EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF PURIFIED AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF SHILAJIT IN MODIFYING CARDIOVASCULAR RISK WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Context: Shilajit is a natural rock exudate used to prevent and combat problems with diabetes. It also has antioxidant, hypolipidemic and hypoglycaemic properties. Aim: To evaluate the effect of Shilajit on endothelial function in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Settings and Design: Randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Methods and Material: After the ethics committee approval and informed consent, forty subjects were randomized to receive either Shilajit 250 mg or placebo (two capsules twice daily for 12 weeks). Endothelial function was evaluated with Reflection index (RI), Augmentation index (AIx), Subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), Ankle Brachial Index (ABI), Pulse wave velocity(PWV) and Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) at baseline,4,8,12 weeks. Lipid profile and biomarkers Nitric oxide,MDA, Glutathione, hsCRP were evaluated at baseline and post treatment. Statistical analysis used: Data was expressed as mean ±SD. Paired and unpaired t- tests were performed for within group and between groups analysis, respectively. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: After 12 weeks of treatment, Shilajit produced statistically significant increase in mean RI from baseline (-2.29±1.43 to -8.61±2.70; p<0.001) and in mean SEVR (145.5±24.89 to 150.9±24.08; p<0.05). Compared to placebo, Shilajit produced statistically significant increase in mean percentage change with RI, AIx, SEVR, and SVR, suggesting improvement in endothelial function. There was also statistically significant reduction in hsCRP, MDA, total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides and increase in NO, GSH, HDL-C. The drug was well tolerated and no subjects discontinued due to adverse drug reactions. Conclusion: Shilajit showed significant improvement in endothelial function as evidenced with change in reflection index. It also improved other cardiovascular parameters and biomarker levels. Further studies are warranted in more number of subjects

The utility of serial serum cholinesterase as a prognostic marker in organophosphorus compound poisoning

Background: Acute organophosphorus (OP) poisoning is one of the most common poisonings in India contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Irreversible inhibition of cholinesterase enzymes is attributed to the serious clinical outcomes in these patients, which is assessed by the estimation of serum cholinesterase (SChE) levels. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the utility of serial estimation of SChE levels in patients of OP poisoning in predicting the clinical outcome.Methods: Medical records of 31 patients from January 2013 to December 2013 admitted in our institute with acute OP poisoning were analyzed for SChE at admission, 48 hrs, 72 hrs and 120 hrs after admission. Data regarding clinical findings at admission and outcomes were recorded.Results: Monocrotophos (55%) was the most commonly used OP compound. Mean serial SChE levels (in KU/L) at admission, 48, 72, and 120 hrs in patients who survived are 0.18±0.10, 0.28±0.14, 0.41±0.21, 0.46±0.16 and in patients who expired are 0.02±0.01, 0.05±0.02, 0.03±0.02, 0.03±0.02, respectively. SChE levels at admission in survived group, compared to those in expired group were statistically significant (p<0.001). About 92% patients in moderate to severe grade of poisoning (SChE levels <0.2 KU/L) were mechanically ventilated. The relationship between serial SChE levels in survival group and was found to be statistically significant (p<0.01).Conclusion: In the present study, significant increase in serial SChE levels were correlating with better clinical outcome as evidenced by an improvement with mechanical ventilation and survival rates in acute OP poisoning

Bio-treatment of phosphate from synthetic wastewater using Pseudomonas sp YLW-7

In this study, the efficient phosphate utilizing isolates were used to remove phosphate from synthetic phosphate wastewater was tested using batch scale process. Hence the objective of the present study was to examine the efficiency of bacterial species individually for the removal of phosphate from synthetic phosphate wastewater. The most efficient phosphate reducers were isolated and screened from eutrophic lake water samples. The total heterotrophic bacterial analysis of the samples showed the presence of about 22 phosphate reducers. Among them, Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 were found to be efficient in phosphate reduction based on the maximum phosphate ultization which was observed by plate screening method using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. The effect of carbon sources (glucose, starch, sucrose and lactose) at 0.5% on the removal of phosphate by Pseudomonas sp YLW7 was estimated. The maximum growth of Pseudomonas sp YLW7 was observed to be 0.9886 OD in glucose followed by starch (0.9456 OD), Sucrose (0.9095 OD) and lactose (0.8407 OD). The pH change in culture medium after 72 h treatment was found to be 6.0 in glucose, starch, lactose sources and 5.8 in sucrose carbon source. The phosphate removal was observed to be maximum of 68 % in synthetic phosphate wastewater with glucose carbon source followed by starch (66%), sucrose (65%) and lactose (62%) after 72 h at neutral pH (7.0\ub1 2) by Pseudomonas sp YLW-7. Thus the Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 may use the contaminants as nutrients source and might be used in the remediation of phosphate contaminated environments. @ JASE

Secure Communication Model for Dynamic Task Offloading in Multi-Cloud Environment

As the data is increasing day-by-day, the mobile device storage space is not sufficient to store the complete information and also the computation capacity also is a limited resource which is not sufficient for performing all the required computations. Hence, cloud computing technology is used to overcome these limitations of the mobile device. But security is the main concern in the cloud server. Hence, secure communication model for dynamic task offloading in multi-cloud environment is proposed in this paper. Cloudlet also is used in this model. Triple DES with 2 keys is used during the communication process between the mobile device and cloudlet. Triple DES with 3 keys is used by the cloudlet while offloading the data to cloud server. AES is used by the mobile device while offloading the data to the cloud server. Computation time, communication time, average running time, and energy consumed by the mobile device are the parameters which are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed system, SCM_DTO. The performance of the proposed system, SCM_DTO is compared with ECDH-SAHE and is proved to be performing better

