Optimization of impact behavior of bio particulated coir-vinyl ester composites using simulated annealing with post analysis

The present investigation is focused on evaluation and optimization of impact behavior of bio particulated coir-vinyl ester composites. The bio particles such as groundnut shell, alumina and termite mound soil have been selected and their influences on the impact behavior of coir -vinyl ester composites are evaluated. The bio particulated composite fabrications are planned as per full factorial design with the different levels of fibre length, fibre content and particulate content. The impact strength of fabricated composites is evaluated. The nonlinear regression models are developed for the prediction of impact behaviors over the specified range of conditions. The fabrication parameters for the maximum value of impact behaviors are also determined using simulated annealing algorithm and conformance checking is carried out using post analysis. The optimum values of impact behaviors of 39.5, 45.9 and 52.1 kJ/m2 are obtained in coir-vinyl ester composites reinforced with groundnut shell, alumina and termite mound soil respectively.

Beneficial role of silibinin in monitoring the cadmium induced hepatotoxicity in Albino Wistar rats

Cadmium (Cd), an environmental toxic pollutant affects many organs in human beings specially the liver and kidney. In this study, Cd (3 mg/kg body weight (b.w.)) was subcutaneously administered to rats for 3 weeks, which shows significantly (

Protective role of silibinin in cadmium induced changes of acetylcholinesterase, ATPases and oxidative stress in brain of albino wistar rats

Cadmium (Cd) a highly toxic metal is considered to be a multitarget toxicant, principally its accumulates in the liver, kidney and hardly get into the brain parenchyma by the brain-barrier system. In this study, Cd (3 mg/kg body weight (b. w.)) was subcutaneously administered to rats for 3 weeks, which shows significantly (

Arthrodiastasis in the management of stiff hip

Arthrodiastasis (using external fixator and distraction) has been used for various pathologies including deformity correction/stiff hip/slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Historically this has been used for treatment of Perthes disease. The purpose of our study is to evaluate efficacy of arthrodiastasis in management of stiff hip. A 15 year old boy with stiff hip presented with complaints of pain in the left hip for past 6 months. Radiologically the left proximal femur was found to be deformed with metaphyseal widening, sclerosis and arthritic changes. Hip spanning external fixator using limb reconstruction system was done. Distraction was done at a rate of 1 mm/day. After 2 months, fixator was removed. Hip was mobilized under anaesthesia. Good range of all movements was achieved. Arthrodiastasis seems to be a good option in young adolescent in whom total hip replacement needs to be delayed as much as possible

A Study of Non-Invasive Prediction of Large Oesophageal Varices in Chronic Liver Disease patients in Tertiary Care Hospital

INTRODUCTION: Portal hypertension is a major hallmark of cirrhosis which can be defined as a portal pressure gradient exceeding 5-10 mm Hg. In portal hypertension, portosystemic collaterals decompress the portal circulation and give rise to varices. In patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, esophageal varices and gastrointestinal bleeding represents a serious complications leading to mortality. 40% of the patients with compensated disease and 60% of the patients with decompensated disease had esophageal varices at diagnosis. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the incidence of large and small esophageal varices in patients with liver disease. 2. To evaluate various clinical, biochemical and ultrasonographic parameters in predicting the presence of large esophageal varices. 3. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of each of the parameters in predicting large esophageal varices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients: Consecutive newly diagnosed patients with liver disease (cirrhosis / portal hypertension) with or without history of gastrointestinal bleeding at our institution (Institute of Internal Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai) which serves as a tertiary referral center were included in this prospective study. Patients were asked to sign an informed consent prior to enrollment in the study. Inclusion criteria: ◈ Age: 18 years to 80 years. ◈ Liver disease with portal hypertension. Exclusion criteria: ◈ Hepatocellular carcinoma detected by USG. ◈ Primary hematologic disorders. ◈ Current treatment with beta blockers/ nitrate. ◈ Previous surgical intervention for portal hypertension. Clinical Evaluation: All patients underwent a detailed clinical evaluation at entry. Relevant history, etiology of liver disease (alcohol intake, blood transfusion etc.,), and signs of liver cell failure such as alopecia, anemia, jaundice, parotid swelling, gynaecomastia, testicular atrophy, palmar erythema, pedal edema, ascites, splenomegaly were recorded. By ultrasonography of abdomen, mild ascites were noted. Moderate and massive ascites were detected clinically by shifting dullness and fluid thrill. According to West Havens Criteria, encephalopathy were noted. CONCLUSION: 1. The prevalence of large esophageal varices in our study was found to be 49.15% 2. Our study shows that low platelet count, splenomegaly, portal vein and splenic vein size are independent predictors. 3. Use of these parameters help identify patients to perform endoscope for patients only with a high risk of large esophageal varices. 4. These parameters help in avoiding unnecessary endoscopies. 5. This may help reduce costs which will be economical. 6. If its efficacy is confirmed, it may permit institution of prophylactic measures like beta-adrenergic antagonists for preventing primary variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis, without the need for costly and invasive investigations like gastrointestinal endoscopy

