COMPARISON OF EFFICACY OF TRANEXAMIC ACID 10 MG/KG AND 15 MG/KG IN REDUCING BLEEDING AND TRANSFUSIONS IN TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of tranexamic acid 10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg in reducing bleeding and transfusions in total knee arthroplasty. Methods: After approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee, KMC, Mangaluru, 88 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria of this study undergoing total knee replacements were informed of the study details and consent was obtained for the same. They were randomized into two groups using computer-generated block randomization, i.e., Group A and Group B, and were administered tranexamic acid 10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg intravenously, respectively. Intraoperatively, hemodynamic parameters were noted. Postoperatively, hemoglobin levels were assessed on days 1 and 3. Transfusions, thromboembolic complications, and duration of hospital stay were noted. Results: Of the 88 participants of the trial, 44 in Groups A and B each, there were no significant differences in the parameters observed in this study such as intraoperative hemodynamic changes, post-operative fall in hemoglobin on day 3, number of patients requiring transfusions, number of thromboembolic events, and duration of hospital stay. A significant p-value was observed in the fall in hemoglobin in the post-operative day 3 (p=0.043). Conclusion: About 15 mg/kg tranexamic acid proved to have a lesser fall in hemoglobin on day 3 postoperatively when compared to the 10 mg/kg group. However, the fall of hemoglobin on day 3 was statistically significant and warranted a blood transfusion in two patients in the 10 mg/kg group but did not prolong their hospital stay

IN-VITRO ASSIMILATION OF TRIMYRISTIN IN THE SEEDS OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS AND IN POLY HERBAL AYURVEDIC FORMULATION BY UFLC METHOD

The present study was aimed to develop a simple and validated chromatographic method for the estimation of Trimyristin in the API and in poly herbal Ayurvedic formulations by UFLC method, along with stress induced degradation studies of the drug and validate the method as per the ICH guidelines. The analysis was carried out under isocratic conditions using dichloromethane and acetonitrile in the ratio of 95:5 as mobile phase with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min at 210nm. The method was simple, specific, precise, and accurate with retention times 0.904 and 0.906 minutes for the API and isolated product. The system obeys the Beer's law in the concentration range of 10-90μg/ml. The percentage recovery studies performed showed a percentage recovery of 98.3 -101.6%w/v and found to be linear with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.9993. The method was found to be precise with relative standard deviation of less than 2%, detection limit and quantitation limit was estimated to be 4.58μg/ml, 15.27μg/ml respectively. The method was found to be robust even by change in mobile phase ratio of ±5%, change in wavelength and change in flow rate of ±0.1 ml/min.  This validated method was sensitive and reproducible enough to be used for routine analysis of Poweromin tablet and Makaradhwaj vatti in time and cost effective manner. Keywords: Trimyristin, Poweromin, Makaradhwaj vatti, UFLC, isocratic elution, validation and stress degradatio

GATEway to the cloud: Case study: A privacy-aware environment for electronic health records research

We describe a study in the domain of health informatics which includes some novel requirements for patient confidentiality in the context of medical health research. We present a prototype which takes health records from a commercial data provider, anonymises them in an innovative way and makes them available within a secure cloud-based Virtual Research Environment (VRE). Data anonymity is tailored as required for individual researchers' needs and ethics committee approval. VREs are dynamically configured to model each researcher's personal research environment while maintaining data integrity, provenance generation and patient confidentiality

Friend Turns Foe: Transformation of Anti-Inflammatory HDL to Proinflammatory HDL during Acute-Phase Response

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a major carrier of cholesterol in the blood. Unlike other lipoproteins, physiological functions of HDL influence the cardiovascular system in favorable ways except when HDL is modified pathologically. The cardioprotective mechanism of HDL is mainly based on reverse cholesterol transport, but there has been an emerging interest in the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant roles of HDL. These latter activities of HDL are compromised in many pathological states associated with inflammation. Further, abnormal HDL can become proinflammatory contributing to oxidative damage. In this paper, we discuss the functional heterogeneity of HDL, how alterations in these particles in inflammatory states result in loss of both antioxidant activity and reverse cholesterol transport in relation to atherosclerosis, and the need for assays to predict its functionality

From rods to helices: evidence of a screw-like nematic phase

Evidence of a special chiral nematic phase is provided using numerical simulation and Onsager theory for systems of hard helical particles. This phase appears at the high density end of the nematic phase, when helices are well aligned, and is characterized by the C$_2$ symmetry axes of the helices spiraling around the nematic director with periodicity equal to the particle pitch. This coupling between translational and rotational degrees of freedom allows a more efficient packing and hence an increase of translational entropy. Suitable order parameters and correlation functions are introduced to identify this screw-like phase, whose main features are then studied as a function of radius and pitch of the helical particles. Our study highlights the physical mechanism underlying a similar ordering observed in colloidal helical flagella [E. Barry et al. \textit{Phys. Rev. Lett.} \textbf{96}, 018305 (2006)] and raises the question of whether it could be observed in other helical particle systems, such as DNA, at sufficiently high densities.Comment: List of authors correcte

Controlled Delivery of Pan-PAD-Inhibitor Cl-Amidine Using Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) Microspheres.

