A clinical study in the management of Garbhini Mutrakricchra with Shatavari Ksheerapaka w.s.r. to UTI in Pregnancy

Background: Pregnancy is the state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Profound biochemical, anatomical and physiological changes occur during the course of pregnancy. Urinary tract infections are the second most common infections worldwide. Pregnant women have 4 times higher rate of developing UTI as compared to non-pregnant women.  Pregnant women develop ureteral dilation resulting in increased urinary stasis and ureterovesical reflux due to increased progesterone level and the pressure of gravid uterus on the bladder. The classical Lakshanas of Mutrakricchra like frequent micturition, difficulty during micturition, burning sensation during micturition are similar to the signs and symptoms of Urinary tract infection. Shatavari Ksheerapaka has been mentioned in Sahasrayogam for the management of Mutrakricchra.  Shatavari is Sheeta in Virya, acts as a diuretic and helps in the reduction of Mutrakricchra symptoms. According to Bhavprakash Nighantu, Sita is Ruchikara and Ksheera is Rasayana. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of Shatavari Ksheerapaka in Garbhini Mutrakricchra w.s.r UTI in Pregnancy. Method: It is a controlled clinical study of two groups consisting 15 patient each in control and trial group. Conclusion: Shatavari Ksheerapaka and Trinapanchmoola Ksheerapaka both are equally effective in treating the Garbhini Mutrakricchra w.s.r. UTI in Pregnancy

A designed phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase variant allows efficient in vivo incorporation of aryl ketone functionality into proteins

Incorporation of non-natural amino acids into proteins in vivo expands the scope of protein synthesis and design. p-Acetylphenylalanine was incorporated into recombinant dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) in Escherichia coli via a computationally designed mutant form of the phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase of the host. DHFR outfitted with ketone functionality can be chemoselectively ligated with hydrazide reagents under mild conditions

Dust aerosols over India and adjacent continents retrieved using METEOSAT infrared radiance <br>Part II: quantification of wind dependence and estimation of radiative forcing

International audienceLong-range transport of continental dust makes these particles a significant constituent even at locations far from their sources. It is important to study the temporal variations in dust loading over desert regions and the role of meteorology, in order to assess its radiative impact. In this paper, infrared radiance (10.5-12.5 µm), acquired by the METEOSAT-5 satellite (~5-km resolution) during 1999 and 2003 was used to quantify wind dependence of dust aerosols and to estimate the radiative forcing. Our analysis shows that the frequency of occurrence of dust events was higher during 2003 compared to 1999. Since the dust production function depends mainly on the surface wind speed over regions which are dry and without vegetation, the role of surface wind on IDDI was examined in detail. It was found that an increase of IDDI with wind speed was nearly linear and the rate of increase in IDDI with surface wind was higher during 2003 compared to 1999. It was also observed that over the Indian desert, when wind speed was the highest during monsoon months (June to August), the dust production rate was lower because of higher soil moisture (due to monsoon rainfall). Over the Arabian deserts, when the wind speed is the highest during June to August, the dust production rate is also highest, as soil moisture is lowest during this season. Even though nothing can be said precisely on the reason why 2003 had a greater number of dust events, examination of monthly mean soil moisture at source regions indicates that the occurrence of high winds simultaneous with high soil moisture could be the reason for the decreased dust production efficiency in 1999. It appears that the deserts of Northwest India are more efficient dust sources compared to the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Northeast Africa (excluding Sahara). The radiative impact of dust over various source regions is estimated, and the regionally and annually averaged top of the atmosphere dust radiative forcing (short wave, clear-sky and over land) over the entire study region (0-35° N; 30°-100° E) was in the range of -0.9 to +4.5 Wm-2. The corresponding values at the surface were in the range of -10 to -25 Wm-2. Our studies demonstrate that neglecting the diurnal variation of dust can cause errors in the estimation of long wave dust forcing by as much as 50 to 100%, and nighttime retrieval of dust can significantly reduce the uncertainties. A method to retrieve dust aerosols during nighttime is proposed. The regionally and annually averaged long wave dust radiative forcing was +3.4±1.6 Wm-2

Dust aerosols over India and adjacent continents retrieved using METEOSAT infrared radiance Part I: sources and regional distribution

Mineral dust constitutes the single largest contributor to continental aerosols. To accurately assess the impact of dust aerosols on climate, the spatial and temporal distribution of dust radiative properties is essential. Regional characteristics of dust radiative properties, however, are poorly understood. The magnitude and even sign of dust radiative forcing is uncertain, as it depends on a number of parameters, such as vertical distribution of dust, cloud cover and albedo of the underlying surface. In this paper, infrared radiance (10.5-12.5 µm), acquired from the METEOSAT-5 satellite ( resolution), was used to retrieve regional characteristics of dust aerosols for all of 1999. The infrared radiance depression, due to the presence of dust in the atmosphere, has been used as an index of dust load, known as the Infrared Difference Dust Index (IDDI). There have been several studies in the past carried out over the Sahara using IDDI as a measure of dust load. Over the Indian region, however, studies on dust aerosols are sparse. Spatial and temporal variability in dust loading and its regional distribution over various arid and semiarid regions of India and adjacent continents (0-35° N; 30° E-100° E) (excluding Sahara) have been studied and the results are examined along with surface soil conditions (such as vegetation cover and soil moisture). The advantage of the IDDI method is that information on aerosol properties, such as chemical composition or microphysical properties, is not needed. A large day-to-day variation in IDDI was observed over the entire study region, with values ranging from 4 to 22 K. It was observed that dust activity starts by March over the Indian deserts, as well as over deserts of the Africa and Arabian regions. The IDDI reaches maximum during the period of May to August. Regional maps of IDDI, in conjunction with biomass burning episodes (using TERRA satellite fire pixel counts), suggest that large IDDI values observed during the winter months over Northern India could be due to a possible deposition of black carbon on larger dust aerosols. The IDDI values have been compared with another year (i.e. 2003), with a large number of dust storms reported by meteorological departments based on visibility data. During the dry season, the magnitude of the monthly average IDDI during 2003 was slightly higher than that of 1999. The monthly mean IDDI was in the range from 4 to 9 K over the Indian deserts, as well as over the deserts of Africa and Arabia. The maximum IDDI during a month was in the range from 6 to 18 K. Large IDDI values were observed even over vegetated regions (such as the vegetated part of Africa and central India), attributed to the presence of transported dust from nearby deserts

Coexistence of iron deficiency and thalassemia trait: a study in antenatal females

Background: Thalassemia is most common genetic disorder worldwide and about 7% of world population is carrier. The prevalence of Beta thalassemia trait (BTT) is 3.5–10% in India. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) of 2011 reveals the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) as 70–80% in children, 70% in pregnant women, and 24% in adult men. As both of them are close differential diagnosis and both can coexist together, this study aims to detect hemoglobinopathies in pregnant women and quantify the effect of iron deficiency on HbA2 levels in order to improve the detection of β thalassemia trait with and without iron deficiency.Methods: Hb, RBC indices, and peripheral smears of 90 pregnant females with microcytic hypochromic blood picture were studied. Serum ferritin and HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) was performed. The results were analysed statistically by using SPSS version 16.0.Results: 93.3% patients had HbA2 4.0% which characterise BTT and remaining 2.22% had between 3.0%-4.0%. HbA2 <2.0% may be seen in IDA, ATT, HbH disease and Delta thalassemia. 91.11% had reduced serum ferritin and 2.22% had normal ferritin levels.Conclusions: This study reveals that there is frequent occurrence of iron deficiency anaemia in patients with thalassemia traits. This can substantially invalidate the diagnosis of the latter. Hence, iron deficiency should be identified and rectified in patients with suspicion of thalassemia trait

Total Radiated Power Measurement in an Uncalibrated Reverberation Chamber

With the increased use of wireless communication in recent years, the use of reverberation chamber (RC) has increased to a great extent. Reverberation chambers have been eminently used for EMC testing and shielding effectiveness. The environment it provides is very similar to the reverberant surroundings that antenna undergoes in real life use. An experiment to measure total radiated power of antenna, antenna efficiency and quality factor of chamber in indoor environment is proposed. This will make the measurement very simple and inexpensive as designing and calibration of chamber will not be needed. In this paper, we have used three different techniques to compare total radiated power, quality factor, Rician K factor and efficiency of a patch antenna measured in indoor environment with RC data. The three method used include plate stirring method and two time domain methods. The time domain methods use modulated pulse and Gaussian pulse respectively for the measurement. The antenna and chamber parameters are measured in the real time and the data matched well with the RC data for different techniques

Lamellar body count as a predictor of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in preterm premature rupture of membranes

Background: Lamellar bodies are present in amniotic fluid and their quantity increases with increased gestational age. Preterm premature rupture of the membranes (P-PROM) is one of the most common complications of pregnancy and is a major cause of preterm deliveries and thus the important cause of RDS. Fetal pulmonary maturity can be assessed by direct or indirect measurement of surfactant phospholipids secreted by the fetal lungs into amniotic fluid. Lamellar body count (LBC) has been introduced as an alternative to other methods.Methods: The study’s prime aim is to establish LBC as a predictor of RDS in P-PROM. We included pregnant women with P-PROM and gestational age between 28 weeks and 37 weeks and singleton live pregnancy. The lamellar body counting from amniotic fluid was done with the use of a standard hematology cell counter, sysmex KX-21. There was statistically significant co-relation between lamellar body count and period of gestation (by applying ANOVA).Results: Lamellar body counts were significantly less in cases of RDS as compared to non RDS cases.Conclusions: LBC count was selected among all other tests because the test can be performed with equipment found in most clinical analysis laboratories and is reliable in predicting fetal lung maturity