Efficacy of mifepristone in the management of fibroid

Background: Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the uterus. The incidence has been shown to be as high as 70–80 percent in studies using histologic and sonographic examinations. Majority of fibroids are asymptomatic and when symptomatic, patients present with menstrual disturbances, infertility, lump abdomen or pressure effects. The complications associated are severe anemia, hyaline or red degeneration, urinary retention, hydronephrosis secondary to obstructive uropathy and rarely sarcomatous changes. The treatment depends upon the size, symptoms, location and age of the patient. The aim and objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Mifepristone in symptomatic improvement and reduction of the size of fibroid.Methods: The study was conducted in Sri Venkateswaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (SVMCH and RC), Puducherry. This is a hospital based longitudinal study conducted in between December 2019 to June 2021 for a period of 18 months. 30 consecutive cases were studied based on inclusion criteria. All patients were treated with mifepristone 50 mg once weekly for 6 months. Analysis was performed by using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 23 software.Results: In this study we observed there was a significant improvement in the hemoglobin (Hb) level, significant reduction in uterine volume, fibroid size and endometrial thickness after 6th month follow-up.Conclusions: Mifepristone was able to significantly improve the patient outcome by reducing the amount of blood flow during menstruation and increasing the Hb levels and significantly reduce the size of myoma

Efficacy of Organophosphorus Derivatives Containing Chalcones/Chalcone Semicarbazones Against Fungal Pathogens of Sugarcane

Ten newly synthesized organophosphorus derivatives containing substituted chalcones and substituted chalcone semicarbazones were tested for their antifungal efficacy against Colletotrichum falcatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Curvularia pallescens (all sugarcane pathogens). The O,O-diethylphosphate derivatives containing 2-chlorochalcone and 2-chlorochalcone semicarbazone exhibited 70-85% mycelial inhibition against all the test fungi at 1000 ppm. The screening results were correlated with structural features of the tested compounds

MATLAB-Simulink environment based power quality improvement in photovoltaic system using multilevel inverter

Introduction. In this world of technical advancement, conventional resources are at the stage of destruction. To avoid such problems, we are going to use an alternative energy source namely solar by photovoltaic effect. The demand for multilevel inverters increased as they are used for different dynamic (high) voltage and dynamic (high) power appliances as they are capable of producing the output wave shape with low total harmonic distortion. Novelty. A new multilevel inverter is used in adding a (bidirectional) two way switch in between the capacitor and a traditional H-bridge module. This produces a better sine wave. By series connection of these two H-bridge modules, nine levels output voltage including zero is possible. The purpose of the proposed topology is reduction in the number of switches and it gives the good result with comparatively less power loss when it is compared with the other normal basic traditional inverters of the same output quality. Methods. In this paper, sinusoidal pulse width modulation technique is used for the working of the switches in the multilevel inverter. The results are verified by using simulation and also experimental setup is done. From the results it is observed that the proposed topology with reduced number of switches gives lower electromagnetic interference, lower harmonic distortion. Practical value. The total harmonic distortion value in the simulation is 14.4 % and practically it is 13.8 %.Вступ. У світі технічного прогресу звичайні ресурси перебувають у стадії руйнації. Щоб уникнути таких проблем, ми збираємося використати альтернативне джерело енергії, а саме сонячну енергію з фотоелектричним ефектом. Попит на багаторівневі інвертори збільшився, оскільки вони використовуються для різних динамічних (високих) напруг та динамічних (високих) потужностей, оскільки вони здатні формувати вихідну форму хвилі з низьким гармонічним загальним спотворенням. Новизна. Новий багаторівневий інвертор використовується для додавання двостороннього перемикача між конденсатором і традиційним модулем Н-моста. Це дає найкращу синусоїду. При послідовному з’єднанні двох модулів Н-моста можливо дев’ять рівнів вихідної напруги, включаючи нуль. Метою запропонованої топології є зменшення кількості перемикачів, що дає хороший результат при порівняно менших втратах потужності порівняно з іншими традиційними звичайними інверторами з такою ж вихідною якістю. Методи. У цій статті для роботи перемикачів у багаторівневому інверторі використовується метод широтно-імпульсної синусоїдальної модуляції. Результати перевіряються за допомогою моделювання, а також виконується експеримент. З результатів видно, що пропонована топологія зі зменшеною кількістю перемикачів дає менші електромагнітні перешкоди, менші гармонійні спотворення. Практична цінність. Сумарне значення гармонійних спотворень при моделюванні складає 14,4 %, а практично – 13,8 %

Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties in gas tungsten arc welded dual-phase Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 high entropy alloy

Funding Information: JPO acknowledges the funding by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia , I.P., in the scope of the projects LA/P/0037/2020 , UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication – i3N. Funding Information: JGL, JS and JPO acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia ( FCT - MCTES ) for its financial support via the project UID/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). Funding Information: JS acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for funding the Ph.D. grant (CSC NO. 201808320394 ). Funding Information: JGL acknowledges FCT – MCTES for funding the Ph.D. grant 2020.07350. BD . Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The AuthorsIn recent years, high entropy alloys (HEAs) have been shown to be promising alternatives to common engineering alloys, depending on their composition and thermomechanical processing. Up to now, several works aimed at improving the mechanical properties and discovering different HEAs given the extremely large compositional possibilities made available by the multicomponent approach associated to these materials. Their processability, however, is an important topic that must be studied. Welding is a key manufacturing technique that will eventually be applied to HEAs. Thus, there is a need to evaluate the microstructure and property changes induced by the weld thermal cycles, to assess the suitability of certain welding process/HEAs combinations for possible industrial applications. In the present work, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) was used to achieve defect-free joints based on a novel transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 HEA. The microstructure and mechanical behavior of the joints were assessed by means of optical and electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, thermodynamical calculations, microhardness mapping and tensile testing. Overall, an excellent mechanical performance was obtained on the resulting joints, opening the door for their adoption in real-life applications.publishersversionpublishe

99mTc-DMSA (V) in Evaluation of Osteosarcoma: Comparative Studies with 18F-FDG PET/CT in Detection of Primary and Malignant Lesions

To evaluate the role of 99mTc-DMSA (V) and [18F]FDG PET-CT in management of patients with osteosarcoma, 22 patients were included in our study. All patients underwent both 99mTc-DMSA (V) and whole-body [18F]FDG PET-CT scans within an interval of 1 week. 555–740 MBq of 99mTc-DMSA (V) was injected i.v. the whole-body planar, SPECT images of primary site and chest were performed after 3-4 hours. [18F]FDG PET-CT images were obtained 60 minutes after i.v. injection of 370 MBq of F-18 FDG. Both FDG PET-CT (mean SUVmax = 7.1) and DMSA (V) scans showed abnormal uptake at primary site in all the 22 patients (100% sensitivity for both). Whole-body PET-CT detected metastasis in 11 pts (lung mets in 10 and lung + bone mets in 1 patient). Whole-body planar DMSA (V) and SPECT detected bone metastasis in one patient, lung mets in 7 patients and LN in 1 patient. HRCT of chest confirmed lung mets in 10 patients and inflammatory lesion in one patient. 7 patients positive for mets on DMSA (V) scan had higher uptake in lung lesions as compared to FDG uptake on PET-CT. Three patients who did not show any DMSA uptake had subcentimeter lung nodule. Resuts of both 99mTc-DMSA (V) (whole-body planar and SPECT imaging) and [18F]FDG PET-CT were comparable in evaluation of primary site lesions and metastatic lesions greater than 1 cm. Though 99mTc-DMSA (V) had higher uptake in the lesions as compared to [18F]FDG PET-CT, the only advantage [18F]FDG PET-CT had was that it could also detect subcentimeter lesions

Compassionate use of convalescent plasma for the management of severe pneumonia in critically ill COVID-19 patients-a single center experience, Kerala, India

