ANALYSIS OF THE ARSENIC IN COMMONLY USED MEDICINAL PLANTS

The demand for herbal products as food supplements, food additive and traditional medicine for health care is increasing globally. There are several reports of adverse effects of these herbal preparations due to the presence of high level of heavy metals such as Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, Mercury, Chromium, Nickel, Copper etc and this problem has become a matter of concern. The present study was done to determine the presence of Arsenic in some of the selected medicinal plants namely Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R.Br. (Sariba), Cyperus rotundus L. (Musta), Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Yashtimadhu), Rubia cordifolia L. (Manjishta), Eclipta alba Hassk (Bhringaraj), Hedychium spicatum Ham.ex Smith (Karchura), Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Amalaki) and Acacia concinna (Willd.) DC. (Shikakai), which were procured from local market of Chennai, Tirupati and Hyderabad. The samples were digested by wet digestion method and analysed by UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The results were compared with permissible limits recommended by WHO. Mean levels were evaluated with respect to their procurement. It was observed that the analyzed plant species contained safe levels of the heavy metals concentration excepting a very few samples. There was a considerable variation of heavy metal concentration for the examined medicinal plant species. This is due to the difference in physiological properties of plant uptake

Lymphadenovarix in the axilla – an unusual presentation of filariasis

Clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis depend on the area of lymphatic involvement and the duration of infection. A 21 year old man, resident in a filariasis endemic region, presented with multiple matted lymph nodes with cystic areas forming a large mass in his left axilla. An ultrasound scan of the axilla using a 7.5 MHz transducer revealed grossly dilated lymphatics but no filarial dance sign. Fine needle (21 G) aspiration cytology (FNAC) from the dilated lymphatics and solid areas in the lymph node mass revealed multiple microfilariae in a background of reactive lymphoid cells. Peripheral blood smears revealed microfilaremia with significant eosinophilia. Diagnosis of left axillary Bancroftian lymphadenovarix was made. On the administration of oral diethylcarbamazine, the diameter of the lymphatic vessels in the lymphadenovarix reduced considerably in size and microfilaremia disappeared. We report this case because axillary lymphadenovarix is a rare presentation of filariasis. This case is also unique since microfilariae were demonstrated in the fluid aspirated from the dilated lymphatics of the lymphadenovarix in the absence of live adult worms

Rotating Machinery Predictive Maintenance Through Expert System

Modern rotating machines such as turbomachines, either produce or absorb huge amount of power. Some of the common applications are: steam turbine-generator and gas turbine-compressor-generator trains produce power and machines, such as pumps, centrifugal compressors, motors, generators, machine tool spindles, etc., are being used in industrial applications. Condition-based maintenance of rotating machinery is a common practice where the machine's condition is monitored constantly, so that timely maintenance can be done. Since modern machines are complex and the amount of data to be interpreted is huge, we need precise and fast methods in order to arrive at the best recommendations to prevent catastrophic failure and to prolong the life of the equipment. In the present work using vibration characteristics of a rotor-bearing system, the condition of a rotating machinery (electrical rotor) is predicted using an off-line expert system. The analysis of the problem is carried out in an Object Oriented Programming (OOP) framework using the finite element method. The expert system which is also developed in an OOP paradigm gives the type of the malfunctions, suggestions and recommendations. The system is implemented in C++

Convective thundercloud development over the western ghats mountain slope in Kerala

Studies were carried out on the data from Braemore mountain observatory (lat. 8°45'N, long. 77°5'E) using a single-lens ceilometer (LIDAR), an electric field mill and a portable automatic weather station throughout the year 2010. The simultaneous data collected using the above instruments indicate the existence of strong updrafts followed by the formation of thunderclouds, a characteristic of the mountain slopes, during the thunderstorm months. Changes in atmosphere related to condensation and formation of water droplets during updraft events on the mountain slope could be detected from the ceilometer scattering data. Results of the study point to the cause of relatively more thunderstorm activity in that zone. This seems to be due to excessive updraft, which is strongly related to lightning activity in the region

