The Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Cissus Quadrangularis among Postmenopausal Women with Osteopenia.

Background: Osteopenia refers to bone density that is not only normal but also not as low as that noted in osteoporosis. Osteopenia leads to osteoporosis and increases the risk of fractures. Current research is focused on agents that will prevent or slow the progression of bone loss.

Detection and Classification of Melanoma Skin Cancer Using Image Processing Technique.

Human skin cancer is the most common and potentially life-threatening form of cancer. Melanoma skin cancer, in particular, exhibits a high mortality rate. Early detection is crucial for effective treatment.

Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity of CoFeO Nanoparticles from Plant Extract.

Biogenic CoFeO nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation and plant leaf was used as a bio-reductant of the nanoparticle productions. The biosynthesized CoFeO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV, VSM, and SEM via EDX analysis. The cubic phase of biosynthesized CoFeO nanoparticles and their crystallite size was determined by XRD.

Microencapsulation of probiotics in finger millet milk complex to improve encapsulation efficiency and viability.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of finger millet milk complex (almond gum with maltodextrin) to encapsulate the isolated strains. The wall materials were optimized based on its encapsulation efficiency, antioxidant activity, total phenol content and encapsulation yield. The strains were spray-dried at the optimized condition: 120 °C inlet temperature, maltodextrin 30% and almond gum 1.

Unusual presentation of a curve-shaped Meckel's diverticulum detected on technetium-99m Meckel's scintigraphy.

Complicated Meckel's diverticulum (MD) in pediatric age group may not present with classic symptoms or signs. The routine modalities of investigations for the detection of MD are ultrasonography (US), computerized tomography, and air enema. However, these may miss the diagnosis in cases of atypical patterns of presentation.

Effect of the intervertebral disc on vertebral bone strength prediction: a finite-element study.

Background Context: Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) are a prevalent skeletal condition in the elderly but the mechanism behind these fractures remain unclear due to the complex biomechanical interplay between spinal segments such as the vertebra and intervertebral discs (IVDs).

Purpose: To investigate the biomechanical influence of IVDs by (1) comparing finite element (FE)-predicted failure load with experimentally measured failure load of functional spinal units (FSUs) and (2) comparing this correlation with those of FE-predicted failure load and bone mineral density (BMD) of the single central vertebra with experimentally measured failure load.

Study Design: A computational biomechanical analysis.

Effect of Statistically Iterative Image Reconstruction on Vertebral Bone Strength Prediction Using Bone Mineral Density and Finite Element Modeling: A Preliminary Study.

Statistical iterative reconstruction (SIR) using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is a promising alternative to standard filtered back projection (FBP), because of lower noise generation while maintaining image quality. Hence, we investigated the feasibility of SIR in predicting MDCT-based bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral bone strength from finite element (FE) analysis. The BMD and FE-predicted bone strength derived from MDCT images reconstructed using standard FBP (FFBP) and SIR with (FSIR) and without regularization (FSIRB0) were validated against experimental failure loads (Fexp).

MDCT-based Finite Element Analysis of Vertebral Fracture Risk: What Dose is Needed?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare vertebral failure loads, predicted from finite element (FE) analysis of patients with and without osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF) at virtually reduced dose levels, compared to standard-dose exposure from multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging and evaluate whether ultra-low dose derived FE analysis can still differentiate patient groups.

Materials And Methods: An institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained for this retrospective study. A total of 16 patients were evaluated at standard-dose MDCT; eight with and eight without OVF.

Risk of vertebral compression fractures in multiple myeloma patients: A finite-element study.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a finite element (FE) model to predict vertebral bone strength in vitro using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images in multiple myeloma (MM) patients, to serve as a complementing tool to assess fracture risk. In addition, it also aims to differentiate MM patients with and without vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) by performing FE analysis on vertebra segments (T1-L5) obtained from in vivo routine MDCT imaging scans. MDCT-based FE models were developed from the in vitro vertebrae samples and were then applied to the in vivo vertebrae segments of MM patients (n = 4) after validation.

Effects of dose reduction on bone strength prediction using finite element analysis.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dose reduction, by means of tube exposure reduction, on bone strength prediction from finite-element (FE) analysis. Fresh thoracic mid-vertebrae specimens (n = 11) were imaged, using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), at different intensities of X-ray tube exposures (80, 150, 220 and 500 mAs). Bone mineral density (BMD) was estimated from the mid-slice of each specimen from MDCT images.

Assessing bone quality in terms of bone mineral density, buckling ratio and critical fracture load.

Background: Bone mineral density (BMD) is used as a sole parameter in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Due to the ease of acquirement of BMD, clinical diagnosis still involves its usage although the limitations of BMD are quite well-established. Therefore, this preliminary study hoped to reduce the errors introduced by BMD alone by incorporating geometric and structural predictors simultaneously to observe if strength was implicitly dependent on the geometry and BMD.

Comparison of Buckling Ratio and Finite Element Analysis of Femoral Necks in Post-menopausal Women.

Objectives: Osteoporosis is a prevalent problem amongst the elderly. Bone mineral density (BMD) obtained from dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard in diagnosing osteopenia (-1.0 < t < -2.