We assessed treatment effectiveness with convalescent plasma in critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia patients and their association with reduction in C reactive protein level as a sensitive inflammatory marker to the ongoing cytokine storm. Retrospective cohort study based on the detailed electronic medical chart review. The primary outcome was a clinical improvement on day 14, defined as the reduction in cytokine storm as demonstrated by a drop in acute phase reactant C reactive protein; de-escalation from the prior mode of oxygen delivery or not on mechanical ventilation in critically ill COVID-19 patients. C reactive protein was measured by using immunoturbidimetry. IgG antibody against spike protein S1 was measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Of 14 patients, all had severe COVID-19 pneumonia [category C], and 9 (64%) were mechanically ventilated soon after the admission into the medical intensive care unit. De-escalation of the oxygenation strategy mode was noted in 11 (79%) patients after convalescent plasma infusion. All patients showed a significant drop in C reactive protein when compared to pre-infusion and post-infusion day 5.  Early compassionate use of convalescent plasma with higher titters of IgG antibodies against S1may positively benefit the overall outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia

CLINICAL EVALUATION OF COMPARATIVE AND COMBINED EFFECT OF POLYHERBAL MICROBICIDE (BASANT) AND SELECTED PROBIOTICS IN THE TREATMENT OF RECCURRENT VAGINOSIS - A PHASE II PLACEBO CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: Vaginosis is a widely prevalent syndrome in women. Treatment with one or more antibiotics cures invariably the infections. However recurrence is frequent and pH of the vagina is not always restored to the normal acidic range. This trial was conducted to determine whether a Polyherbal Microbicide BASANT or three selected strains of Probiotics Lactobacilli alone or the two in combination can regress Vaginosis, bring down the vaginal pH to acidic range and restore healthy vagina with colonised Lactobacilli.Methods: Women suffering from recurrent episodes of vaginosis were given capsules of either BASANT, Probiotics, Combination of the two or Placebo capsules for insertion in vagina for 7 nights. On day 10, Pelvic examination, pH, Whiff test, Gram stain for Clue cells and swab taken for culture of lactobacilli.Results: BASANT regressed Vaginosis in 14/ 20, Probiotics in 13/20, Combination of the two in 19/ 20 women and Placebo in 1/ 20 women.Conclusion: While both Polyherbal microbicide BASANT and the three strains of the lactobacilli cured Vaginosis in 65 to 70% of women, the combination was highly effective in curing 95% of women

Gas tungsten arc welding of as-cast AlCoCrFeNi2.1 eutectic high entropy alloy

Funding Information: JS, JGL and JPO acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT - MCTES) for its financial support via the project UID/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). JPO acknowledges the funding by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the projects LA/P/0037/2020, UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication – i3N. JS acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for funding the Ph.D. grant (CSC NO. 201808320394). JGL acknowledges FCT – MCTES for funding the Ph.D. grant 2020.07350.BD. TAR acknowledges FCT – MCTES for funding the Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/144202/2019. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsThe AlCoCrFeNi2.1 eutectic high entropy alloy is of great interest due to its unique mechanical properties combining both high strength and plasticity. Here, gas tungsten arc welding was performed for the first time on an as-cast AlCoCrFeNi2.1 alloy. The microstructural evolution of the welded joints was assessed by combining electron microscopy with electron backscatter diffraction, synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis and thermodynamic calculations. Microhardness mapping and tensile testing coupled with digital image correlation were used to investigate the strength distribution across the joint. The base material, heat affected zone and fusion zone are composed of an FCC + B2 BCC eutectic structure, although the relative volume fractions vary across the joint owing to the weld thermal cycle. The BCC nanoprecipitates that existed in the base material started to dissolve into the matrix in the heat affected zone and closer to the fusion zone boundary. Compared to the as-cast base material, the fusion zone evidenced grain refinement owing to the higher cooling rate experienced during solidification. This translates into an increased hardness in this region. The joints exhibit good strength/ductility balance with failure occurring in the base material. This work establishes the potential for using arc-based welding for joining eutectic high entropy alloys.publishersversionpublishe