Risk Factors of Diabetes Mellitus in Rural Puducherry

Purpose: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing in India. Rural area constitutes 80% of India. Hence it is essential to understand the epidemiology for appropriate interventions. Objectives: to identify risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus in rural Puducherry. Methodology: Cross sectional study in two villages of Puducherry, India. 1403 subjects above 25 years from 2 villages. Study measured demographic variables, Body Mass Index (BMI), physical activity, family history of Diabetes Mellitus, smoking and alcohol consumption. Fasting blood glucose was measured for study subjects. Further, those with >126 mg/dl were subjected for Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done. Receiver Operating characteristic Curve was plotted to find out cut off for Diabetic Risk Score. Findings: The prevalence of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) was 5.8%. The response rate was (88%). In univariate analysis age, occupation, Socio Economic Status, BMI, physical activity, family history were significant for DM. In multivariate analysis age, BMI, family history of diabetes and occupation were significant for type 2 DM. The ‘diabetes risk score’ generated by the study using age, BMI and family history of DM, had specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of 54%, 77% and 76.2% respectively. The area under curve for scoring system was 0.784 (<0.05). Conclusions: Identified risk factors are useful for early diagnosis by using ‘diabetes risk score’ – thus uncovering the iceberg of disease

Sources of origin and meteorological importance of hygroscopic and iceforming nuclei

The hygroscopic nuclei whose source region during the monsoon is the sea penetrate far into the interior and play important role in development of precipitation well inland. The fraction of such nuclei present in the total aerosol constitutes a more dependable criterion for distinguishing maritime airmasses from those of others. Development of rain frequently by all-water and ice-crystal mechanisms have been suggested by the large concentrations noticed of the hygroscopic and ice-forming aerosols respectively. While it is seen that there is a major identifiable singular source, which is the sea, for hygroscopic aerosols at Delhi, it does not appear to be so in the case of ice-forming nuclei. The latter are of varied origin and might be maritime, continental, stratospheric etc

Comparative Study of Clonidine versus Lignocaine for Attenuation of Hemodynamic Responses during Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Background: Hemodynamic changes due to reflex sympathetic discharge are of great concern in laparoscopic surgeries.Aim: To compare hemodynamic changes following premedication with lignocaine or clonidine during laparoscopic hysterectomy.Subjects and Methods: This prospective cross‑sectional randomized double blinded controlled trial was conducted one year in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal. After taking institutional ethical clearance and consent of patients, hundred subjects of ASA Grade I and II undergoing elective laparoscopic hysterectomy were included in the study. Patients were allocated into two groups. Group A received clonidine and Group B received lignocaine. Baseline clinical parameters were recorded. Patients received clonidine or lignocaine as a bolus over a period of 15 minutes before induction and as continuous intravenous infusion throughout the surgical procedure. The dose of clonidine was 2.25 μg/kg bolus and 0.9 μg/kg/hr infusion while that of lignocaine was 1.5 mg/kg bolus and 0.6 mg/kg/hr infusion. Patients were given 1 μg/kg of fentanyl citrate intravenously. Following inductionwith intravenous propofol, endotracheal intubation was facilitated by atracurium. Anaesthesia was maintained by nitrous oxideIN and oxygen and along with propofol infusion. Muscle relaxation was achieved by intermittent bolus doses of atracurium. The patients were mechanically ventilated to keep EtCO2 between 35 and 40 mm Hg. Residual neuromuscular block was reversed by an appropriate dose of neostigmine and glycopyrrolate. All patients were shifted to PACU/POCU. Ramsay Sedation Score was assessed. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: In comparison to group B, attenuation of heart rate, Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressures were significantly more in group A. There was no difference in sedation score between the two groups. Conclusion: In an attempt to attenuate both the effects of layngoscopy and insufflations with carbon dioxide in laparoscopic surgery infusions of clonidine and lignocaine were run all through the procedures in the present study and it was found that use of clonidine and lignocaine attenuated the haemodynamic responses. However clonidine being found to be more effective.Keyword: Clonidine, hemodynamic responses, hysterectomy, lignocain

Mathematical modelling of unsteady solute dispersion in two-fluid (micropolar-Newtonian) blood flow with bulk reaction

A mathematical model is developed for axisymmetric, incompressible, and fully developed hemodynamic transport of a reactive diffusing species, e. g. oxygen, in a rigid, impermeable artery under constant axial pressure gradient which undergoes a first-order chemical reaction with streaming blood. A two-fluid model is deployed where the core region is simulated as an Eringen micropolar fluid, and the plasma layer engulfing the core, i.e., near the boundary, is analyzed as a Newtonian viscous fluid. At the interface of the core and plasma region, the velocity and shear stress are equal, and micro-rotation is constant. Closed-form solutions are presented for the velocity and micro-rotation profiles, and a Gill decomposition method is deployed for the concentration field. Expressions are derived for the dispersion coefficient, mean and transverse concentration functions. Transverse concentration is observed to be enhanced with increasing micropolar coupling number (N) and reaction rate ( ); however, it is reduced with greater micropolar material parameter (s) and viscosity ratio ( ). Additionally, graphs are presented for the evolution in dispersion coefficient, and the rate of dispersion coefficient with micropolar parameters is examined. Finally, both axial and transverse mean concentration distributions for all key parameters are investigated. Transverse concentration is observed to be enhanced with increasing micropolar coupling number and reaction rate; however, it is reduced with greater micropolar material parameter and viscosity ratio. Axial mean concentration peaks are reduced in magnitude and displaced further along the arterial geometry with greater micropolar material parameter values, whereas the opposite effect is induced with greater micropolar coupling number. A slight increase in axial mean concentration peak value is computed with increasing reaction parameter. The dispersion coefficient is reduced with increasing micropolar material parameter but grows with a greater viscosity ratio. The study is relevant to hemorheology, diseased arteries and coagulating hemodynamics and may help physiologists and clinicians in furnishing a more refined understanding of diffusion processes in cardiovascular hydrodynamics

Moment analysis of unsteady bi-component species (drug) transport with coupled chemical reaction in non-Newtonian blood flow

Motivated by exploring the fluid dynamics of dual drug delivery systems in biomedicine, a mathematical analysis of the bi-component species transport (convective-diffusion) in rheological blood flow with bulk chemical reaction through a two-dimensional rigid vessel is presented. Two different bulk degradation reaction rates are included for the dual species (pharmacological agents, A, B). An analytical expression for axial velocity is derived using a perturbation method. The decoupled convection-diffusion equations are then analyzed with the Aris – Barton approach. The mean concentration of the species is estimated using the first five concentration moments with the aid of fourth order Hermite polynomials. A finite difference technique based on the Crank Nicholson implicit scheme is employed to handle the pth order moment of the general concentration. The analysis reveals that increasing reversible transfer rate and irreversible bulk degradation result in a reduction in the total mass of the species over time. The mass of both species decreases with an increase in reversible transfer rate, even though the mass of species A depletes faster than the mass of species B. The skewness of the concentration distribution decreases as yield stress increases and the distributions in all scenarios are positively skewed and tend to zero over time, implying that the distribution tends to symmetry over time. The kurtosis decreases over time from positive to negative values and eventually approaches zero. Mean concentration peaks for both species A and B are elevated with increasing yield stress, although magnitudes are significantly higher for species A. With increasing values of the distribution coefficient between two species, mean concentration peaks are elevated for species (component) A whereas they are depleted for species B, although substantially greater magnitudes are computed for species B. Good correlation of the skewness with earlier Newtonian results is achieved. The results provide some useful insight into the bi-component drug transport in smaller vessel pharmacodynamics where hemorheology is important

EVALUATION OF REVERSAL EFFECTS OF EUGENIA JAMBOLANA SEED EXTRACTS AGAINST HIGH-FRUCTOSE DIET-INDUCED INSULIN RESISTANCE IN ALBINO RATS

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the reversal effects of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of jamun seeds against high-fructose (HFr) diet-induced insulin resistance (IR) in albino rats.Methods: Thirty male albino rats were divided into five groups (n=6), and all the group rats except normal control were provided with HFr (60% w/v) to their drinking water daily for 42 days. Group 1 and 2 served as a normal and fructose control. Groups 3, 4, and 5 were supplemented with metformin (MET 500mg/kg p.o) and aqueous and ethanolic extracts of jamun seeds (Jamun seed aqueous extract [JSAE] and Jamun seed ethanolic extract [JSEE] 1000 mg/kg of each p.o), from day 28 to day 42, respectively. Physical (body weights, food, and water intake) and biochemical (glucose, insulin, and lipid) parameters were estimated, and Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-IR values were calculated.Results: HFr diet significantly (p&lt;0.05) increased weight gain and water intake with decreased food intake in rats. HFr-fed rats exhibited a significant (p&lt;0.05) increase in fasting glucose, insulin, and lipid levels along with increased HOMA-IR values and confirms the development of IR. Supplementation with MET, JSAE, and JSEE significantly (p&lt;0.05) restored the physical parameters and reversed fasting glucose and lipid levels in comparison with HFr control. Whereas, only JSAE had significantly reversed the fasting insulin levels in comparison with HFr control. HOMA-IR values were significantly (p&lt;0.05) decreased in both the extract groups of HFr-fed rats, and the results were comparable to MET.Conclusion: Our study concludes that both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of jamun exhibit a significant reversal effect against HFr diet-induced IR, due to insulin-sensitizing actions at the target tissues

Retaining Expression on De-identified Faces

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017The extensive use of video surveillance along with advances in face recognition has ignited concerns about the privacy of the people identifiable in the recorded documents. A face de-identification algorithm, named k-Same, has been proposed by prior research and guarantees to thwart face recognition software. However, like many previous attempts in face de-identification, kSame fails to preserve the utility such as gender and expression of the original data. To overcome this, a new algorithm is proposed here to preserve data utility as well as protect privacy. In terms of utility preservation, this new algorithm is capable of preserving not only the category of the facial expression (e.g., happy or sad) but also the intensity of the expression. This new algorithm for face de-identification possesses a great potential especially with real-world images and videos as each facial expression in real life is a continuous motion consisting of images of the same expression with various degrees of intensity.Peer reviewe

Reactive solute transport in blood flow through a permeable capillary

The present analysis discusses the solute transport process in a steady 2D (axial and radial) laminar flow of blood through a permeable, finite length capillary. Blood is treated as a homogeneous Newtonian fluid and the solute is absorbed at the capillary wall with a linear irreversible reaction rate. The velocity profile is obtained by a regular perturbation technique, whereas the transport coefficients depicted by the Gill generalized dispersion model are solved numerically. A number of different scenarios are considered, namely transport with no-reaction, weak absorption, strong absorption, low filtration or high filtration, etc. In the initial stages, the temporal behaviour of the dispersion coefficient is identical to those cases when there is no radial velocity. For the combined effect of radial and axial velocities, however, the dispersion coefficient is lower for a high absorption rate than for a weak absorption rate. Diffusion is accelerated with higher values of filtration coefficient. Owing to the opposite effects of radial diffusion and radial velocity, the solute particles require more time to reach the steady state. The analysis finds applications in, for example, reactive nutrient and pharmacological transport in capillary hemodynamics

The Mechanical Behavior of a 25Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel at Elevated Temperature

Peer reviewedPostprin

Supplementation of a western diet with golden kiwifruits (Actinidia chinensis var.'Hort 16A':) effects on biomarkers of oxidation damage and antioxidant protection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The health positive effects of diets high in fruits and vegetables are generally not replicated in supplementation trials with isolated antioxidants and vitamins, and as a consequence the emphasis of chronic disease prevention has shifted to whole foods and whole food products.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We carried out a human intervention trial with the golden kiwifruit, Actinidia chinensis, measuring markers of antioxidant status, DNA stability, plasma lipids, and platelet aggregation. Our hypothesis was that supplementation of a normal diet with kiwifruits would have an effect on biomarkers of oxidative status. Healthy volunteers supplemented a normal diet with either one or two golden kiwifruits per day in a cross-over study lasting 2 × 4 weeks. Plasma levels of vitamin C, and carotenoids, and the ferric reducing activity of plasma (FRAP) were measured. Malondialdehyde was assessed as a biomarker of lipid oxidation. Effects on DNA damage in circulating lymphocytes were estimated using the comet assay with enzyme modification to measure specific lesions; another modification allowed estimation of DNA repair.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Plasma vitamin C increased after supplementation as did resistance towards H₂O₂-induced DNA damage. Purine oxidation in lymphocyte DNA decreased significantly after one kiwifruit per day, pyrimidine oxidation decreased after two fruits per day. Neither DNA base excision nor nucleotide excision repair was influenced by kiwifruit consumption. Malondialdehyde was not affected, but plasma triglycerides decreased. Whole blood platelet aggregation was decreased by kiwifruit supplementation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Golden kiwifruit consumption strengthens resistance towards endogenous oxidative damage.</p