The Anti-Microbial Properties of Triticum aestivum (Wheat Grass) Extract

Wheat grass, one of the members of Poaceae family, has been considered for very efficient therapeutic drugs. Current study was aimed at evaluation of antimicrobial properties of wheat grass extracts. The 7th., 14th., and 21st. day wheat grass extracts of five different solvents (water, ethanol, methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane) were assayed for antimicrobial activity using turbidity tests. All these extracts showed antibacterial activity against seven food borne pathogens. Amongst them hexane extracts from 7th day old wheat grass showed maximum antibacterial activity especially more against Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes. The HPLC purified extract was observed to create pores on the cell wall of the bacterial cells as observed under Scanning Electron Microscope and also influenced flattening and shrinkage of bacterial cells indicating probable effect on the membrane of the pathogenic bacteria

Maternal and perinatal outcome of Evan’s syndrome: a 5 years study in a tertiary care centre

Background: Evans syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by simultaneous or sequential presence of a positive antiglobulin test, autoimmune haemolytic anemia (AIHA), and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). It is characterised by frequent exacerbations and remissions within a chronic course. It was first described by Robert Evans in 1951.  Incidence of AIHA is 1 per 75 - 80,000 and ITP is 5.5 /100000 per general adult population.  Incidence of Evans syndrome is 1.8% to 10% of patients with ITP. Objective was to study the maternal and perinatal outcome of women with Evans syndrome (E).Methods: About 4 antenatal mothers were identified with Evans syndrome at St. Johns medical college and hospital, Bengaluru during the study period of 5 years from July 2013-July 2017. They were followed up during their antenatal, intra natal and postnatal period and outcomes were studied. All patients included in the study fulfilled the criteria for Evans syndrome.Results: There were 4 cases of Evans syndrome, with a total number of deliveries of 11859, during this 5 year study. Incidence was 0.09 per 1000 births. All patients presented with bleeding manifestations ranging from mucosal haemorrhage to subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) at the time of diagnosis. All patients were on treatment with either 1st or 2nd line of management with corticosteroids/ azathioprine. None had bleeding during pregnancy after the initiation of treatment. Patients had antenatal complications like preeclampsia 25%, IUGR 25%, oligohydraminos 50%, IUD 25%. 2 patients received platelet transfusions intrapartum. None had intrapartum or postpartum haemorrhage. There were no maternal and neonatal mortality.Conclusions: Evans syndrome in pregnancy is a rare condition and requires multi disciplinary approach involving specialists from obstetrics, neonatology, and hematology. Close maternal and fetal surveillance and management during pregnancy is essential to increase the possibility of a favourable pregnancy outcome in these women

Randomized Clinical Trial of High-Dose Rifampicin With or Without Levofloxacin Versus Standard of Care for Pediatric Tuberculous Meningitis: The TBM-KIDS Trial

Background. Pediatric tuberculous meningitis (TBM) commonly causes death or disability. In adults, high-dose rifampicin may reduce mortality. The role of fluoroquinolones remains unclear. There have been no antimicrobial treatment trials for pediatric TBM. Methods. TBM-KIDS was a phase 2 open-label randomized trial among children with TBM in India and Malawi. Participants received isoniazid and pyrazinamide plus: (i) high-dose rifampicin (30 mg/kg) and ethambutol (R30HZE, arm 1); (ii) high-dose rifampicin and levofloxacin (R30HZL, arm 2); or (iii) standard-dose rifampicin and ethambutol (R15HZE, arm 3) for 8 weeks, followed by 10 months of standard treatment. Functional and neurocognitive outcomes were measured longitudinally using Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Results. Of 2487 children prescreened, 79 were screened and 37 enrolled. Median age was 72 months; 49%, 43%, and 8% had stage I, II, and III disease, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 58%, 55%, and 36% of children in arms 1, 2, and 3, with 1 death (arm 1) and 6 early treatment discontinuations (4 in arm 1, 1 each in arms 2 and 3). By week 8, all children recovered to MRS score of 0 or 1. Average MSEL scores were significantly better in arm 1 than arm 3 in fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains (P < .01). Conclusions. In a pediatric TBM trial, functional outcomes were excellent overall. The trend toward higher frequency of adverse events but better neurocognitive outcomes in children receiving high-dose rifampicin requires confirmation in a larger trial. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02958709

A Performance Comparison of Machine Learning Methods For Short-Range Wind Power Estimation

Renewable energy generation is increasingly employed nowadays for multitudes of reasons such as global warming, depletion of conventional sources of energy and emission constraints. Even though the wind generators constitute a potential source of energy, the uncertainties associated with them make the operation complex. As a consequence, the successful operation and planning of the present distributed generation dominated power systems requires exact estimate of wind power. Numerous wind power estimation techniques based on Machine Learning were available. This work attempts to compare the wind power estimation efficiency of a few machine learning approaches. At first, the performance of a Feed Forward Neural Network with different activation functions is considered. Next, Support Vector Regression Machine with different kernels is utilized for estimating the wind power. Then, deep Learning networks such as Long Short-Term Memory network, Convolutional Neural Network and Recurrent Neural Network are employed for assessing the future wind power and their ability is analyzed. Finally, a comparative chart is prepared to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of the different machine learning techniques employed for estimating wind power

Physico-Chemical Properties of Alkali Treated Cellulosic Fibers from Fragrant Screw Pine Prop Root

The purpose of this study is to characterize alkali-treated fibers from the prop root of fragrant screw pine (FSP) plant in order to determine their suitability as a substitute for man-made fiber in preparation of lightweight bio-based composite materials. The physical, chemical, mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties of alkali-treated FSP fibers (AFSPF) were reported and compared to those of other natural fibers used as reinforcement in polymer composites. Cellulose content (80.53 wt.%), wax content (0.21 wt.%), density (1.41 g/cm3), tensile strength (619–1038 MPa), and young’s modulus (23–41 GPa) of AFSPF were determined. Thermal analysis (TGA and DTG) confirms the thermal stability of these fibers up to 257°C. The characterized properties demonstrate that AFSPF can be used as reinforcement in the preparation of polymer-based bio-composites for applications requiring low weight and high specific strength that meet technical and environmental requirements