Cystatin C and lactoferrin concentrations in biological fluids as possible prognostic factors in eye tumor development

Objectives. To investigate the possible role of cystatin C in eye biological fluids locally and in serum and lactoferrin revealing anti-tumor activity in eye tumor development. Background. The increased number of eye tumors was registered recently not only in the countries with high insolation, but also in the northern countries including Russia (11 cases per million of population). Search for new biological markers is important for diagnosis and prognosis in eye tumors. Cystatin C, an endogenous inhibitor of cysteine proteases, plays an important protective role in several tumors. Lactoferrin was shown to express anti-tumor and antiviral activities. It was hypothesized that cystatin C and lactoferrin could serve as possible biomarkers in the diagnosis of malignant and benign eye tumors. Study design. A total of 54 patients with choroidal melanoma and benign eye tumors were examined (part of them undergoing surgical treatment). Serum, tear fluid and intraocular fluid samples obtained from the anterior chamber of eyes in patients with choroidal melanoma were studied. Methods. Cystatin C concentration in serum and eye biological fluids was measured by commercial ELISA kits for human (BioVendor, Czechia); lactoferrin concentration – by Lactoferrin-strip D 4106 ELISA test systems (Vector-BEST, Novosibirsk Region, Russia). Results. Cystatin C concentration in serum of healthy persons was significantly higher as compared to tear and intraocular fluids. In patients with choroidal melanoma, increased cystatin C concentration was similar in tear fluid of both the eyes. Lactoferrin level in tear fluid of healthy persons was significantly higher than its serum level. Significantly increased lactoferrin concentration in tear fluid was noted in patients with benign and malignant eye tumors. Conclusion. Increased level of cystatin C in tear fluid seems to be a possible diagnostic factor in the eye tumors studied. However, it does not allow us to differentiate between malignant and benign eye tumors. Similar changes were noted for lactoferrin in tear fluid

Preparation and Characterization of Silica Material from Rice Husk Ash – An Economically Viable Method

Rice husk is a form of agricultural biomass that provides an abundant silicon source. Rice husks are widely burnt in agricultural fields in India because it is difficult to find other uses for them. Farmers burn rice hulls usually under incomplete combustion conditions to avoid accidental fires. The objective of this study was to develop a new method of amorphous silica was prepared from rice husk ash by sol - gel method. Initially received from Rice husk ash was calcined at 4000C, 5000C, 6000C and 7000C for 5 hrs to remove the volatiles in the sample and determine the amorphous structure of SiO2. Next, the thermally treated RHA was mixed with alkali solution to produce sodium silicate solution and precipitated silica was produced by the neutralization of sodium silicate solution. Rice Husks soaked in nitric acid produced the maximum amount of the sodium silicate solution and precipitated silica. Sodium oxide (Na2O) content and silica (SiO2) content in the sodium silicate solution were also determined. Extracted precipitated silica particles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction and Optical microscopy techniques. The chemical composition of silica was confirmed by FTIR and SEM with EDX.. Highly pure amorphous silica was derived from rice husk ash was confirmed by XRD pattern. The morphology of the obtained materials was analyzed by SEM. At optimized conditions, a nano sized highly pure silica was produced with a high reactivity and 99.9% amorphous in form. This economic technology as applied to waste material also provides many benefits to the local agro industry. Thus this paper may be providing a low cost and simple method to prepare functional materials. Keywords: Rice husk ash, Silica gel, Minerals, Amorphous material, Agricultural bio-wast

To assess the Effectiveness of Ice Pack Massage on Labour Pain Perception during First Stage of Labour among Primi Gravid Mothers admitted at Labour Ward, Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai

BACKGROUND: Childbirth is a crucial experience in women's life as it has a substantial psychological, emotional and physical impact. A childbirth positive experience is important to the woman, infant's health and well-being, and mother-infant relationship. During labour, women experience a high level of intense, stressful and steady pain that may negatively affect both mothers and neonates. Painkillers have previously been used for childbearing women, but nowadays, owing to some well-known limitations and serious side effects, non pharmacological methods such as Ice pack massage are being broadly recommended. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The present study was conducted “to assess the effectiveness of ice pack massage on labour pain perception during first stage of labour among primi gravid mothers admitted at labour ward, Government Rajaji hospital, Madurai – 20.” METHOD: Primigravid mothers from the labour room were randomly assigned to experimental group (30) and control group (30) by Lottery method. Standardized Modified Numerical Pain Intensity Scale and Labour Progress Measurement Tool were used to assess the pain perception and labour progress during pre test and post test of ice pack massage among experimental group primigravid mothers. RESULTS: Data analysis was done using independent and paired‘t’- tests. The results showed a significant difference in the pain perception between the experimental group and control group (t=6.17 P=0.001) after the administration of ice pack massage. There was also a significant difference in the pre test and post test assessment of pain perception among the experimental group primigravid mothers after the administration of ice pack massage (t=7.82 P=0.001). Similarly there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group primigravid mothers in the labour progress (t=2.56 P=0.01). There was also a significant difference in the pre test and post test assessment of labour progress among the experimental group primigravid mothers after the administration of ice pack massage (t=8.22 P=0.001). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The results show that ice pack massage during labour proved to be effective non pharmacological methods of treatment to reduce labour pain perception of mothers in labour. The study concluded that ice pack massage was effective in reducing the level of labour pain perception

Detection of unhealthy region of plant leaves and classification of plant leaf diseases using texture features

