93 research outputs found
Anisotropic short-range attractions precisely model branched erythrocyte aggregates
Homogeneous suspensions of red blood cells (RBCs or erythrocytes) in blood
plasma are unstable in the absence of driving forces and form elongated stacks,
called rouleau. These erythrocyte aggregates are often branched porous networks
-- a feature that existing red blood cell aggregation models and simulations
fail to predict exactly. Here we establish that alignment-dependent attractive
forces in a system of dimers can precisely generate branched structures similar
to RBC aggregates observed under a microscope. Our simulations consistently
predict that the growth rate of typical mean rouleau size remains sub-linear --
a hallmark from past studies -- which we also confirm by deriving a reaction
kernel taking into account appropriate collision cross-section, approach
velocities, and an area-dependent sticking probability. The system exhibits
unique features such as the existence of percolated and/or single giant cluster
states, multiple coexisting mass-size scalings, and transition to a branched
phase upon fine-tuning of model parameters. Upon decreasing the depletion
thickness we find that the percolation threshold increases and the morphology
of the structures opens up towards an increased degree of branching. Remarkably
the system self-organizes to produce a universal power-law size distribution
scaling irrespective of the model parameters
Effect of Virechana Karma and Basti in the management of Sthaulya - A Case Study
Sthaulya (obesity) is a predominant metabolic disorder, which is described by Charaka in Ashtaunindita Purusha. Sedentary life, lack of exercise, faulty food habits, urbanization, psychological factors along with genetic predisposition play a major role in the aetiopathogenesis of Sthaulya. Females are more prone to obesity due to feminine factors like menopause and aggravating factors like delivery, I.U.C.D., O.C.P, and miscarriage. Being overweight and Obesity contributes to Diseases like Heart attacks, stroke, arteriosclerosis, Diabetes, Mental Retardation/affection like Mood swings, and even depression. According to the Ayurvedic text, Sthaulya is caused due to Medovriddhi which includes an abnormal and excessive accumulation of Medodhatu in the body. In the Sthaulya etiological factors mainly vitiate the Meda-Kapha. This vitiated Meda obstructs the path of Vata, which results in the provocation of Vata. In the Samprapti of Sthaulya, two factors are of prime importance, Tikshna Jatharagni, and Medodhatvagnimandya. Irrationality between two levels of Agni makes the disease Krichha Shadhya, but Panchkarma therapy can give a better solution for this problem. So, treatment modality should be planned considering vitiated Meda, Kapha, and Vata. Lekhana Basti and Virechana Karma are selected for the management of Sthaulya.
 
A case study on efficacy of Virechana Karma by Phalatrikadi Kwatha in management of Dyslipidemia
Dyslipidaemia itself harbour many future deadly diseases. Every 1% increase in cholesterol level is responsible for 1-2% increase in the incidence of Coronary Heart Disease. It is a lifestyle metabolic disorder because of faulty food habits, minimum physical exercise , stress etc. As there is no direct reference of Dyslipidaemia in Ayurveda . But due to resemblance of its etiopathogenesis and clinical features, it may come under broad umbrella of Santarpanjanyavyadhi, Medopradoshaja Vikara and Medosroto Dusti. Virechana Karma is line of treatment for Santarpanajanya Vyadhi and Bahudoshawastha. The aim of this study was to treat Dyslipidemia with Virechana Karma. Lipid profile was opted for the assessment of Dyslipidaemia before and after the treatment. Phalatrikadi Kwatha was chosen as Virechana Karma drug as its contents has hypolipidemic properties. The present case had 24 years old female with complaints of weight gain, fatigue, drowsiness, heaviness in the body, hyperacidity since 4 years. Before Virechana Karma, total cholesterol, VLDL & triglyceride levels were high. After Virechana Karma, significant result was found on the level of total cholesterol, VLDL & triglyceride. There was complete remission of symptoms. Patient lost 7 kg of weight. This improvement may be due to the correction of Agni by Virechana Karma and removal of abnormal lipids from body and Ruksha, Tikshna, Srotoshodhaka, Lekhana, Kaphamedahar, Agnivardhaka properties of Phalatrikadi Kwatha. Hence from this study it can be concluded that, Virechana Karma is effective and can be safely used in the management of Dyslipidaemia
Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy: a case report
Acute pancreatitis is a rare event, can be associated with a high maternal mortality and fetal loss with an incidence of 3 in 10,000 pregnancies. A 24 years old primigravida with 28 weeks of gestation, presented with pain in upper abdomen since 4 days and nausea, vomiting and fever sine two days, abdomen distended and tenderness present in epigastric region. Serum amylase and lipase were raised. Sonography abdomen showed pancreas bulky with peripancreatic free fluid and inflammatory changes suggestive of pancreatitis. Patient was managed condervatively and was discharged to home after 7 days. Regular follow up was done till 36 weeks and emergency cesarean delivery was done in view of non-reassuring fetal heart rate at 36 weeks 3 days of gestation. Early diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in pregnancy and supportive treatment with maternal and fetal monitoring results in good perinatal outcome. The treatment of pancreatitis in pregnancy should be conservative as far as possible with delaying the definitive treatment until delivery of the baby
Comparison of spontaneous labour with induced labour in nulliparous women using modified WHO partograph
Background: Childbirth is the period from the onset of regular uterine contraction until expulsion of placenta. The process by which this normally occurs is called labour. Induction of labour is the artificial initiation of uterine contraction prior to their spontaneous onset, leading to progressive dilatation and effacement of the cervix and delivery of the baby. Labour induction is indicated where the benefits to either the mother or the fetus outweighs the benefit of continuing pregnancy. The aim and objectives of the study was to study the progress of labour in nulliparous women who are having spontaneous labour and in those with induced labour in terms of augmentation of labour, mode of delivery, neonatal outcome and maternal complication.Methods: This was a randomized comparative study. The study was conducted in department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at a tertiary care private centre during time period of May 2014 to May 2015 on 120 pregnant women divided into two groups i.e. A and B consisting of 60 women each. All women were nulliparous and ≥ 37 weeks of gestation age. Those women who had spontaneous onset of labour and reached ≥ 4cm cervical dilatation were included in group A and those who were induced with 25 mcg misoprostol vaginally and reached ≥ 4cm of cervical dilatation were included in group B. Progress of labour was monitored by Modified WHO partograph.Results: The mean duration of labour after 4cm of cervical dilation in spontaneous labour onset group was 5.43 hours and in the induced group was 5.41 hours with p value0.865, which was statistically not significant. In spontaneous labour onset group, 39.3% of patients required augmentation of labour with oxytocin compared to 69% of induced group (p value-0.001). More women had vaginal delivery in spontaneous onset labour group (73.3%) comparative to induced group (53.3%) with pvalue-0.023. There was less caesarean section among those in spontaneous labour than induced labour (20% versus 41.7%) (p=0.010).While most women of induced labour cases reached or crossed action line compared to spontaneous labour (35% versus 16.7%) p=0.022 ,there were more cases in spontaneous labour moving between alert and action line (23.3% versus 10%) p=0.049 .Neonatal outcome and maternal complications were similar in both the group .Conclusions: We conclude from this study that requirement of augmentation for progress of labour was more in induced group, rate of caesarean section was also high but it does not adversely affect the neonatal outcome and maternal complication if labour is monitored with Modified WHO partograph
Secret Key Generation Schemes for Physical Layer Security
Physical layer security (PLS) has evolved to be a pivotal technique in ensuring secure wireless communication. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the recent developments in physical layer secret key generation (PLSKG). The principle, procedure, techniques and performance metricesare investigated for PLSKG between a pair of users (PSKG) and for a group of users (GSKG). In this paper, a detailed comparison of the various parameters and techniques employed in different stages of key generation such as, channel probing, quantisation, encoding, information reconciliation (IR) and privacy amplification (PA) are provided. Apart from this, a comparison of bit disagreement rate, bit generation rate and approximate entropy is also presented. The work identifies PSKG and GSKG schemes which are practically realizable and also provides a discussion on the test bed employed for realising various PLSKG schemes. Moreover, a discussion on the research challenges in the area of PLSKG is also provided for future research
Substituted benzocoumarin derivatives: synthesis, characterization, biological activities and molecular docking with ADME studies
Herein, an efficient and convenient method for the synthesis of 4-(substitutedphenyl)-1,2-dihydro-2-oxo-6-(2-oxo-2H-benzo[g]chromen-3-yl)pyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives have been reported using ammonium acetate as catalyst. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed using FT-IR, 1H, 13C-NMR and LC-MS spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds have been evaluated for antibacterial activity against bacterial strains by agar diffusion method at different concentrations. Further, all the targeted compounds were screened for anti-oxidant and anti-cancer studies by DPPH and MTT assay methods at different concentrations. Compound 4b displayed good antioxidant and anticancer (against MCF-7 cell line) activity. Further, the binding capability for the synthesized compounds (4a–j) was analyzed by molecular docking studies using human peroxiredoxin 5 (PDB ID: 1HD2) and P38 MAP kinase (PDB ID: 1OUK) protein. Further, the physicochemical properties were analysed from ADME studies respectively
Stroke in sickle cell disease: case report
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. It is characterized by polymerization of haemoglobin, erythrocyte stiffening, and subsequent vaso-occlusions. These can lead to microcirculation obstructions, tissue ischemia, infarction and acute stroke. Transient ischemic attack, Ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, silent cerebral infarction, headache, Moyamoya disease, neuropathic pain, and neurocognitive impairment are neurological complications of sickle cell disease. Here we report a case of ischemic stroke in a patient of sickle cell disease. For early diagnosis and proper management of sickle cell disease neurological complications require specialised haematological and neurological expertise. The newly used medications under ongoing research will be the hope to overcome this devastating disease and its complications
Botox and derma fillers: The twin-face of cosmetic dentistry
In recent years, botulinum toxin and derma fillers have made their way into dentistry for both dental esthetic and therapeutic uses. They are here to stay and with more and more intra oral uses of these materials, they are fast becoming an integral part of everyday dental practice. They provide most significant, minimally invasive procedure at low cost with limited to no recovery time. Today botox and derma fillers both go hand in hand for rejuvenative and cosmetic procedures. This article focuses on the mechanism of action and various uses of botox and derma fillers in the maxillofacial areas along with its future implications in the dentistry
Influence of thyroid hormones on biochemical parameters of liver function: a case-control study in North Indian population
Normal level of thyroid hormones is important for normal hepatic function and thyroid dysfunction may modulate metabolic function of liver. The purpose of this study is to determine whether liver function is associated with subclinical and overt hypothyroidism. Thyroid and liver function tests were evaluated in 47 patients with overt (TSH ≥10.0 mIU/L) and 77 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH 6.0-9.9mIU/L) and compared with 120 age-matched euthyroid controls. Subjects with overt hypothyroidism had significantly raised serum ALT, AST, ALP and total protein levels as compared to controls whereas subclinical hypothyroid patients had significantly increased levels of serum ALT, ALP and total protein. Further, TSH showed significant positive correlation with AST and ALP values whereas fT3 and fT4 had a negative correlation with AST in overt hypothyroidism. Thus, overt hypothyroid state is associated with significant derangement in biochemical parameters of liver function. Hence, liver function should be regularly monitored in hypothyroid patients
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