, giddiness, tremors, anxiety etc. The prevalence of neuropsychological side effects was 77.8%. The prevalence of impairment between monotherapy and polytherapy was statistically insignificant (p=0.727). Conclusions: In this study, levetiracetam was the most commonly prescribed drug and the most common adverse effect was drowsiness due to AEDs. The subgroup analyses between monotherapy and polytherapy did not show any statistically significant neuropsychological impairment when compared based on the gender, age groups, duration of epilepsy with medication and duration of current therapy

INLINE ELASTICITY MEASURE OF TEXTILE USING ANN

In this paper, we propose a technique to measure the Elasticity Modulus of the textile material using flex LVDT. Elasticity modulus is measured indirectly by measuring stiffness of the material first. The material whose stiffness is to be measured is subjected to a known force and the deflection caused in the material due to applied load is measured using the LVDT. Here the whole measurement is done dynamically without halting the manufacturing line of process. The output of LVDT is AC voltage. AC-DC converter is used to convert the AC output voltage of LVDT to DC output voltage. This is cascaded to the ANN block programmed on the LabVIEW platform. The results show that the proposed technique has achieved its proposed objectives

Color Image Encryption using Chaotic Algorithm and 2D Sin-Cos Henon Map for High Security

In every form of electronic communication, data security must be an absolute top priority. As the prevalence of Internet and other forms of electronic communication continues to expand, so too does the need for visual content. There are numerous options for protecting transmitted data. It's important that the transmission of hidden messages in images remain unnoticed to avoid raising any red flags. In this paper, we propose a new deep learning-based image encryption algorithm for safe image retrieval. The proposed algorithm employs a deep artificial neural network model to extract features via sample training, allowing for more secure image network transmission. The algorithm is incorporated into a deep learning-based image retrieval process with Convolution Neural Networks(CNN), improving the efficiency of retrieval while also guaranteeing the security of ciphertext images. Experiments conducted on five different datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm vastly improves retrieval efficiency and strengthens data security. Also hypothesised a 2D Sin-Cos-Henon (2D-SCH)-based encryption algorithm for highly secure colour images. We demonstrate that this algorithm is secure against a variety of attacks and that it can encrypt all three colour channels of an image simultaneously

Immigrant status and cardiovascular risk over time: results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Despite cross-sectional evidence that foreign-born United States (US) residents often have better health than US-born residents of similar race/ethnicity, we know little about overall cardiovascular risk progression over time among immigrants as they age in the US

Immigrant assimilation and BMI and waist size: A longitudinal examination among hispanic and chinese participants in the multi‐ethnic study of atherosclerosis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99611/1/oby20104.pd

Microbial quality of retort processed traditional Kerala chicken curry

The present study was carried out at the Department of Livestock Products Technology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode and ICAR - Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi to develop retort processed traditional Kerala chicken curry and to evaluate its microbial quality. Traditional Kerala chicken curry was prepared using boneless chicken breast pieces and with a gravy of roasted coconut, spices and condiments. The product was packed in multilayer laminated pouch, which was then hermetically sealed and processed in an over-pressure retort. Accurate time-temperature standardisation was done to maintain sterility. The pouches were checked for commercial sterility after processing. The product was stored at ambient temperature and microbiological evaluation was conducted on days 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 of storage. The curry showed no aerobic and anaerobic growth on different days of storage and did not spoil till day 120

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of indole and N-benzylated indole Mannich bases as potent antitubercular agents

210-224Though effective medicines have been available for treating drug-susceptible tuberculosis infections, the chances go from bleak to null as we move from multidrug resistant (MDR) to extremely drug resistant (XDR) or totally drug resistant (TDR) disease. Coordinated efforts made by international community have resulted in the identification of a few important anti TB agents like BM212, SQ109, AZD5847 and Sutezolid which are in the late phases of clinical trials. After Rifampicin, only two drugs Bedaquiline (2013) and Delaminid (2014) have been approved for the treatment of tuberculosis. This clearly shows the need for new leads towards fighting tuberculosis. In our present work, we have synthesized a series of indole and substituted indole Mannich bases designed by using structural features of BM212. Further, these synthesized derivatives have been analyzed by IR, NMR and mass spectral studies and are screened for anti-tubercular and antimicrobial activity. Among these, 23 compounds have shown potent anti TB activity with a MIC ≤3.12 μg/mL against M. tuberculosis H37Rv. We report here the synthesis, screening data and SAR studies of indole and substituted indole derivatives as antitubercular agents

Retort processing of traditional chicken biriyani and its microbiological quality

Traditional dishes such as chicken biriyani are relished by many and consumed in almost every celebration. The lifestyle changes and rapid urbanisation calls for the development of readyto- eat processed foods, which are safely processed and neatly packed. Retort processed shelfstable foods are an alternative to such a demand. In the study conducted, the retort processing conditions of traditional chicken biriyani was standardised and commercial sterility of the product was analysed. Microbiological parameters such as aerobic and anaerobic plate counts were assessed on 0th, 30th, 60th, 90th and 120th days of storage. The commercial sterility test was satisfactory and the microbiological analysis revealed an absence of bacterial colonies throughout the storage study. The highly perishable, traditional product was sterile on all days of storage study and was suitable as a shelf-stable product for mass production

Change in waist circumference with longer time in the United States among Hispanic and Chinese immigrants: the modifying role of the neighborhood built environment

We examined whether living in neighborhoods supportive of healthier diets and more active lifestyles may buffer immigrants against the unhealthy weight gain that is purported to occur with longer length of US residence

Unraveling the genetic architecture of subtropical maize (Zea mays L.) lines to assess their utility in breeding programs

Background Maize is an increasingly important food crop in southeast Asia. The elucidation of its genetic architecture, accomplished by exploring quantitative trait loci and useful alleles in various lines across numerous breeding programs, is therefore of great interest. The present study aimed to characterize subtropical maize lines using high-quality SNPs distributed throughout the genome. Results We genotyped a panel of 240 subtropical elite maize inbred lines and carried out linkage disequilibrium, genetic diversity, population structure, and principal component analyses on the generated SNP data. The mean SNP distance across the genome was 70 Kb. The genome had both high and low linkage disequilibrium (LD) regions; the latter were dominant in areas near the gene-rich telomeric portions where recombination is frequent. A total of 252 haplotype blocks, ranging in size from 1 to 15.8 Mb, were identified. Slow LD decay (200-300 Kb) at r2 <= 0.1 across all chromosomes explained the selection of favorable traits around low LD regions in different breeding programs. The association mapping panel was characterized by strong population substructure. Genotypes were grouped into three distinct clusters with a mean genetic dissimilarity coefficient of 0.36. Conclusions The genotyped panel of subtropical maize lines characterized in this study should be useful for association mapping of agronomically important genes. The dissimilarity uncovered among genotypes provides an opportunity to exploit the heterotic potential of subtropical elite maize breeding lines