The Impact of Weight Status Perception on Perceived Risk for Diabetes and Diabetes Screening.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

The pervasive nature of unconscious social information processing in executive control

Humans not only have impressive executive abilities, but we are also fundamentally social creatures. In the cognitive neuroscience literature, it has long been assumed that executive control mechanisms, which play a critical role in guiding goal-directed behavior, operate on consciously processed information. Although more recent evidence suggests that unconsciously processed information can also influence executive control, most of this literature has focused on visual masked priming paradigms. However, the social psychological literature has demonstrated that unconscious influences are pervasive, and social information can unintentionally influence a wide variety of behaviors, including some that are likely to require executive abilities. For example, social information can unconsciously influence attention processes, such that simply instructing participants to describe a previous situation in which they had power over someone or someone else had power over them has been shown to unconsciously influence their attentional focus abilities, a key aspect of executive control. In the current review, we consider behavioral and neural findings from a variety of paradigms, including priming of goals and social hierarchical roles, as well as interpersonal interactions, in order to highlight the pervasive nature of social influences on executive control. These findings suggest that social information can play a critical role in executive control, and that this influence often occurs in an unconscious fashion. We conclude by suggesting further avenues of research for investigation of the interplay between social factors and executive control

Quantum Hamilton-Jacobi analysis of PT symmetric Hamiltonians

We apply the quantum Hamilton-Jacobi formalism, naturally defined in the complex domain, to a number of complex Hamiltonians, characterized by discrete parity and time reversal (PT) symmetries and obtain their eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Examples of both quasi-exactly and exactly solvable potentials are analyzed and the subtle differences, in the singularity structures of their quantum momentum functions, are pointed out. The role of the PT symmetry in the complex domain is also illustrated.Comment: 11 page

A prospective randomized study: role of enalapril on oxidative stress in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus and its correlation with glycaemic status

Background: Oxidative stress is demonstrated the pathological conditions such as Atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. It has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of both macro and microvascular complications. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Enalapril on oxidative stress markers in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods: A Prospective Randomized controlled study was conducted in 75 participants in which 25 healthy volunteers and 50 newly diagnosed DM2 patients who were divided into three groups of 25 in each. In Group II DM2 patients were treated with Metformin alone, in group III DM2 patients were treated with Enalapril and Metformin and 25 healthy volunteers were included in Group I (controls). Oxidative stress parameters, FBS, HbA1c were measured at the time of diagnosis and at 4,8,12 weeks.Results: There was a significant decrease in free radical production (p<0.05) and significant increase in antioxidant enzymes (p<0.001) in both the patient Groups and positive correlation between oxidative stress markers and FBS and HbA1c (p<0.01).Conclusions: Oxidative stress measured as LPO is strictly influenced by glycaemic control. Enalapril and Metformin combination in diabetic patients has more significant effect on decreasing the oxidative stress than Metformin alone

A randomized, open-labelled study of the sedative, analgesic and anxiolytic effect of dexmedetomidine and tramadol in postoperative patients

Background: In the post-operative period, it has always been an important consideration for clinicians, to keep the patient comfortable, calm and pain free. So there is a constant need for an ideal sedative for postoperative patients. Alpha 2 adrenoreceptor agonists such as dexmedetomidine could provide an answer to this problem because they have several relevant physiological properties like sedation, anxiolysis, analgesia and arousability. This prospective, randomized trial was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine and tramadol in the management of postoperative pain.Methods: In the present study 60 patients operated under general anaesthesia with a pain score of 1-3 were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either dexmedetomidine (group D) or tramadol (group T). In both groups, pain score, sedation score, heart rate, blood pressure, SPO2, respiratory rate were monitored for every 5 min for first 30 min, every 10 min for next 1hr, every 15 min for next 1 h, every 30 min for the next 1 h, every 1 h for 3 h and 6th hourly till 24 h. The need for rescue analgesic was also noted. The data were tabulated and analysed using descriptive statistical tool. Mean, standard deviation and comparison between the groups was done by student’s ‘t’ test. A p value less than 0.0001 was considered significant.Results: Mean duration of sedation of dexmedetomidine was 129.6±41.02 and for tramadol was 117.3 ± 47.75 (p=0.14), mean degree of sedation in both group was -1, mean duration of analgesia 139 min in Group D and 280 min in Group T (p<0.0001), rescue analgesia was required at 169th min in Group D and 288th min in Group T (p<0.0001), mean heart rate in Group D was 67.8±5.24 and 69.4±4.79 (p=0.12), mean Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) in Group D was 78.0±8.97 and in Group T was 89.2±10.63 (p<0.00001), mean respiratory rate in Group D was 15.8±2.33 and in Group T was 15.9±2.09 (p=0.41), mean SPO2 in Group D was 99.5±0.56 and in Group T was 99.4±0.62 (p=0.14). There was no significant difference in degree and duration of sedation, duration of analgesia, vital parameters, and adverse effects in both groups but there was a statistical difference in the duration of analgesia and the need for rescue analgesia in Group D.Conclusion: Though there is no statistical difference in both groups, dexmedetomidine significantly reduced anxiety, agitation and produced calmness in postoperative patients which was not seen with tramadol

Studies on Heterosis and Combiing Ability for Yield and Quality Attributing Traits in Chilli (Capsicum Annum L.)

Seven lines and four testers were crossed in line x tester mating design to evolve twenty-eight hybrids. These hybrids were studied along with their eleven parents for estimation of relative heterosis, heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis for Fruififteen characters. Observations were recorded on fifteen economically important traits viz., days to 50 percent flowering, plant height at maturity, plant spread, fruit length, fruit width, fruit pedicel length, placenta length, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, number of seeds per fruit, 1000 seed weight, fruit yield per plant, ascorbic acid content, capsaicin content and capsanthin content. The hybrids L4 x T3 (LCA 625 × G-4) is the best hybrids followed by L7 x T4 (Pant C-1 × LCA 678) and L7 x T2 (Pant C-1 × K1) recorded significant standard heterosis for fruit yield per plant. Selection of hybrids for heterosis breeding based on per se performance, sca effects and standard heterosis will be more effective. It may be concluded that based on all the three criteria, the following three hybrids L4 x T3 (LCA 625 × G-4) and L7 x T4 (Pant C-1 × LCA 678) and L7 x T2 (Pant C-1 × K1) were identified as the superior hybrids, among the twenty-eight hybrids evaluated