Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in type 2 diabetics

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus has emerged as a common endocrine disorder in india. Thyroid dysfunction may complicate glycaemic control of diabetic patients. For better management of diabetes, it is necessary to detect and treat thyroid dysfunction in these patients.Methods: This was an observational study conducted at SMS Hospital Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, between March 2016 to November 2017. Total 100 patients were included out of which 50 were Diabetic patients and 50 were age and sex matched nondiabetic controls reported in outpatient department of SMS Hospital, Jaipur. Patients of type 1 Diabetes, previously known case of thyroid disorder, patients having endocrine disorder or autoimmune disorder other than Diabetes, critically ill patients and pregnant females were excluded from study. Serum Fasting Blood Sugar, Free T3, Free T4, TSH were measured in all study subjects and results were analysed statistically to find out if there is any difference in prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Diabetic patients and non-diabetic controls.Results: Thyroid dysfunction was present in 16 (32%) of 50 type 2 diabetics and 3 (6%) of 50 nondiabetic controls.  The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in type 2 diabetic females and males was 43.3% and 15% respectively. Mean fasting blood sugar was higher in diabetic patients having thyroid dysfunction (209.12 mg/dl) as compared to euthyroid diabetic subjects (173.58 mg/dl). Twelve (75%), out of 16 study subjects with thyroid dysfunction have secondary hypothyroidism. Three (18.75%) of them have mild (sub-clinical) hypothyroidism. One person (6.25%) has subclinical hyperthyroidism.Conclusions: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is higher in type 2 diabetic patients as compared to nondiabetic. Better glycaemic control is observed in euthyroid diabetic patients as compared to diabetic patients having thyroid dysfunction

Geotechnical Investigations for Foundation Design for Multi-storeyed Building

Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India plans to construct a multi-storeyed building in Dehradun city at the foothills of Himalayas. The geotechnical investigations were carried out at site to determine soil parameters for foundation design. It was found that it was not possible to provide a raft foundation for the building and hence alternatively the pile foundation was suggested. The pile load capacity was predicted on the basis of soil parameters determined and a comparison was then made with the results obtained by carrying out load tests on constructed piles

Laboratory Evaluation of Dibenz (b,t)-1,4-0xazepine for the Protection of Nylon Tapes against Rodents Attack

The efficacy of dibenz (b,f)-1 ,4-oxazepine (CR), a potent sensory irritant and deltarnethrin a wellknown insecticide, in providing protection to the multi-element nylon tapes, used as aircraft arresters at airports have been evaluated. The results obtained indicate that 5 per cent CR-admixed UV resistant nylon tapes got adequate protection against attacks from wild type laboratory bred Rattus rattus for up to 160 days. CR treatment was found to be water wash resistant against 7, 30 and 60 days protectionoffered by 3, 4 and 5 per cent deltarnethrin, respectively

Timing Offset Calibration of CZTI instrument aboard ASTROSAT

The radio as well as the high energy emission mechanism in pulsars is yet not understood properly. A multi-wavelength study is likely to help in better understanding of such processes. The first Indian space-based observatory, ASTROSAT, has five instruments aboard, which cover the electromagnetic spectrum from infra-red (1300 $\AA$) to hard X-ray (380 KeV). Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI), one of the five instruments is a hard X-ray telescope functional over an energy range of 20-380 KeV. We aim to estimate the timing offset introduced in the data acquisition pipeline of the instrument, which will help in time alignment of high energy time series with those from two other ground-based observatories, viz. the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT). PSR B0531+21 is a well-studied pulsar with nearly aligned radio and hard X-ray pulse profiles. We use simultaneous observations of this pulsar with the ASTROSAT, the ORT and the GMRT. The pulsar was especially observed using the ORT with almost daily cadence to obtain good timing solutions. We also supplement the ORT data with archival FERMI data for estimation of timing noise. The timing offset of ASTROSAT instruments was estimated from fits to arrival time data at the ASTROSAT and the radio observatories. We estimate the offset between the GMRT and the ASTROSAT-CZTI to be -4716 $\pm$ 50 $\mu s$. The corresponding offset with the ORT was -29639 $\pm$ 50 $\mu s$. The offsets between the GMRT and Fermi-LAT -5368 $\pm$ 56 $\mu s$. (Abridged)Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, Revised and Updated, accepted for publication in A&

State estimation of chemical engineering systems tending to multiple solutions

A well-evaluated state covariance matrix avoids error propagation due to divergence issues and, thereby, it is crucial for a successful state estimator design. In this paper we investigate the performance of the state covariance matrices used in three unconstrained Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) formulations and one constrained EKF formulation (CEKF). As benchmark case studies we have chosen: a) a batch chemical reactor with reversible reactions whose system model and measurement are such that multiple states satisfy the equilibrium condition and b) a CSTR with exothermic irreversible reactions and cooling jacket energy balance whose nonlinear behavior includes multiple steady-states and limit cycles. The results have shown that CEKF is in general the best choice of EKF formulations (even if they are constrained with an ad hoc clipping strategy which avoids undesired states) for such case studies. Contrary to a clipped EKF formulation, CEKF incorporates constraints into an optimization problem, which minimizes the noise in a least square sense preventing a bad noise distribution. It is also shown that, although the Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE) provides greater robustness to a poor guess of the initial state, converging in less steps to the actual states, it is not justified for our examples due to the high additional computational effort

Community mobilisation and empowerment of female sex workers is significantly associated with reduced HIV/STI risk in Karnataka state, south India

What is the impact of community mobilisation as a central component of targeted HIV prevention programmes in India? Research implemented by KHPT and presented in a poster by Tara Beattie, demonstrates how community mobilisation activities built the capacity of female sex workers to manage their vulnerability to HIV. Results showed: Increased levels of collective and individual power, Increased knowledge and uptake of HIV and STI services, Increased condom use with clients and regular partners. This presentation was part of research presented at AIDS 2012 by STRIVE's host group, Social and Mathematical Epidemiology (SaME), LSHTM

Deciphering Genotype-By-Environment Interaction for Target Environmental Delineation and Identification of Stable Resistant Sources Against Foliar Blast Disease of Pearl Millet

Once thought to be a minor disease, foliar blast disease of pearl millet, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, has recently emerged as an important biotic constraint for pearl millet production in India. The presence of a wider host range as well as high pathogenic heterogeneity complicates host–pathogen dynamics. Furthermore, environmental factors play a significant role in exacerbating the disease severity. An attempt was made to unravel the genotype-by-environment interactions for identification and validation of stable resistant genotypes against foliar blast disease through multi-environment testing. A diversity panel consisting of 250 accessions collected from over 20 different countries was screened under natural epiphytotic conditions in five environments. A total of 43 resistant genotypes were found to have high and stable resistance. Interestingly, most of the resistant lines were late maturing. Combined ANOVA of these 250 genotypes exhibited significant genotype-by-environment interaction and indicated the involvement of crossover interaction with a consistent genotypic response. This justifies the necessity of multi-year and multi-location testing. The first two principal components (PCs) accounted for 44.85 and 29.22% of the total variance in the environment-centered blast scoring results. Heritability-adjusted genotype plus genotype x environment interaction (HA-GGE) biplot aptly identified “IP 11353” and “IP 22423, IP 7910 and IP 7941” as “ideal” and “desirable” genotypes, respectively, having stable resistance and genetic buffering capacity against this disease. Bootstrapping at a 95% confidence interval validated the recommendations of genotypes. Therefore, these genotypes can be used in future resistance breeding programs in pearl millet. Mega-environment delineation and desirability index suggested Jaipur as the ideal environment for precise testing of material against the disease and will increase proper resource optimization in future breeding programs. Information obtained in current study will be further used for genome-wide association mapping of foliar blast disease in pearl millet

The SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey : Luminous Red Galaxy Target Selection

We describe the algorithm used to select the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample for the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) using photometric data from both the SDSS and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). LRG targets are required to meet a set of color selection criteria and have z-band and i-band MODEL magnitudes z <19.95 and 19.9 <i < 21.8, respectively. Our algorithm selects roughly 50 LRG targets per square degree, the great majority of which lie in the redshift range 0.6 <z <1.0 (median redshift 0.71). We demonstrate that our methods are highly effective at eliminating stellar contamination and lower-redshift galaxies. We perform a number of tests using spectroscopic data from SDSS-III/BOSS to determine the redshift reliability of our target selection and its ability to meet the science requirements of eBOSS. The SDSS spectra are of high enough signal-to-noise ratio that at least 89% of the target sample yields secure redshift measurements. We also present tests of the uniformity and homogeneity of the sample, demonstrating that it should be clean enough for studies of the large-scale structure of the universe at higher redshifts than SDSS-III/BOSS LRGs reached.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe