A PROSPECTIVE STUDY FOR THE EVALUATION OF NERVE CONDUCTION ABNORMALITIES IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS

Objectives: Peripheral neuropathy is the one of the frequently encountered complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although, the prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is associated with the diabetes duration, in some cases, the state of neuropathy is evident at the time of diagnosis. In this backdrop, the present study was carried out to evaluate the nerve conduction abnormalities in newly diagnosed T2DM. Methods: This was a prospective study carried out on 30 newly diagnosed T2DM within a time range of 1 month. The patient symptoms such as weakness, burning and tingling senzation, hyperesthesia, and foot ulcer and gait abnormalities were recorded. Nerve conduction analysis of upper limb and lower limb of non-dominant hand side was done using neuro pack S1 machine. Results: Thirty newly diagnosed T2DM patients were enrolled in the present study. The mean age of the patients was found to be 58.12±15.28 years. Distal motor latencies were elevated in T2DM patients as compared to the controls (p<0.05). Further, there was significant prolongation of F-wave latencies in the upper and Lower limbs of the patients as compared to the controls (p<0.05). In addition, there was a significant decrease in sensory conduction velocities in T2DM patients as that of the controls (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes that newly diagnosed T2DM is susceptible to DPN with high incidence rates. Hence, it is essential to perform the nerve conduction studies in newly diagnosed T2DM patients for the early detection and better management and also to prevent the complications

Wash durability and optimal drying regimen of four brands of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets after repeated washing under tropical conditions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current study was undertaken to determine the optimal wash-drying regimen and the effects of different washing procedures on the efficacy, and durability of four brands of newly introduced long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) under tropical conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, the following four LLINs were tested: Olyset^®, PermaNet ^®2.0, BASF^®and TNT^®. Nets were divided into three sets; one set was washed by hand rubbing and air-dried either hanging or spread on the ground in direct sunlight or hanging or spread on the ground under the shade. A second set was washed using the WHO protocol (machine) and the third set was washed by beating the nets on rocks. The biological activities of the nets were assessed by a three-minute bioassay cone test and the residual insecticide contents were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nets that were dried hanging under the shade retained more insecticide, 62.5% and recorded higher mortality compared to nets which were dried lying on the ground in direct sunlight 58.8%, nets dried under the shade spread on the ground 56.3%, and 57.8% for nets dried hanging in direct sunlight. It was also observed that nets washed by the standard WHO protocol, retained more insecticide and were more effective in killing mosquitoes compared to nets washed by local methods of hand rubbing and beating on rocks. There were significant differences between drying regimens (p < 0.0001) and between washing procedures (p < 0.001) respectively. However, the effect of net type was statistically insignificant. The statistical differences on individual nets were also compared, for PermaNet^®and TNT there were no significant differences observed between the four drying regimens (<it>p </it>= 0.7944 and 0.4703) respectively). For BASF and Olyset, the differences were significant (p < 0.001 and p > 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study suggest that washing and drying regimen influence the insecticidal activity of LLINs. The standard WHOPES washing protocol underestimates the amount of insecticide washed from LLINs compared to the abrasive washing procedures that are used in the field. This suggests that there is need to educate net users to adopt a more gentle washing procedure while handling LLINs. The education should accompany net distribution campaigns.</p

MODIFIED APPROXIMATE DCT FOR IMAGE COMPRESSION USING EFFICIENT BINARY ADDER

ABSTRACT Image processing became a big challenge in the multimedia usage for processing the images with low power and high efficiency. For processing images, DCT (Discrete cosine transforms) are utilized for compression because of its advantages over the energy consumption. In existing methods, they used Approximate DCT with fast algorithm and regular pipelining structure for reducing the design complexities. Because of the recursive nature in the existing design, high speed applications are becoming tedious. In our proposed system, we are using Modified Approximate DCT transforms with efficient binary adder circuits. The proposed solution possesses reduced number of gates and logic realization becomes easy for implementation

Evaluation of certain insecticides on nettings for their efficacy and wash resistance against mosquito species

439-442Five insecticides (Bifenthrin, Deltamethrin, Etofenprox, Permethrin and Lamda cyhalothrin) recommended by WHO, at their recommended dose were compared for their efficacy and wash resistance through bioassay against mosquito vectors, Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. Etofenprox treated nettings exhibited better knockdown and mortality than the other insecticides. The order of efficacy of the insecticides treated nettings was Etofenprox ≥ Deltamethrin > Lambda cyhalothrin > Permethrin > Bifenthrin

Fire Related Temperature Resistance of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Mortar

The study presented in this paper is on the effect of heat treatment on fly ash based geopolymer mortar synthesized from fly ash (Class F –Low lime) using alkaline binary activator solution containing sodium hydroxide (18 M) and sodium silicate solution (MR 2.0), cured at 80oC for 24 h. 7 days aged specimen heated at elevated temperature (200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C) for the sustained period of 2hrs. The TGA/DTA analysis and thermal conductivity measurement as per ASTM C113 were carried out besides the compressive strengths. The thermal stability of the fly ash mortar at elevated temperature was found to be high as reflected in the observed value of f800°C/f30°C being more than 1 and this ratio was raised to about 1.3 with the addition of 2% Zirconium di oxide (ZrO2). No visible cracks were found on the specimens with and without ZrO2 when 800°C was sustained for 4 hrs in smaller specimens of size: 50 mm diameter x 100 mm height and in also bigger size specimens: 22 cm × 11 cm × 7 cm) specimens. TGA/DTA analysis of the geopolymer paste showed that the retention of mass was around 90%. The addition of ZrO2 improved thermal resistance. The micro structure of the matrix found to be intact even at elevated temperature that was evident from the FESEM studies

Fire Related Temperature Resistance of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Mortar

The study presented in this paper is on the effect of heat treatment on fly ash based geopolymer mortar synthesized from fly ash (Class F –Low lime) using alkaline binary activator solution containing sodium hydroxide (18 M) and sodium silicate solution (MR 2.0), cured at 80oC for 24 h. 7 days aged specimen heated at elevated temperature (200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C) for the sustained period of 2hrs. The TGA/DTA analysis and thermal conductivity measurement as per ASTM C113 were carried out besides the compressive strengths. The thermal stability of the fly ash mortar at elevated temperature was found to be high as reflected in the observed value of f800°C/f30°C being more than 1 and this ratio was raised to about 1.3 with the addition of 2% Zirconium di oxide (ZrO2). No visible cracks were found on the specimens with and without ZrO2 when 800°C was sustained for 4 hrs in smaller specimens of size: 50 mm diameter x 100 mm height and in also bigger size specimens: 22 cm × 11 cm × 7 cm) specimens. TGA/DTA analysis of the geopolymer paste showed that the retention of mass was around 90%. The addition of ZrO2 improved thermal resistance. The micro structure of the matrix found to be intact even at elevated temperature that was evident from the FESEM studies

ORIENTAL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY Evaluation of the Role of Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) and Acetylenicglycol (AG) Admixture on Fly Ash Based Geopolymer

ABSTRACT Alkali activation of fly ash with proper mix design and correct formulations can exhibit very good strength and chemical resistance and other potentially valuable characteristics similar or even better than conventional Portland cement. Utilization of fly ash activated system as binder material in construction industry can limit the consumption of virgin materials required for the production of cement as well less energy intensive process in the manufacturing stage leads to lower greenhouse gas emission. Goeopolymeric products with characteristic properties can be achieved on a laboratory scale level by optimizing the process conditions using selected source material with the addition of admixture. On contrary, Usage of variable source material in a large scale preparation, issues like flow ability, control of setting time are always present that need to be studied. This study was conducted on leaching of fly ash by hybrid activator solution namely sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide, for preparing geopolymer matrix wherein geopolymer (GPC) mortar was made with the addition of organic admixture Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), Acetylenic glycol (AG) as flow ability enhancer with dosage ranging from 0-2% by keeping the Liquid/Solid as 0.45.The Compressive strength of the mortar in the order 30 Mpa was achieved with good flow property by the addition acetylenic glycol and the zeta potential value was found to be similar in the order of control specimen (-15.4mv). Analysis of SEM microstructure of the matrix revealed that binding gel of type Na-S-H are found to be more on AEG added matrix than that of CTAB