Toxicity of aflatoxin B1 in broiler chicks and its reduction by activated charcoal

Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) is a plasma lipoprotein of high atherogenicity and competes with plasminogen at the site of plasminogen receptors. It is known that diabetic patients show a hypercoagulable state which might contribute to diabetic vascular complications. In the present study, mean levels of plasma Lp(a) and parameters of coagulation and fibrinolysis such as thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) and alpha 2 plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex (alpha 2PIC) were elevated in diabetic patients with nephropathy compared to healthy controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between the plasma levels of Lp(a) and alpha 2PIC (p < 0.05). Plasma levels of alpha 2PIC showed a significant positive correlation with those of TAT in the diabetic group, while there was no significant correlation observed in the non-diabetic group. The present results suggest that factors of Lp(a) and coagulation-fibrinolytic systems interacted, contributing to vascular complications in diabetic patients with nephropathy.     

Dissolution System for Nifedipine Sustained Release Formulations

An in-vitro system for evaluating Nifedipine sustained release formulations has been developed. Two systems were evaluated to simulate sink conditions and correlate the system with flow through dissolution system in mechanism. For the purpose of evaluation two commercial brands were studied. The acidic biphasic system was found to be good for in-vitro dissolution rate evaluation of sustained release nifedipine tablets. It can be successfully utilized for routine quality control work.     

Effect of bed characteristics on local liquid spreading in a trickle bed

Trickle bed reactors are important to several chemical process applications. While the available computational fluid dynamics models can predict overall liquid volume fraction, the prediction of spatial liquid distribution continues to be a challenging task. In the present work, Eulerian multifluid simulations were performed to investigate the effects of particle size, gas and liquid flow rates, and bed structure on local liquid spreading, and the predictions were validated using measured liquid spreading. It was found that the capillary pressure force caused liquid to spread in the lateral direction and that the interphase interaction forces pushed it in the downward direction and the relative magnitudes of these forces governed the local liquid distribution. While the use of existing capillary pressure force model led to satisfactory prediction of the observed trends of dynamic and steady state local liquid spreading, the modified capillary pressure force led to quantitatively correct predictions of local liquid spreading. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 347–357, 2017     

Insight into adsorption kinetics and isotherms for adsorption of methylene blue using gum rosin alcohol/psyllium-based green adsorbent

Present work focused on synthesis of green hydrogel polymer of gum rosin alcohol/psyllium crosslinked poly (acrylic acid) [(GrA-Psy)-cl-PAA] under vacuum condition. Use of both psyllium and gum rosin alcohols as backbones could lessen the burden on the environment, as more natural aspect is drawn in the hydrogel polymer. The various reaction parameters for the synthesis of hydrogel polymer were systematically optimized as a function of percentage swelling. The optimized ecofriendly hydrogel polymer was characterized using XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM and TGA techniques, which supported the successful formation of crosslinked three-dimensional network structures. (GrA-Psy)-cl-PAA was further studied as an adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue dye from an aqueous solution. Adsorption parameters such as the amount of adsorbent and pH were optimized to obtain the maximum percentage of dye removal. Kinetics of the adsorption process was analyzed using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and Elovich kinetic models. Adsorption kinetics followed pseudo-second-order model (non-linear) for all the concentrations studied. Non-linear forms of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich isotherm models were studied for the adsorption process and it was observed that it goes well with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated which indicated that the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous. Furthermore, the candidate polymer retained a reusability tendency for two consecutive cycles of adsorption/desorption. Thus, the synthesized novel material was taken as a potential to act as green adsorbent in treatment of industrial wastewater.     

Prostate-specific antigen values and their clinical significance in renal transplant recipients

BACKGROUND: In the diagnosis of prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most clinically useful tumor marker. Its utility in renal transplant patients is unclear. We hypothesized that PSA values might be affected by the renal function, immunosuppression, or proteinuria. METHODS: Three hundred four PSA values were measured in 166 patients >40 years (53.5 +/- 7.2 years, mean +/- SD, range 44.4 to 76.2). Charts were reviewed for 24-hour creatinine clearance, 24-hour urinary protein, cyclosporine use, age at the time of each PSA test, and evaluation done in response to the PSA result. Analyses used the Mann-Whitney U test and simple regression model. RESULTS: Twenty-five values in 13 patients were >4.0 ng/mL. Of these, 6 patients (6 values) had normal repeat PSA values; 3 patients (11 values) had negative evaluations for prostate cancer; and 4 patients (8 values) were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The latter 4 patients were excluded from the denoted normal group leaving 294 PSA values in 162 patients. The mean normal PSA was 1.3 +/- 1.8 ng/mL, range 0.1 to 20.2. The pretreatment mean PSA for recipients with prostate cancer was 302 +/- 800, range 8.0 to 2,281. An elevated PSA value was associated with a 31% incidence of prostate cancer. There was no association of PSA levels with cyclosporine use, 24-hour creatinine clearance, or 24-hour urinary protein, but there was with age. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate-specific antigen values in renal transplant recipients are similar to those in the general population and are not influenced by cyclosporine or by renal function. We recommend routine measurement of PSA in male transplant recipients.     

Screening to prevent renal failure in insulin dependent diabetic patients: an economic evaluation

OBJECTIVE: To examine the conditions necessary to make screening for microalbuminuria in patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus cost effective. DESIGN: This economic evaluation compared two strategies designed to prevent the development of end stage renal disease in patients with insulin dependent diabetes with disease for five years. Strategy A, screening for microalbuminuria as currently recommended, was compared with strategy B, a protocol in which patients were screened for hypertension and macroproteinuria. INTERVENTION: Patients identified in both strategies were treated with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor. SETTING: Computer simulation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Strategy costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs). RESULTS: The model predicted that strategy A would produce an additional 0.00967 QALYs at a present value cost of $261.53 (1990 US$) per patient (or an incremental cost/QALY of $27,041.69) over strategy B. The incremental cost/QALY for strategy A over B was sensitive to several variables. If the positive predictive value of screening for microalbuminuria (impact of false label and unnecessary treatment) is < 0.72, the effect of treatment to delay progression from microalbuminuria to macroproteinuria is < 1.6 years, the cumulative incidence of diabetic nephropathy falls to < 20%, or > 64% of patients demonstrate hypertension at the onset of microalbuminuria, then the incremental costs/QALY will exceed $75,000. CONCLUSION: Whether microalbuminuria surveillance in this population is cost effective requires more information. Being aware of the costs, recommendation pitfalls, and gaps in our knowledge should help focus our efforts to provide cost effective care to this population.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of compression ratio and injection pressure in a direct injection diesel engine running on Jatropha methyl ester

Being a fuel of different origin, the standard design parameters of a diesel engine may not be suitable for Jatropha methyl ester (JME). This study targets at finding the effects of the engine design parameters viz. compression ratio (CR) and fuel injection pressure (IP) jointly on the performance with regard to fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTHE) and emissions of CO, CO₂, HC, NO_x and Smoke opacity with JME as fuel. Comparison of performance and emission was done for different values of compression ratio along with injection pressure to find best possible combination for operating engine with JME. It is found that the combined increase of compression ratio and injection pressure increases the BTHE and reduces BSFC while having lower emissions. For small sized direct injection constant speed engines used for agricultural applications (3.5 kW), the optimum combination was found as CR of 18 with IP of 250 bar.     

-1800 ps/(nm.km) chromatic dispersion at 1.55 μm in dualconcentric core fibre

A single-mode optical fibre exhibiting a very high negative chromatic dispersion (1800 ps/(nm.km)) at 1.5 μm is realised and characterised for dispersion compensation applications     

Intraoperative placement of a Wallstent for portal vein stenosis and thrombosis after liver transplantation

We report a case of orthotopic liver transplantation, in which portal vein thrombosis developed in the immediate postoperative period. Surgical thrombectomy and intraoperative placement of a large caliber Wallstent resulted in long-term patency. The unique feature of this case is the intraoperative placement of the stent via the inferior mesenteric vein under fluoroscopic guidance. The use of a large caliber (16 mm) stent obviated the need for postoperative anticoagulation.