This study deals with the process of optimization and synthesis of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) microspheres with encapsulated Cl-amidine. Cl-amidine is an inhibitor of peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), a group of calcium-dependent enzymes, which play critical roles in a number of pathologies, including autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cancer. While Cl-amidine application has been assessed in a number of in vitro and in vivo models; methods of controlled release delivery remain to be investigated. P(3HB) microspheres have proven to be an effective delivery system for several compounds applied in antimicrobial, wound healing, cancer, and cardiovascular and regenerative disease models. In the current study, P(3HB) microspheres with encapsulated Cl-amidine were produced in a size ranging from ~4-5 µm and characterized for surface morphology, porosity, hydrophobicity and protein adsorption, in comparison with empty P(3HB) microspheres. Cl-amidine encapsulation in P(3HB) microspheres was optimized, and these were found to be less hydrophobic, compared with the empty microspheres, and subsequently adsorbed a lower amount of protein on their surface. The release kinetics of Cl-amidine from the microspheres were assessed in vitro and expressed as a function of encapsulation efficiency. There was a burst release of ~50% Cl-amidine in the first 24 h and a zero order release from that point up to 16 days, at which time point ~93% of the drug had been released. As Cl-amidine has been associated with anti-cancer effects, the Cl-amidine encapsulated microspheres were assessed for the inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in the mammalian breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3, including in the presence of the anti-proliferative drug rapamycin. The cytotoxicity of the combinatorial effect of rapamycin with Cl-amidine encapsulated P(3HB) microspheres was found to be 3.5% more effective within a 24 h period. The cells treated with Cl-amidine encapsulated microspheres alone, were found to have 36.5% reduction in VEGF expression when compared with untreated SK-BR-3 cells. This indicates that controlled release of Cl-amidine from P(3HB) microspheres may be effective in anti-cancer treatment, including in synergy with chemotherapeutic agents. Using controlled drug-delivery of Cl-amidine encapsulated in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) microspheres may be a promising novel strategy for application in PAD-associated pathologies

Hydrodynamic studies of aqueous two-phase systems in millichannels

Liquid-liquid segmented flows in microchannels have been extensively investigated in the context of nanoparticle synthesis. The enhanced mixing in the slugs results in monodispersed particles. Earlier studies have focused on Organic-Aqueous Systems (OAS). The nanoparticles synthesized in the presence of organic solutions have limited applications. An alternative green route for the synthesis can be developed using an Aqueous Two-Phase System (ATPS). These systems are characterized by interfacial tensions, which are two orders of magnitude lower than typical organic aqueous systems. In this work, flow patterns and hydrodynamics of ATPS are investigated as a first step. Polyethylene glycol -trisodium citrate system was chosen as ATPS. The objective of this work is to see if any new physics arises in an ATPS system. The low interfacial tension results in high Capillary numbers (Ca >> 3) in a microfluidic system. Consequently, the flow observed here is parallel or core-annular. However, in a millichannel, the capillary number becomes lower (Ca << 1) for an ATPS system. In this work, experiments were carried out in a millichannel to span different flow patterns. The pattern formation was analyzed and classified into three categories, i.e., slug flow (interfacial tension dominated), transition flow, and core annular flow (inertia dominated). Flow regime maps based on the Reynolds number, Capillary number, and Weber number of each phase were found to be qualitatively similar to those of OAS. Simulations were performed for various interfacial tension values. An interfacial tension value of 1.25x10-4 N/m was found to yield slug sizes which fitted well with the experimental data. Film thickness was measured experimentally and with simulations compared favorably with the correlations available in the literature for OAS

A Survey on Multimedia Content Protection Mechanisms

Cloud computing has emerged to influence multimedia content providers like Disney to render their multimedia services. When content providers use the public cloud, there are chances to have pirated copies further leading to a loss in revenues. At the same time, technological advancements regarding content recording and hosting made it easy to duplicate genuine multimedia objects. This problem has increased with increased usage of a cloud platform for rendering multimedia content to users across the globe. Therefore it is essential to have mechanisms to detect video copy, discover copyright infringement of multimedia content and protect the interests of genuine content providers. It is a challenging and computationally expensive problem to be addressed considering the exponential growth of multimedia content over the internet. In this paper, we surveyed multimedia-content protection mechanisms which throw light on different kinds of multimedia, multimedia content modification methods, and techniques to protect intellectual property from abuse and copyright infringement. It also focuses on challenges involved in protecting multimedia content and the research gaps in the area of cloud-based multimedia content protection

SELF MEDICATION PRACTICE AMONG MEDICAL, PHARMACY AND NURSING STUDENTS

Objective: The main objective of this study was to identify the commonly used drugs, indications, reasons, factors and to assess the attitude of medical, pharmacy and nursing students towards self-medication.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in students of Medical, Pharmacy and Nursing college of Adichunchanagiri Institutions B. G Nagara from October 2014 to March 2015. Relevant information was obtained by using the questionnaire after taking the consent from students. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS version 17.0.Results: 736 students were enrolled in the study, with the age group of 17-26 y. In that 516 (70.1%) were females, 220 (29.9%) were male students. Females were self-medicating more (96.5%) than males (89.54%). The most common drugs used as self-medication are antipyretics (83.15%), antihistamines (26%), analgesics (25%). Fever and headache are the most common illness for self-medication reported. Among the reasons for self-medication, 86.54% students were reported that they used self-medication due to lack of time to consult the physician, 54.89% and 54.07% were reported that they felt their health problem is not serious and for their quick relief respectively.Conclusion: Study concluded that the prevalence of self-medication practice is more among the medical and paramedical students because they are having easy access to knowledge related to the diseases and drugs. Among the three groups of students the prevalence of self-medication is more among nursing students.Keywords: Self-medication, Over the counter drug, NSAID