REALIZATION OF A VARIABLE RESOLUTION MODIFIED SEMIFLASH ADC BASED ON BIT SEGMENTATION SCHEME

A modified variable resolution semiflash ADC, based on ‘bit segmentation scheme’, is presented. Its speed and comparator count are identical to a normal flash ADC. An 8-bit ADC has 256 different bit combinations. Sixteen consecutive bit combinations from the MSB side – beginning with the first one, remain unaltered for such an ADC. It continues this way till the last group of sixteen bits. In the designed circuit, the four MSB and four LSB bits are determined in the first and second part of the clock. Following the same logic, the bits in a 16-bit ADC can be found out in only two clock cycles by employing only fifteen comparators. It implies that a higher resolution ADC can easily be determined with low power and small die area. It is tested in P-SIM Professional 9 for an 8-bit ADC and curves drawn to establish the validity of the proposal

Role of Laser in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Review of Literature

Lasers have been used in dentistry for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes for more than 30 years, and are an indispensable instrument in any modern dental surgery. The  use of lasers enables new treatment methods to be employed in order to meaningfully supplement traditional therapies. The purpose of this paper is to overview the use of laser as use widely. In this paper, we are summarized the role of laser in different oral and maxillofacial disease by review of literatures. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a vast branch of dentistry which includes procedures ranging from simple extraction to pathologies of both the hard and soft-tissues.Based on extensive review of literature, certain conclusion can be made regarding the use of lasers&nbsp

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF BILAYERED FELODIPINE TRANSDERMAL PATCHES: IN VITRO AND EX VIVO CHARACTERIZATION

Objective: Felodipine (FD) is an effective Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class II calcium channel blocker mainly used in the management of hypertension and angina pectoris. It has poor solubility and low oral bioavailability (15%). To overcome these disadvantages and to maintain constant plasma concentration for maximum therapeutic activity, there is a need to design an alternative route, that is, transdermal route. The pharmacokinetic parameters make FD a suitable candidate for transdermal delivery. The present investigation consists of the study of in vitro and ex vivo skin flux of FD from bilayered transdermal patches. Methods: The patches were fabricated by solvent casting method using hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymer with different composition. Tween 80 incorporated as solubilizer, polyethylene glycol 600 as plasticizer, menthol, eucalyptus oil, and lemongrass oil used as permeation enhancers, respectively. The prepared transdermal drug delivery system was extensively evaluated for in vitro release, ex vivo permeation through pig ear skin, moisture content, moisture absorption, water vapor transmission, and mechanical properties. The physicochemical interaction between FD and polymers was investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Results: All the formulations exhibited satisfactory physicochemical and mechanical characteristics. A flux of 35.2 μg/cm2 h, 27.9 μg/cm2 h, and 25.25 μg/cm2 h was achieved for optimized formulations containing lemongrass oil, eucalyptus oil, and menthol, respectively, permeation enhances. Values of tensile strength (0.0652±0.034 kg/mm²) and elongation at break (0.8749±0.0.0029% mm²) revealed that formulation F9 was strong but not brittle. Drug and excipients compatibility studies showed no evidence of interaction between the active ingredient and polymers. Conclusion: Bilayered FD transdermal patches could be prepared with required flux and suitable mechanical properties

Fall in Vitamin D Levels during Hospitalization in Children

Plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured by competitive Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay (ECLIA) in 92 children (67 boys, 25 girls) aged 3 months to 12 years at admission to hospital (timepoint 1, T1) and at discharge (timepoint 2, T2). There was a significant fall in the mean 25(OH)D from T1 (71.87 ± 27.25 nmol/L) to T2 (49.03 ± 22.25 nmol/L) (mean change = 22.84 nmol/L, P value = 0.0004). Proportion of patients having VDD (levels <50 nmol/L) at admission (25%, 23/92) increased significantly at the time of discharge (51.09%, 47/92) (P=0.0004). There was a trend towards longer duration of hospital stay, requirement of ventilation and inotropes, development of healthcare-associated infection, and mortality in vitamin D deficient as compared to nondeficient patients though the difference was statistically insignificant. In conclusion, vitamin D levels fall significantly and should be monitored during hospital stay in children. Large clinical studies are needed to prospectively evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D deficient hospitalized children on various disease outcome parameters

Relationship of serum vitamin D with hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background: Serum vitamin D concentration is proposed to have an important role on outcome in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A few studies have shown an inverse association of vitamin D level with stage of fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to verify whether serum vitamin D level is an independent predictor of significant hepatic fibrosis.Methods: Seventy-two treatment naive chronic HCV subjects and 40 healthy age and sex matched controls were included in the study. A serum vitamin D level was assessed in both HCV subjects and controls, and liver biopsy was performed in all HCV subjects to assess for stage of fibrosis.Results: Serum vitamin D levels were significantly lower HCV patients in comparison to age and sex matched controls (18.04±6.92 versus 21.53±8.2, p<0.01). Most common genotype in HCV patients was genotype 3 (62.5%) and blood transfusion was the most common mode of transmission (28%) followed by intravenous drug user (IVDU) (17%). The HCV patients with vitamin D level <20 ng/ml had higher metavir score as compared to vitamin D≥20 ng/ml (1.67±0.66 versus 2.5±0.67, p<0.001). Both univariate and multivariate analysis performed using logistic regression revealed that vitamin D<20 ng/dl is a significant negative predictor of liver fibrosis (p<0.05).Conclusions: Chronic HCV patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels as compared to healthy controls. Serum vitamin D was a negative predictor of stage of fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Associations between Body Mass Index and Breast Cancer Markers

Body mass index (BMI) and breast cancer biomarkers (BCBs) such asresistin, leptin adiponectin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1)and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) arehighly associated with each other. The report has focused the inter-relationship between BMI and BCBs based on probabilistic modeling. It hasbeen shown that mean BMI is directly associated with leptin (P<0.0001)and MCP-1 (P=0.0002), while it is inversely associated with adiponectin(P=0.0003), HOMA-IR (P<0.0001), and it is higher for healthy women(P=0.0116) than breast cancer women. In addition, variance of BMIis inversely associated with resistin (P=0.1450). On the other hand,mean MCP-1 is directly associated with BMI (P<0.0001). Mean resistin is directly associated with the interaction effect of BMI and leptin(BMI*Leptin) (P=0.0415), while its variance is directly associated withBMI (P=0.0942), and it is inversely associated with BMI*Adiponectin(P=0.1518). Leptin is directly associated with BMI (P<0.0001). Alsoadiponectin is inversely associated with BMI (P<0.0001), BMI*Leptin(P=0.1729), while it is directly associated with Age*BMI (P=0.0017)and BMI*Resistin (P=0.0615). It can be concluded that BMI and BCBsare strongly associated with each other. Care should be taken on BMI forbreast cancer women