Functional analysis of cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty with medial calcar augmentation for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in elderly

Background: Intertrochanteric fracture is one of the most common fractures among the elderly osteoporotic population, constituting about 50% of hip fractures. These fractures are managed either by fixation using dynamic hip screw (DHS), proximal femur nail (PFN) or by replacement, based on the stability of fracture pattern, age of the patient, quality of bone and associated co-morbid conditions. Prosthetic replacement which is routinely done for femoral neck fractures requires modification when done for trochanteric fractures to improve stability. This study aims to analyse the short term functional outcome of cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty with medial calcar augmentation for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in elderly.Methods: Our study includes 60 patients of age more than 70 years admitted in our institution during June 2012 to September 2016 with unstable intertrochanteric fractures. All patients operated through posterior approach to hip and cemented hemiarthroplasty with medial calcar augmentation with bone graft was done. Patients were followed up for an average of period of 2 years. Functional outcome was evaluated with Harris Hip score.Results: 28% of cases had excellent outcome. 43% of cases had good and 23% of cases had fair outcome. 2% of cases ended with poor outcome. The in-hospital mortality rate was 3.3%. The survival rate of the patients in this study at the end of one year is 85%. Conclusions: Cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty with medial calcar augumentation can be considered as a good primary option for elderly unstable intertrochanteric fracture patients with osteoporotic bones and associated co-morbidities. 

Giant sized rays landed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

On 4th March 2017, three huge rays - two Mobula tarpacana and one Manta birostris were landed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour. They were caught in long lines, which were operated for skipjack tuna. These rays caught off Ratnagiri coast at a depth of 500m weighed around 400 kg each. Of these, Mobula tarpacana locally called 'Kakkathirandi' measured 2.4 m in disc width (DW)

3SAT on an All-to-All-Connected CMOS Ising Solver Chip

This work solves 3SAT, a classical NP-complete problem, on a CMOS-based Ising hardware chip with all-to-all connectivity. The paper addresses practical issues in going from algorithms to hardware. It considers several degrees of freedom in mapping the 3SAT problem to the chip - using multiple Ising formulations for 3SAT; exploring multiple strategies for decomposing large problems into subproblems that can be accommodated on the Ising chip; and executing a sequence of these subproblems on CMOS hardware to obtain the solution to the larger problem. These are evaluated within a software framework, and the results are used to identify the most promising formulations and decomposition techniques. These best approaches are then mapped to the all-to-all hardware, and the performance of 3SAT is evaluated on the chip. Experimental data shows that the deployed decomposition and mapping strategies impact SAT solution quality: without our methods, the CMOS hardware cannot achieve 3SAT solutions on SATLIB benchmarks

Physio-Chemical and Biological Characterization of Novel HPC (Hydroxypropylcellulose):HAP (Hydroxyapatite):PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) Electrospun Nanofibers as Implantable Material for Bone Regenerative Application

The research on extracellular matrix (ECM) is new and developing area that covers cell proliferation and differentiation and ensures improved cell viability for different biomedical applications. Extracellular matrix not only maintains biological functions but also exhibits properties such as tuned or natural material degradation within a given time period, active cell binding and cellular uptake for tissue engineering applications. The principal objective of this study is classified into two categories. The first phase is optimization of various electrospinning parameters with different concentrations of HAP-HPC/PLA(hydroxyapatite-hydroxypropylcellulose/poly lactic acid). The second phase is in vitro biological evaluation of the optimized mat using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay for bone regeneration applications. Conductivity and dielectric constant were optimized for the production of thin fiber and bead free nanofibrous mat. With this optimization, the mechanical strength of all compositions was found to be enhanced, of which the ratio of 70:30 hit a maximum of 9.53 MPa (megapascal). Cytotoxicity analysis was completed for all the compositions on MG63 cell lines for various durations and showed maximum cell viability on 70:30 composition for more than 48 hrs. Hence, this investigation concludes that the optimized nanofibrous mat can be deployed as an ideal material for bone regenerative applications. In vivo study confirms the HAP-HPC-PLA sample shows more cells and bone formation at 8 weeks than 4 weeks. © 2022 by the authors