A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, PARALLEL GROUP CLINICAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF TERMINALIA CHEBULA, A PROPRIETARY CHROMIUM COMPLEX, AND THEIR COMBINATION IN SUBJECTS WITH JOINT DISCOMFORT

Objective: To evaluate the analgesic effect of an aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula (TCE), a proprietary chromium complex (PCC), and theircombination in subjects with joint discomfort.Methods: A total of 100 patients with knee joint discomfort were randomized into five treatment groups - TCE 500 mg BID, TCE 500 mg BID+PCC400 µg OD, PCC 400 µg OD alone, placebo, and TCE 250 mg BID, for 12 weeks in a double-blinded manner. Assessment of symptoms of knee joint painand discomfort was done by modified Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (mWOMAC) and knee swelling index (KSI); visualanalog scale (VAS) was used for subjective assessment of pain, stiffness, and disability. Statistical analysis was done with GraphPad Prism 6.Results: Absolute reduction in mWOMAC score in TCE 500 mg (19.82±8.35), TCE 500 mg+PCC 400 µg (13.10±5.69), PCC 400 µg (8.30±3.81), placebo(2.45±3.07), and TCE 250 mg (10.47±4.43), respectively, at the end of 12 weeks as compared to the baseline values. Absolute reduction in KSI inTCE 500 mg (28.95±16.82), TCE 500 mg+PCC 400 µg (19.14±9.50), PCC 400 µg (12.7±4.86), placebo (10.03±3.8), and TCE 250 mg (18.24±6.86),respectively, at the end of 12 weeks as compared to the baseline values (p&lt;0.001). Similar results were seen with VAS assessments for pain, stiffness,and disability. All the treatments were well tolerated.Conclusion: TCE and PCC reduce joint discomfort.Keywords: Terminalia chebula extract, Proprietary chromium complex, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index

Thioridazine: a potential adjuvant in pharmacotherapy of drug resistant tuberculosis Ki

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Despite advances in control strategies, inadequate treatment and failure to comply with drug regimens have resulted in TB to emerge as one of the most common and deadly infectious diseases worldwide. The emergence of drug-resistant TBhas evolved as a formidable obstacle for comprehensive TB control. Drug-resistant TB can be classified as multi-drug-resistant TB, extensively drug-resistant TB and totally drug resistant TB (TDR-TB). There is a paucity in the development of new drugs against drug-resistant mycobacteria. The focus has shifted to the exploration of anti-mycobacterial properties of drugs approved for other indications. Thioridazine, a drug approved for use in schizophrenia is one such potential agent, which has shown anti-mycobacterial activity. There is evidence of anti-mycobacterial action of Thioridazine in in-vitro and mouse models. There is a compelling need for new anti-mycobacterial drugs that are more effective and have less toxicity. Further clinical trials are advocated favoring the use of thioridazine as an adjuvant in the treatment of TB, especially TDR-TB

Automatic Kidney Stone Detection Using Deep learning Method

Kidney stone disease is a common urological illness that affects millions of people worldwide. The identification of kidney stones early and accurately is critical for timely intervention and effective management of this illness. Deep learning approaches have showed promising results in a variety of medical image processing jobs in recent years. This paper describes a novel deep learning-based approach for automatic kidney stone diagnosis utilising medical imaging data. A convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is used in the suggested method to identify and classify kidney stones in medical photographs. A huge collection of kidney stone images is first collected and preprocessed to ensure homogeneity and improve feature extraction capabilities. To optimise its performance, the CNN model is trained on this dataset using a large number of annotated samples. The trained CNN model distinguishes kidney stone presence from healthy regions in medical pictures with good accuracy and robustness. It detects kidney stones of various sizes and shapes while overcoming hurdles given by different stone compositions and human anatomy. Furthermore, the deep learning model has fast processing speeds, making it suited for real-time clinical applications. Extensive validation and testing on an independent dataset are performed to evaluate the model's performance. The results show that the proposed deep learning method is effective in autonomous kidney stone identification, with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy metrics comparable to or exceeding those of existing classical methods

Investigations on selected ecological parameters of Tuticorin Bay, Gulf of Mannar, south-east coast of India with emphasis on suitability for mariculture

A study was conducted for a period of two years from 2017 to 2018 to assess the health of Tuticorin Bay, south-east coast of India. Water and sediment quality parameters, total clam density, heavy metal content in the sediment and clam tissue samples from four sites were used as the criteria for health assessment. High values of parameters like salinity (38.3±5.04 ppt) and ammonia (0.09±0.04 mg l-1) were observed at the station close to the thermal power station and high nitrite (0.688±0.13 μg l-1) and total suspended solids (380.3±0.04 mgl-1) were observed at the station close to Koramballam freshwater creek. Most of the water quality variables were within the standard limit prescribed for aquaculture activities. The organic matter content in the sediment of the bay ranged from 0.26 to 5.17%. Comparatively low heavy metal concentration was observed both in the sediment and clam tissue samples. The metals were found accumulated in the order of Fe>Mn> Pb>Cu>Ni>Cd in the sediment samples and in the order Fe>Pb>Mn>Cu>Cd>Ni in clam tissue samples. The estimated levels were also within the permissible limits for most of the metals. The study indicated that Tuticorin Bay is suitable for mariculture activities