Survey on Computer Crime Scene Investigation Forensic Tools

Abstract-In the day to day life, the crime is becoming a big issue in the computer field. So to avoid and to protect from crime, Computer Forensics is used. This paper describes different tools that are used in the Computer Forensics. These tools are used to recover the data that is lost (ex., Hard disks).The universal truth says that the coin has two sides where as the technology also has both good and bad. We need to protect the technology by minimizing the impact of threat

Incidence of blast in exotic fingermillet germplasm grown in post-entry quarantine isolation area

The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) has been functioning as a nodal organization for introduction and exchange of plant genetic resources of varied agri-horticultural crops for research purposes. The exchange of germplasm has exposed the world to greater risk of introducing exotic pests. Thus, it is mandatory that all the imported germplasmshould be subjected to post-entry quarantine growing to check for the occurrence of exotic disease incidence (Plant Quarantine Order, 2003). The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) imports crop germplasm from different countries for their crop improvement programmes. During 2012, a total of 727 accessions of fingermilletgermplasmwas imported from Nepal (265), Uganda (437) and Tanzania (25). All the accessions from Nepal and Uganda were the cultivated species of Eleusinecorocana, while accessions from Tanzania consisted of wild finger millet species too, viz., E. indica (16 accns) and E. intermedia (4 accns)..

Critical weather limits for paddy rice under diverse ecosystems of India

Rice yields are largely influenced by variability in weather. Here, we demonstrate the effect of weather variables viz., maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall, morning and evening relative humidity, bright sunshine hours on the yield of rice cv. Swarna, grown across five rice ecologies of India through field experiments during kharif (wet) season (Jun-Sept.). Critical thresholds of weather elements were identified for achieving above average, average and below average yield for each ecology. The investigation could determine how different weather elements individually and collectively affect rice yield in different rice ecosystems of India. While a sudden increase in minimum temperature by 8-10 °C (> 30 °C) during reproductive period resulted in 40-50 per cent yield reduction at Mohanpur, a sudden decrease (< 20 °C) caused yield decline at Dapoli. The higher yields may be attributed to a significant difference in bright sunshine hours between reproductive phases of above-average and below-average yield years (ranging from 2.8 to 7.8 hours during P5 stages and 1.7 to 5.1 during P4 stages). Rice cultivar Swarna performed differently at various sowing dates in a location as well as across locations (6650 kg ha-1 at Dapoli to 1101 kg ha-1 at Samastipur). It was also found that across all locations, the above average yield could be associated with higher range of maximum temperature compared to that of below average yield. Principal component analysis explained 77 per cent of cumulative variance among the variables at first growth stage, whereas 70 per cent at second growth stage followed by 74 per cent and 66 per cent at subsequent growth stages. We found that coastal locations, in contrast to inland ones, could maximize the yield potential of the cultivar Swarna, due to the longer duration of days between panicle initiation to physiological maturity. We anticipate that the location-specific thresholds of weather factors will encourage rice production techniques that are climate resilient

Plasma chemokines as immune biomarkers for diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis

Abstract Background Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in children is challenging due to paucibacillary disease, and lack of ability for microbiologic confirmation. Hence, we measured the plasma chemokines as biomarkers for diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. Methods We conducted a prospective case control study using children with confirmed, unconfirmed and unlikely TB. Multiplex assay was performed to examine the plasma CC and CXC levels of chemokines. Results Baseline levels of CCL1, CCL3, CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in active TB (confirmed TB and unconfirmed TB) in comparison to unlikely TB children. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis revealed that CCL1, CXCL1 and CXCL10 could act as biomarkers distinguishing confirmed or unconfirmed TB from unlikely TB with the sensitivity and specificity of more than 80%. In addition, combiROC exhibited more than 90% sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing confirmed and unconfirmed TB from unlikely TB. Finally, classification and regression tree models also offered more than 90% sensitivity and specificity for CCL1 with a cutoff value of 28 pg/ml, which clearly classify active TB from unlikely TB. The levels of CCL1, CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL10 exhibited a significant reduction following anti-TB treatment. Conclusion Thus, a baseline chemokine signature of CCL1/CXCL1/CXCL10 could serve as an accurate biomarker for the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis