Hypovitamanosis D and non cardiac chest pain

Background: Recurrent atypical chest pain not due to cardiac illness is a very common condition in medical outpatient departments. Authors found that people consulting for atypical chest pain often have significant Vitamin D deficiency and correction of Vitamin D deficiency relieved patient symptoms. Hence authors carried out this study.Methods: Persons aged below 50 years were taken up for study. Those attending medical clinics with complaints of chest pain occurring more than two times were taken up for study. Cardiac illness was excluded by clinical examination and investigations. Those found to have low Vitamin D were taken up for study. 60,000 international units Vitamin D was administered orally weekly for 8 weeks. They were followed up twice weekly for three months and once monthly for three months.Results: Results were analyzed and charted. 120 subjects were taken up for study and duration of study was three years. Average age of the study group was 37.50 years and the average Vitamin D level was 15.75 nanogram/ml (ngm/ml). Duration of chest pain ranged from one week to one year. Most of the patients had migratory chest pain.Conclusions: As Vitamin D deficiency is a treatable medical condition it may be prudent to check Vitamin D levels in the patients presenting with recurrent atypical pain in the chest. It reduces the burden on the health care system and relieves the suffering of the patient. It may not be futile to check Vitamin D levels even in the patients with coronary artery disease who are suffering from atypical chest pain

Guidance Systems of Fighter Aircraft

Mission performance of a fighter aircraft is crucial for survival and strike capabilities in todays' aerial warfare scenario. The guidance functions of such an aircraft play a vital role inmeeting the requirements and accomplishing the mission success. This paper presents the requirements of precision guidance for various missions of a fighter aircraft. The concept ofguidance system as a pilot-in-loop system is pivotal in understanding and designing such a system. Methodologies of designing such a system are described

Tuberculin skin test results in HIV-infected patients in India: implications for latent tuberculosis treatment

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in detecting latent and active tuberculosis (TB) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients in South India. DESIGN: TSTs and CD4 counts were collected from 631 HIV-infected individuals without active TB and 209 antiretroviral and anti-tuberculosis treatment-naïve HIVinfected patients with TB. We calculated the proportion of TST-positive individuals, as well as the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value of TST in the diagnosis of TB. RESULTS: Among subjects without active TB, 28% with a CD4 count �100 cells/�l vs. 43% of the total cohort had a TST �5 mm (P � 0.14), while the proportions with induration �10 mm were 14% vs. 36%, respectively (P � 0.01). Among those with active TB, using a 5 mm cut-off, the sensitivity was 42% for those with CD4 counts �200 cells/�l compared to 70% for those with CD4 counts �200 cells/�l (P � 0.001). The PPV for detecting active TB was 29%. CONCLUSIONS: TST is a poor predictor of both latent and active TB in HIV-infected individuals in TB endemic countries. Programmes offering treatment for latent TB should consider including all HIV-positive patients regardless of TST status, or use other indicators, such as CD4 count

Crop-Livestock Linkages in Watersheds of Andhra Pradesh: Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report no. 29

There are a number of studies that have looked at the impact of watershed programs on rural livelihoods with a focus on crops and related activities but few have considered the importance of livestock. This study focuses on the crop-livestock linkages in dryland villages under watershed programs and concentrates on the impact of watershed interventions on crop-livestock linkages and the implication to rural livelihoods. For this study, baseline data collected from six watershed villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India under the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme (APRLP) were analyzed with a focus on livestock production systems, size and composition of livestock holdings, milk production and marketing, and the availability and utilization of feed within the context of the socioeconomic, agroclimatic and agricultural backdrop of the villages. The impact of a watershed program on the crop-livestock system was studied by selecting two villages with the same agroclimatic conditions: one with a watershed intervention and the other without any intervention. The findings indicate that the bovine sector is more advanced in the watershed village compared to the control village with a shift in composition from work or draft animals to milch animals. Total increase in milk production in the watershed village is attributed to household level improvements in productivity, as a result of a better feeding regime. On a dry matter basis the quantity of fodder fed per adult livestock unit was 65–70% higher in the watershed village compared to the control village. In addition there was a dramatic increase in the quantity of greens fed which substituted for the use of concentrate feed usually composed of agro-industrial by-products. Conclusions indicate that the higher production of green biomass could be attributed to more intensive cropping resulting from improved moisture budgeting in the soils following the watershed intervention. Finally, the report suggests a few simple indicators that can be easily used to measure the impact of watershed programs on rural livelihoods with particular reference to crop-livestock linkages

Frequency of mixed infection of Tobacco streak virus and Peanut bud necrosis virus in groundnut

Bud necrosis disease (BND) first recognized in 1968, caused by the Peanut bud necrosis virus (PBNV; Tospovirus) is an important constraint to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production in Southeast Asia, including India. BND symptoms on groundnut include mosaic mottling symptoms on leaves, drooping of petioles followed by terminal bud necrosis. Early infection causes stunting and proliferation of axillary shoots. In 2000, a sever epidemic of BND-like disease was observed in groundnut crop............

