EFFECT OF ZANJABĪL (ZINGIBER OFFICINALE) IN NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE- A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a reversible condition of the liver, wherein large vacuoles of triglyceride fat accumulates in liver cells via the process of steatosis, despite any evidence of excessive alcohol consumption. In view of present scenario of high prevalence and limited treatment options, this study was conducted to assess the effect of Murabba-i- Zanjabīl in NAFLD. Present study was designed as a randomized placebo controlled trial with 30 patients in test group and 10 patients in control group. Participants in test group were administered with Murabba-i- Zanjabīl, 5 gm twice daily, 30 minutes before food for 45 days and those in control group were given 1 capsule of 500 mg each containing wheat flour twice daily, 30 minutes before food for 45 days. All the participants were asked to follow up at every 15 days for assessment of subjective parameters. Objective parameter was assessed before and after the trial period. On statistical analysis the test formulation showed significant reduction in scores (p<0.05) for most of the parameters on both inter and intra group analysis, while the reduction in control group was not found to be statistically significant (p.0.05). This study lays out that Murabbā-i Zanjabīl in a dose of 5gm twice daily given for 45 days is more effective than placebo in treating NAFLD. There was no adverse effect reported during the trial. It was thus concluded that Murabbā-i Zanjabīl is effective and safe in therapeutic management of NAFLD

Comparison of choroidal thickness measurements between spectral-domain OCT and swept-source OCT in normal and diseased eyes

Purpose: Sub-foveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) is affected in many ocular diseases. The aim of this study was to compare SFCT measurements between Topcon 3D 2000 spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and Topcon swept-source OCT (SS-OCT), with different laser wavelengths, in normal and diseased populations.MATERIALS AND Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, noninterventional study including 27 normal volunteers and 27 participants with retinal disease. OCT scans were performed sequentially and under standardized conditions using both SD-OCT and SS-OCT. The OCT scans were evaluated by two independent graders. Paired t-tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess the statistically significant difference between SFCT measurements as measured by the two devices.Results: Mean SFCT measurements for all 54 participants were 264.9±103.1 mum using SD-OCT (range: 47-470 mum) and 278.5±110.5 mum using SS-OCT (range: 56-502 mum), with an inter-device ICC of 0.850. Greater variability was noted in the diseased eyes. Inter-device ICCs were 0.870 (95% CI; 0.760-0.924) and 0.840 (95% CI; 0.654-0.930) for normal and diseased eyes, respectively. However, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.132).CONCLUSION: Both machines reliably measure SFCT. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings

Azygos Vein Lead Implantation For High Defibrillation Thresholds In Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Placement

Evaluation of defibrillation threshold is a standard of care during implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator. High defibrillation thresholds are often encountered and pose a challenge to electrophysiologists to improve the defibrillation threshold. We describe a case series where defibrillation thresholds were improved after implanting a defibrillation lead in the azygos vein

Thermal Model of Rotary Friction Welding for Similar and Dissimilar Metals

Friction welding is one of the foremost welding processes for similar and dissimilar metals. Previously, the process has been modeled utilizing the rudimentary techniques of constant friction and slip-stick friction. The motivation behind this article is to present a new characteristic for temperature profile estimation in modeling of the rotary friction welding process. For the first time, a unified model has been exhibited, with an implementation of the phase transformation of similar and dissimilar materials. The model was generated on COMSOL Multiphysics® and thermal and structural modules were used to plot the temperature curve. The curve for the welding of dissimilar metals using the model was generated, compared and analyzed with that of practical curves already acquired through experimentation available in the literature, and then the effect of varying the parameters on the welding of similar metals was also studied

DNA ploidy analyses in 218 consecutive Pakistani breast cancer patients: does it add anything?

An analysis was made to evaluate the significance of DNA ploidy in the biology and prognosis of breast carcinoma. This was done by estimating the correlation of DNA ploidy with other established prognostic markers of breast cancer, namely tumor size, tumor grade, lymph node metastasis and S-phase fraction. From 1995 up to year 2000 ploidy analysis was performed on 218 consecutive cases of infiltrating breast carcinoma by flow cytometry using formalin fixed paraffin embedded material. From the laboratory record, data regarding other pathological variables was retrieved. No correlation could be found between DNA ploidy and tumor grade, nor could there be found a correlation with tumor size. For lymph node metastasis there was a significant difference between the proportion of aneuploids and diploids having metastasis in more than 4 lymph nodes. However, no significant difference was found in axillary lymph node positive and negative groups when number of positive lymph nodes was not taken into account. The mean value of S-phase fraction for the aneuploids and the diploids was also insignificantly different. In conclusion DNA ploidy alone did not add much to predict tumor behaviour in terms of known pathologic variables

AN UPDATED REVIEW ON USTUKHUDOOS PLANT

Lavandula stoechas Mill. commonly known as Ustukhudoos, is perhaps the most important medicinal plant in the unani system of medicine. Whole part, flowers and essential oil of the plant is used to treat a variety of diseases. A number of ailments are treated by the plant which is used either alone or in combination with other plants. It is used for the treatment of various neurological disorders like hemiplegia, facial paralysis, tremors, epilepsy, melancholia, neurasthenia. Moreover, it is used in sinusitis, liver disorders and urinary disorders etc. L. stoechas possesses antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, sedative, hepatoprotective activities. This article discusses and summarizes the important medicinal values of Ustukhudoos in the perspective of Unani literature as well as modern scientific research. Keywords: Ustukhudoos, Lavandula stoechas, neurological, epileps

Leverage of Environmental Pollutant Crump Rubber on the Dry Sliding Wear Response of Epoxy Composites.

The effect of crump rubber on the dry sliding wear behavior of epoxy composites is investigated in the present study. Wear tests are carried out for three levels of crump rubber (10, 20, and 30 vol.%), normal applied load (30, 40, and 50 N), and sliding distance (1, 3, and 5 km). The wear behavior of crump rubber-epoxy composites is investigated against EN31 steel discs. The hybrid mathematical approach of Taguchi-coupled Grey Relational Analysis (GRA)-Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used to examine the influence of crump rubber on the tribological response of composites. Mathematical and experimental results reveal that increasing crump rubber content reduces the wear rate of composites. Composites also show a significant decrease in specific wear values at higher applied loads. Furthermore, the coefficient of friction also shows a decreasing trend with an increase in crump rubber content, indicating the effectiveness of reinforcing crump rubber in a widely used epoxy matrix. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results also reveal that the crump rubber content in the composite is a significant parameter to influence the wear characteristic. The post-test temperature of discs increases with an increase in the applied load, while decreasing with an increase in filler loading. Worn surfaces are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy to understand structure-property correlations. Finally, existing studies available in the literature are compared with the wear data of the present study in the form of a property map