ANTI-ATHEROSCLEROTIC AND LIPID LOWERING EFFECTS OF CINNAMOMUM VERUM IN CHOLESTEROL-FED RABBITS

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the antihyperlipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic activity of 70% methanolic crude extract of Cinnamomum verum bark in high cholesterol-fed diet rabbits.Methods: C. verum extract was administered at a dose level of 200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg (p. o) daily for 120 d to cholesterol-fed rabbits. Lipid profile in serum and histological changes in heart and aorta were investigated. The statistical analysis was carried out by student's ‘t'test.Results: Plant extract showed a significant decrease in the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, LDL, VLDL (P ≤ 0.001) in a dose-dependent manner in treated animals. HDL ratio improved overwhelmingly as well as the marked decline was also noticed in the atherogenic index after administration with C. verum extract. Histopathological examinations demonstrated less cholesterol deposits in the aorta and significant increase in lumen size of coronary arteries of high cholesterol diet animals given C. verum compared to the high cholesterol diet animals not given C. verum supplement.Conclusion: The phytochemical analysis of methanol extracts indicated a strong presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, saponins and fatty acids may be responsible for the significant hypolipidaemic as well as antiatherosclerotic activity. Our study exhibited that the methanol extract of C. verum bark is a potent hypolipidaemic agent and decreased cholesterol deposition in the aorta and plaque formation process in the coronary artery of high cholesterol diet animals

ANTI-ATHEROSCLEROTIC ACTIVITY OF ELAEOCARPUS GANITRUS ROXB. IN CHOLESTEROL-FED RABBITS

  Objectives: Atherosclerosis was experimentally induced in New Zealand white male rabbits by cholesterol feeding for 120 days for investigating effects of 70% ethanolic Elaeocarpus ganitrus seed extract (EEGS) against atherosclerosis.Methods: Anti-atherosclerotic activity of E. ganitrus extract was evaluated at a dose level of 250 and 500 mg/kg of body weight (p.o). On 121st day, the animals were sacrificed to collect the aorta for determining tissue lipid profile, antioxidant parameters, and histopathological changes. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test was used for the statistical analysis.Results: Aorta of cholesterol-fed rabbits for 120 days showed marked elevation in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids. EEGS extract treatment significantly (p≤0.01, ≤0.001) corrected disturbed lipid profile in cholesterol-fed rabbits in a dose-dependent manner during the 60 days of the treatment period. A significant reduction in lipid peroxidation and a considerable raise in glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase levels (p≤0.01, ≤0.001) were accompanied by post-treatment with EEGS extract to cholesterol-fed rabbits. The histopathological modifications such as accumulation of foam cells, atheromatous plaque formation, and lumen size reduction supported the successful induction of atherosclerosis in rabbits. The treated rabbits showed significant protective effect by lowering the deposition of cholesterol and increasing the lumen size compared to cholesterol-fed group.Conclusions: Phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, triterpenoids, and carbohydrates in the ethanolic extract may be attributed to effective anti-atherosclerotic and antioxidant activity of plant extract. Our study exhibited that EEGS extract could be a potent herbal therapeutic agent for the treatment of atherosclerosis and hypercholesterolemia-related diseases

Rare cause of stillbirth: a true knot and loop of cord: case report

True knot is an extremely rare condition of the umbilical cord. It affects around 0.3-1.3% of all the pregnancies. It can be loose without obstructing the blood flow to the foetus or can be tight enough to exsanguinate the foetus by compromising the blood flow towards the foetus. A 26 years old, gravida 2, para 1, live 1, with previous 1 caesarean section with hypothyroidism came at 40 weeks POG in labour. No complaints. Antenatal history was uneventful. On examination, patient was stable. Patient was explained risk and demits of TOLAC verses ERCD and opted for TOLAC. Delivered a limp baby. There was presence of one tight loop of cord around neck and one tight true knot over the umbilical cord leading to stillbirth. The umbilical cord is the only blood supply to the foetus during the antepartum and intrapartum period. If the true knot is loose, it will not lead to foetal compromise since foetal circulation is maintained. However, at the time of fetal descent through the birth canal, the knot could be tightened. The tightening knot can occlude fetal circulation resulting in an intrauterine demise. The process of delivery should be very careful and if any fetal distress or non-reactive CTG is present, then an emergency caesarean section must be done. Routine continuous cardiotocography can be the best modality to pick distress at the earliest and to achieve a good outcome of the neonate. A good ultrasonologist can detect nuchal cord and true knot during the antenatal scan.