Three-Dimensional Endoscopy-Assisted Excision and Reconstruction for Metastatic Disease of the Dorsal and Lumbar Spine: Early Results

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the role of three-dimensional (3D) endoscopy in surgical management of metastatic disease of the dorsal and lumbar spine. METHODS: This is a prospective study on 33 patients (15 men and 18 women, mean age of 61.6 ± 8.9 years) with biopsy-proven metastatic disease of the spine managed by sequential/staged posterior decompression-stabilization, followed by 3D endoscopy-assisted anterior corpectomy and stabilization with a mesh cage. All patients had significant extradural compression or spinal instability or both. Sixteen patients had neurological deficits. Visual analog scale (VAS), Frenkel grade (neurological deficits), Karnofsky performance status scale, and the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) were used for assessment preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months from surgery. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 1.7 ± 0.7 years from surgery, 18 patients were alive. VAS showed significant improvement at the latest follow-up compared to preoperative levels (4.39 vs. 6.61, p = 0.001). Karnofsky status did not show any significant improvement. Frenkel grade improved in 5 patients, deteriorated in 4 patients, and remained unchanged in 24 patients. Regarding SF-36 parameters, general health showed deterioration, but role functioning—physical, role functioning—emotional, social functioning, and body pain showed statistically significant improvement. There was no change in physical health, viability, and mental health. Subjectively the surgeons felt better depth perception and smoother surgical experience with the 3D optics technology. The only complication was delayed wound healing in three patients who had a previous history of radiotherapy to the surgical site. CONCLUSIONS: 3D endoscopy is a valuable tool in the management of metastatic spinal disease requiring excision and reconstruction using the combined posterior and anterior approaches. These early results warrant confirmation with more data and longer follow-ups

The impact of the socio-economic crisis of 2001 on the scientific system of Argentina from the scientometric perspective

In recent years a number of studies have addressed the topic of the economic crisis of Argentina in 2001, and its repercussions upon the political, social, and institutional systems of the country. However, no studies to date have analyzed the effects of the crisis upon the country ́s scientific system from a scientometric perspective, with an analysis of the resources dedicated to scientific activity as well as the final results in terms of output and impact. The present study attempts to show the effects of the 2001 crisis upon the scientific system by means of a set of scientometric indicators that reflect economic effort, human resources dedicated to research, publications, collaborative relations, and the international visibility of scientific contributions

Challenges and Opportunities for Multi-functional Oxide Thin Films for Voltage Tunable Radio Frequency/Microwave Components

There has been significant progress on the fundamental science and technological applications of complex oxides and multiferroics. Among complex oxide thin films, barium strontium titanate (BST) has become the material of choice for room-temperature-based voltage-tunable dielectric thin films, due to its large dielectric tunability and low microwave loss at room temperature. BST thin film varactor technology based reconfigurable radio frequency (RF)/microwave components have been demonstrated with the potential to lower the size, weight, and power needs of a future generation of communication and radar systems. Low-power multiferroic devices have also been recently demonstrated. Strong magneto-electric coupling has also been demonstrated in different multiferroic heterostructures, which show giant voltage control of the ferromagnetic resonance frequency of more than two octaves. This manuscript reviews recent advances in the processing, and application development for the complex oxides and multiferroics, with the focus on voltage tunable RF/microwave components. The over-arching goal of this review is to provide a synopsis of the current state-of the-art of complex oxide and multiferroic thin film materials and devices, identify technical issues and technical challenges that need to be overcome for successful insertion of the technology for both military and commercial applications, and provide mitigation strategies to address these technical challenges

The Development and Use of Pitfall and Probe Traps for Capturing Insects in Stored Grain

The development and use of pitfall and probe traps for capture of insects in bulk-stored grain are outlined. Unbaited traps are effective in detecting infestations and they detect a large number of species compared with grain-sampling devices. The effectiveness of the traps is related to temperature, trapping period, and grain moisture content; and traps are less reliable for detecting insect species that are less mobile, have a non uniform distribution in grain, feed within kernels, or can escape from the traps. Comparisons are given between effectiveness of probe traps and grain sampling for detecting insects, and experience using probe traps in stored grain is reporte

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Childhood Undernutrition in India: Analyzing Trends between 1992 and 2005

India experienced a rapid economic boom between 1991 and 2007. However, this economic growth has not translated into improved nutritional status among young Indian children. Additionally, no study has assessed the trends in social disparities in childhood undernutrition in the Indian context. We examined the trends in social disparities in underweight and stunting among Indian children aged less than three years using nationally representative data.We analyzed data from the three cross-sectional rounds of National Family Health Survey of India from 1992, 1998 and 2005. The social factors of interest were: household wealth, maternal education, caste, and urban residence. Using multilevel modeling to account for the nested structure and clustering of data, we fit multivariable logistic regression models to quantify the association between the social factors and the binary outcome variables. The final models additionally included age, gender, birth order of child, religion, and age of mother. We analyzed the trend by testing for interaction of the social factor and survey year in a dataset pooled from all three surveys.While the overall prevalence rates of undernutrition among Indian children less than three decreased over the 1992-2005 period, social disparities in undernutrition over these 14 years either widened or stayed the same. The absolute rates of undernutrition decreased for everyone regardless of their social status. The disparities by household wealth were greater than the disparities by maternal education. There were no disparities in undernutrition by caste, gender or rural residence.There was a steady decrease in the rates of stunting in the 1992-2005 period, while the decline in underweight was greater between 1992 and 1998 than between 1998 and 2005. Social disparities in childhood undernutrition in India either widened or stayed the same during a time of major economic growth. While the advantages of economic growth might be reaching everyone, children from better-off households, with better educated mothers appear to have benefited to a greater extent than less privileged children. The high rates of undernutrition (even among the socially advantaged groups) and the persistent social disparities need to be addressed in an urgent and comprehensive manner