Association of inflammatory sialoproteins, lipid peroxides and serum magnesium levels with cardiometabolic risk factors in obese children of South Indian population.

The Incidence of childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome is increasing even in rural and semi-urban regions of India. Adipose tissue mass secretes several inflammatory proteins, which could potentially alter the metabolic processes, leading to several complications at the later stages of life. With limited studies on protein bound sialic acid (PBSA) as a marker of oxidative stress mediated inflammation in obese children, this study was aimed to assess and correlate PBSA with lipid peroxidation and other cardiometabolic risk factors like Insulin Resistance (IR), serum magnesium, and high sensitive C reactive Protein (hsCRP) levels in order to provide an insight into the degree of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Implications of local osteoporosis on the efficacy of anti-resorptive drug treatment: a 3-year follow-up finite element study in risedronate-treated women.

Unlabelled: The existence of local osteoporosis necessitates patient-specific analysis. Lower and higher ranges of local buckling ratio were found at femoral necks for adequate and inadequate drug response groups, respectively (grouped based on fracture loads). Management of hip fracture risk should be targeted at local geometric abnormalities causing instability.

Improving stability of locking compression plates through a design modification: a computational investigation.

Femoral shaft fractures are common in both the young and elderly due to high-impact trauma and low-impact trauma, respectively. Its treatment by indirect reduction through use of locking compression plates (LCPs) has been on the rise. The LCP possess several advantages in fracture fixation, combining angular stability through use of locking screws with misalignment correction and fracture reduction onto the plate through use of conventional screws.

Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in infants using dried blood spots in Tamil Nadu, South India.

Introduction: Diagnosis of HIV infection in infants is difficult due to the presence of maternal antibodies; only nucleic acid assays are very helpful in early detection. Filter papers are especially useful for blood collection in resource-poor settings with limited access to diagnostic facilities. MATERIALS #ENTITYSTARTX00026;

Methods: DBS samples were collected from the infants born to HIV seropositive mothers who had received single dose nevirapine at onset of labor.

Occurrence of leptospirosis among suspected cases in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Objective: To evaluate the serological profile of leptospirosis by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and dark field microscopy (DFM) and to determine the serovar prevalence rate among patients with pyrexia of unknown origin.

Materials And Methods: A total of 3830 blood samples were received from different hospitals and laboratories in and around Chennai. They were screened for leptospirosis by MAT and direct observation of live Leptospira by DFM.

Characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis isolates and their differential toxicity against Helicoverpa armigera populations.

Bacillus thuringiensis isolates were characterized in rhizospheric cotton soils by using acetate selection process from eight different locations in South India. The fact that B. thuringiensis indices were higher in proportion in soil samples taken from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka than from Andhra Pradesh, indicates the abundance of B.

The use of dried blood spots on filter paper for the diagnosis of HIV-1 in infants born to HIV seropositive women.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most sensitive test to diagnose HIV-1 infection among infants born to HIV seropositive mothers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of dried blood spot (DBS) specimens for PCR and to compare it with whole-blood stored in tubes for HIV-1 DNA PCR. Five hundred and seventy-seven whole-blood infant samples were tested using HIV-1 qualitative in-house nested DNA PCR.

Feedforward neural network implementation in FPGA using layer multiplexing for effective resource utilization.

This paper presents a hardware implementation of multilayer feedforward neural networks (NN) using reconfigurable field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Despite improvements in FPGA densities, the numerous multipliers in an NN limit the size of the network that can be implemented using a single FPGA, thus making NN applications not viable commercially. The proposed implementation is aimed at reducing resource requirement, without much compromise on the speed, so that a larger NN can be realized on a single chip at a lower cost.

Possible role of eclosion rhythm in mediating the effects of light-dark environments on pre-adult development in Drosophila melanogaster.

Background: In insects, circadian clocks have been implicated in affecting life history traits such as pre-adult development time and adult lifespan. Studies on the period (per) mutants of Drosophila melanogaster, and laboratory-selected lines of Bactrocera cucurbitae suggested a close link between circadian clocks and development time. There is a possibility of clock genes having pleiotropic effects on clock period and pre-adult development time.

Multi-oscillatory control of eclosion and oviposition rhythms in Drosophila melanogaster: evidence from limits of entrainment studies.

The eclosion and oviposition rhythms of flies from a population of Drosophila melanogaster maintained under constant conditions of the laboratory were assayed under constant light (LL), constant darkness (DD), and light/dark (LD) cycles of 10:10h (T20), 12:12h (T24), and 14:14h (T28). The mean (+/- 95% confidence interval; CI) free-running period (tau) of the oviposition rhythm was 26.34 +/- 1.

Circadian clocks and life-history related traits: is pupation height affected by circadian organization in Drosophila melanogaster?

In D. melanogaster, the observation of greater pupation height under constant darkness than under constant light has been explained by the hypothesis that light has an inhibitory effect on larval wandering behaviour, preventing larvae from crawling higher up the walls of culture vials prior to pupation. If this is the only role of light in affecting pupation height, then various light : dark regimes would be predicted to yield pupation heights intermediate between those seen in constant light and constant darkness.