Evaluation of Reid’s Combined Colposcopic Index as a predictor of cervical intraepithelial lesion

Background: Carcinoma cervix is the commonest cancer among women worldwide and in India it accounts for 80% of all genital cancers. Screening methods include cervical cytology, human papilloma virus testing and colposcopy. Objective of present study was to evaluate suspicious cervix colposcopically using Reids Colposcopic Index (RCI) and to correlate RCI with histopathological findings.Methods: This was a prospective cross sectional study done on 125 women with clinical diagnosis of suspicious cervix. Colposcopy was performed and grading of the disease was done according to RCI. Positive cases were subjected to cervical biopsy and endocervical curettage was performed in unsatisfactory colposcopy.Results: Colposcopy was done on 125 women with suspicious cervix. Out of 125, sixty two showed abnormal colposcopic findings which were graded according to RCI into Low grade disease predicting histological diagnosis of CIN1 in 47, Intermediate grade disease predicting histological diagnosis of CIN1/2 in 11 and High grade disease predicting histological diagnosis of CIN2/3 in 4 women. Colposcopy of one women suggested invasive carcinoma and was confirmed on histopathology to be microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma. Six women with unsatisfactory colposcopy showed benign histopathology. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and false negative rate of colposcopy for invasive disease was 50%, 100%, 100% and 1.60% respectively with 98.40% diagnostic accuracy. Colposcopic diagnosis of invasive disease and histopathology report showed 100% correlation.Conclusions: Correlation between RCI and histopathology was good. Predictive accuracy of colposcopy increased with increasing severity of disease

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Dental Perspective

PURPOSE: The present review was conducted to elaborate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the role of dentist in its diagnoses and management. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google scholar. A total of 94 relevant peer reviewed articles were retrieved and 42 were included in the present review. RESULTS: OSA can be fairly diagnosed by dentists while the patient has come for dental check-up. But insufficient knowledge and awareness among dentists about the diagnostic and treatment protocol of this under-diagnosed condition. It has also proven to be one of the underlying cause of many like diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. To the rescue, dental sleep medicine is gaining enormous attention. In the lieu of the above context ‘American Dental Association (ADA)’ has adopted a policy that focuses on outlines various diagnostic procedures and treatment modalities that can be carried out by dentist for management of OSA. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded since there is no sufficient evidence for the prevalence of OSA in developing countries like India, it is needed to create awareness and implement appropriate diagnostic and preventive measures for the same

Feature extraction using non-linear transformation for robust speech recognition on the Aurora database

We evaluate the performance of several feature sets on the Aurora task as defined by ETSI. We show that after a non-linear transformation, a number of features can be effectively used in a HMM-based recognition system. The non-linear transformation is computed using a neural network which is discriminatively trained on the phonetically labeled (forcibly aligned) training data. A combination of the non-linearly transformed PLP (perceptive linear predictive coefficients), MSG (modulation filtered spectrogram) and TRAP (temporal pattern) features yields a 63% improvement in error rate as compared to baseline me frequency cepstral coefficients features. The use of the non-linearly transformed RASTA-like features, with system parameters scaled down to take into account the ETSI imposed memory and latency constraints, still yields a 40% improvement in error rate

Integrated Framework for Inclusive Town Planning Using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Method for a Semi Urban Town

Planning is a continuous process and must incorporate a regular evaluation of implementation and further revision for effective and efficient utility for the betterment of society through modification of the planning standards. Development plans for cities / towns are criticized for being rigid and static, having little regard for investment planning efforts, and taking a very long time in the process of formulation and approval. In depth analysis and review of the existing situation, covering the demographic, economic, financial, infrastructure, physical, environmental, and institutional aspects, is important so as to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the city overall development. In the present study, an attempt has been made to thoroughly review the existing planning standards adopted for the preparation and implementation of development plans in India, especially in Maharashtra. Since the development plan's objectives are not measurable, this study will use the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess their level of performance. For the purpose of identifying the various viewpoints of various stakeholders, field surveys and questionnaire surveys were conducted. This application can be used as an objective evaluation tool for planners and policy makers to improve planning practices and provide necessary knowledge for revising plans. The results indicated the importance of criteria from the pre-planning, preparation, and implementation stages of DP. These results were used for two semi-urban towns in Maharashtra regions and could also be used by planning engineers for further development of planning standards. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-12-07 Full Text: PD

Evaluation of hair growth promoting activity of petroleum ether extract of Abrus precatorius Linn. on Wistar Albino rats

In present investigation was carried out to screening of hair growth promoting potentiality of petroleum ether extract of Abrus precatorius leaf. Preliminary chemical tests and TLC analysis revealed the presence flavonoids and saponins. Hair growth promoting activity of petroleum ether of Abrus precatorius was screened by considering different parameters which included time taken for covering bald patch, length of hair produced, percentage of hair follicles in anagen and telogen phases, time of hair growth initiation and completion and level of minerals in blood. The petroleum ether extract of Abrus precatorius showed a very good hair growth promoting activity at a dose of 300 mg/kg which was comparable to that of 2% minoxidil. After 30 days of treatment with test and standard drugs it was observed that, time taken for covering the bald patch, hair growth initiation and completion time and quantitative hair growth were found to be comparable to that of the standard drug. An increase in percentage of hair follicles turning from telogen phase to anagen phase was noted. The control treated group of animals showed poor hair growth for all the parameters. Keywords: Abrus precatorius Linn, Anagen, Catagen, Telogen, Minoxidi