Plant diseases have turned into a dilemma as it can cause significant reduction in both quality and quantity of agricultural products.  Automatic detection of plant diseases is an essential research topic as it may prove benefits in monitoring large fields of crops, and thus automatically detect the symptoms of diseases as soon as they appear on plant leaves.  The proposed system is a software solution for automatic detection and classification of plant leaf diseases.  The developed processing scheme consists of four main steps, first a color transformation structure for the input RGB image is created, then the green pixels are masked and removed using specific threshold value followed by segmentation process, the texture statistics are computed for the useful segments, finally the extracted features are passed through the classifier.  The proposed algorithm’s efficiency can successfully detect and classify the examined diseases with an accuracy of 94%.  Experimental results on a database of about 500 plant leaves confirm the robustness of the proposed approach.   Keywords: HSI, color co-occurrence matrix, texture, SVM, plant leaf disease

A Comparative Analysis of Pulmonary Function Tests Before and After Major Abdominal Surgeries Performed Under General Anaesthesia among Diabetic Individuals

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition characterized by both microvascular and macrovascular complications. While the pulmonary manifestations of diabetes mellitus have not been extensively studied, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) serve as valuable noninvasive tools for assessing lung function.This study aimed to compare the pulmonary function tests before and after surgery among individuals with type 2 diabetes and those without diabetes undergoing elective major abdominal surgeries under general anesthesia. Materials & Methods: A cohort of 100 patients (comprising 50 with diabetes and 50 without diabetes) undergoing elective major abdominal surgeries under general anesthesia participated in this study. Pulmonary function tests were conducted 60 minutes before and after surgery which included forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC ratio, forced expiratory flow at 25% of FVC (FEF 25%), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Results: The majority of participants fell within the 51-55 years age bracket, with mean ages of 52.9 ± 4.8 years for the diabetic group and 51.3 ± 4.8 years for the non-diabetic group. Male participants outnumbered females in both groups. Baseline characteristics did not significantly differ between the two groups. However, diabetic patients exhibited significantly reduced PFT parameters post operatively compared to pre-operative values, except for the FEV1/FVC ratio. Conclusion: Among individuals with type 2 diabetes undergoing elective major abdominal surgeries, there was a notable decrease in mean scores of PFTs post operatively when compared to pre-operative values, except for the FEV1/FVC ratio

HPTLC fingerprinting of stem bark extract of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (L.)

Fingerprint profile of   bark extract of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis using High Performance Thin Layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been established. HPTLC is a valuable tool for the investigation of medicinal plants with reference to the qualitative analysis of the phytoconstituents. Separation of the active constituents from the extracts has been developed using solvent system of Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid (5:4:1). The HPTLC analysis showed the presence of the flavonoid quercetin in the standard as well  as in the sample  and the  Rf value was  0.73. These images of fingerprinting help in the proper identification and quantification of the   marker compounds. On the basis of the marker compounds, new drugs could be formulated to treat various diseases Keywords: Nyctanthes arbor- tristis, HPTLC analysis, quercetin, bark extrac

Monthly Variations on Physicochemical Parameters of a Freshwater Ecosystem of Kurichi Lake, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India

The present study investigated the water quality of Kurichi Lake in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India, by assessing the physicochemical parameters of its surface water over an eight-month period. Water samples were analyzed using standard laboratory procedures to examine the influence of seasonal variations on key water quality indicators. The parameters studied included temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, hardness, TDS, phosphate, magnesium, chloride, calcium, sulfate, nitrate, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results revealed that some of the parameters fell within permissible limits. Many exceeded the established threshold for safe water quality. Specifically, the water quality of Kurichi Lake was found to be just below the pollution threshold, rendering it unsuitable for both potable use and the support of resident aquatic organisms. The findings highlight the need for immediate interventions to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and improve water quality. Effective management strategies, including the reduction of pollution and the implementation of municipal water treatment, are essential to restore the lake\u27s ecological balance and ensure its sustainability for future generations

Antihyperlipidemic Potential of Polyphenol and Glycoside Rich Nerium oleander

Nerium oleander Linn. (NO), an evergreen cardiac glycoside-rich shrub is used as folklore medicine in China to treat many diseases. It exhibits a wide spectrum of bioactivities but there were not much scientific reports on the bioactivity of N. oleander flowers. In the present study, we have evaluated the toxicity profile of the 50% hydroethanolic extracts of Nerium oleander flowers (ENO) using in vitro brine shrimp lethality assay and MTT cytotoxicity assay and in vivo acute toxicity test as per the OECD guidelines. The antihyperlipidemic activity of the ENO was also studied using Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipemic rats and compared with standard Atorvastatin. In vitro brine shrimp, MTT cytotoxic assay, and in vivo acute toxicity assays showed a wide safety margin which has been evidenced through its lethal concentration (LC50: 795.46 μg/mL) and growth inhibition (GI50: 993.60 μg/ml) values. Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were significantly elevated by the intraperitoneal injection of Triton WR 1339 in hyperlipidemic rats at 6th and 24th hour. ENO pretreatment showed a significant ameliorative action on elevated lipids and lipoproteins in a dose-dependent manner when compared to standard. Altogether, the results prove that Nerium oleander flowers are not toxic at the tested doses and exhibit antilipimic activity

Remote Monitoring of the Heart Condition of Athletes by Measuring the Cardiac Action Potential Propagation Time Using a Wireless Sensor Network

Highly performing athletes are susceptible to cardiac damage of several kinds which may be irreversible. The monitoring of heart rate and ECG waveforms from such subjects by wireless sensor networks has been reported in health and sports care documents. However, a more decisive parameter for instant to instant changes would be the time of Cardiac Action Potential Propagation. This time, which can be between 15-20 ms would shoot suddenly in acute stress in highly performing athletes for short durations. Repeated incidents of such rising values will tend to cause irreversible damage to the heart. We developed the technique of measuring this time and reporting it through a wireless sensor network to monitoring station