Does vitamin E have a role in treatment and prevention of anemia?

Vitamin E is a highly effective fat-soluble vitamin with a variety of cellular membrane stabilizing-antioxidant and non-antioxidant functions. Vitamin E has been suggested to prevent the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in red blood cell (RBC) membrane, thus inhibiting the premature erythrocytelysis. Animal studies have shown that treatment with vitamin E results in increased number of colony forming units of erythroid precursors, enhanced erythropoiesis and improved blood hemoglobin levels in these animals. Several clinical trials have indicated that vitamin E might be used therapeutically as a potential erythropoietic agent for decreasing the premature erythrocyte hemolysis by reducing the fragility of erythrocytes. By this way, it improves the post-supplemental blood hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in some of the anemic human subjects, including low birth weight premature infants, Patients suffering from various types of inherited hemolytic anemia, chronic renal failure Patients on hemodialysis and apparently healthy mildly anemic subjects

Trustworthiness of Organic Produces in Urban Market: Innovation through Quick Response(QR)Code

Considering the risks associated with food consumption, several risk reduction strategies are used by consumers, all linked to brand loyalty, store image or label references that build trust in the product. A food product can be labeled organic if it complies with the principles for organic production, processing, labeling and control. Previous researchers have identified that organic certification logo have significant impact on consumption of organic products in urban markets. Organic logo increases trustworthiness of urban consumers about organic produces. Previous studies further observed that high price has deep connotation with trustworthiness about organic produces and urban buyers have ability to pay high price. The urban buyers though they have ability to pay high price for organic produces, they do not get them from trustworthy sources due to lack of believable information about organic produces. The urban organic consumers mostly come from affluent part of the society who have access to technology and have access to smartphone for available information about sources of organic produces. Quick response code (QR code) is a type of 2D bar code that is used to provide easy access to information using free application with smartphone or QR scanner. The information (authentication code, grower code, name, location, contact number, Facebook URL, production date, expiry date and regulatory authority URL) about authentic organic growers can be embedded on QR code that can track easily at no cost. This paper addresses the model of adopting QR code based labeling mechanism for organic produces that dramatically will improve trustworthiness among organic consumers. This authentication process will eliminate fake organic growers also. The QR code based mechanism may increase brand loyalty, store image and can be used as a tool to replace the traditional organic labeling for urban markets

Fabricating eco-friendly binderless fiberboard from laccase-treated rubber wood fiber.

The emission of formaldehyde vapors from adhesives such as urea formaldehyde (UF) and phenol formaldehyde (PF) is a main concern for the wood composite industry. The ability of laccase enzymes to modify the fiber in pulp industries has given hope to the wood composite industry to prepare composites without using external adhesives. In the present work, rubber wood fiber was treated with different amounts of laccase enzymes at varying time intervals. Although laccase is known to cause changes to lignin, FTIR analysis of treated fiber revealed no significant difference in the chemical composition of cellulosic fiber as compared to the untreated fiber. SEM analysis exhibited a thin uniform layer of lignin deposition on the fiber surface that may be precipitated back when the reaction reaches equilibrium. XRD showed a 10% increase (maximum) in the crystallinity index of treated fibers as compared to untreated fiber. The treated fibers were dried and pressed at different platen temperatures for various time intervals without any adhesive. Mechanical properties such as MOE, MOR, and IB were done to analyze the performance of binderless fiberboard as per ASTM D1037. Binderless fiberboard of density 750 (±10) MPa that was fabricated from the fiber treated at 6 U/g enzyme for 60 min and pressed at 200 °C for 6 min showed good performance

Anticonvulsant activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Melissa parviflora in experimentally induced Swiss albino mice

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticonvulsant effect of whole plant extracts of Melissa parviflora using MES and PTZ induced seizures models. The dried whole plant was subjected to extraction in methanol and water. The extracts were subjected to phytochem-ical tests and the carbohydrate, flavonols, coumarins, glycosides and steroid were found to be present. The methanolic and aqueous extracts of the plant of Melissa parviflora were observed for their anticonvulsant activity by Maximal Electroshock seizures (MES) test and Pentylene-tetrazole (PTZ) test using Swiss albino mice. Both the extracts showed significant activity in MES and PTZ induced convulsions in comparison to control. From the literature surveys as well experiments performed, it can be said that Melissa parviflora does pose anticonvulsant property

Nephroprotective action of Peucedanum grande against cadmium chloride induced renal toxicity in Wistar rats

Cadmium is a known industrial pollutant which accumulates in the kidney and its exposure leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The present study was carried out to evaluate the protective effects of Peucedanum grande against CdCl2 induced renal toxicity in Wistar rats. Wistar rats were subjected to oral pretreatment of P. grande (60 and 120 mg/kg b.wt) against the renal toxicity induced by administration of CdCl2 (3mg/kg b.wt). Efficacy of P. grande against the renal toxicity was evaluated in terms of biochemical estimation of antioxidant enzyme activities and histopathological changes. P. grande pretreatment prevented deteriorative effects induced by CdCl2 through a protective mechanism that involved reduction of increased oxidative stress as well as by restoration of histopathological changes against CdCl2 administration

An Investigation on The Effect of Machine Gauge on the Properties of Weft Knitted Fabric

To investigate the effect of machine gauge on properties of weft knitted fabric, three V – bed knitting machines of different gauges were selected for fabric sample production. They were of gauge 7, 12, and 14. With these three machines, three 1 × 1 rib fabric samples were produced by using 20 / 2 (Ne) yarn. Keeping the same machine settings, 1 × 1 rib fabric samples were produced by using 32 / 2 (Ne) and 40 / 2 (Ne) yarns. The dimensional properties like course / cm, wales / cm, stitch density per square cm, and G.S.M. were measured from the samples. They were tabulated and presented by graphs to observe the effects. To analyze the effects, the stitch length of each fabric’s samples was measured. It was found that the stitch length increases as the machine gauge decreases and vice-versa. As a result, all other properties like; course / cm, wales / cm, stitch density and G.S.M. also changes. It was concluded that the machine gauge affects the knit fabric properties and it has a specific trend

Code Security Vulnerability Repair Using Reinforcement Learning with Large Language Models

With the recent advancement of Large Language Models (LLMs), generating functionally correct code has become less complicated for a wide array of developers. While using LLMs has sped up the functional development process, it poses a heavy risk to code security. Code generation with proper security measures using LLM is a significantly more challenging task than functional code generation. Security measures may include adding a pair of lines of code with the original code, consisting of null pointer checking or prepared statements for SQL injection prevention. Currently, available code repair LLMs generate code repair by supervised fine-tuning, where the model looks at cross-entropy loss. However, the original and repaired codes are mostly similar in functionality and syntactically, except for a few (1-2) lines, which act as security measures. This imbalance between the lines needed for security measures and the functional code enforces the supervised fine-tuned model to prioritize generating functional code without adding proper security measures, which also benefits the model by resulting in minimal loss. Therefore, in this work, for security hardening and strengthening of generated code from LLMs, we propose a reinforcement learning-based method for program-specific repair with the combination of semantic and syntactic reward mechanisms that focus heavily on adding security and functional measures in the code, respectively

Evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of epidural steroid injections in lumbar spine with patients of chronic low back pain

Background: Intervertebral disc herniation, spinal stenosis, intervertebral disc degeneration without disc herniation, and post lumbar surgery syndrome are the most common diagnoses of chronic persistent low back and lower extremity symptoms, resulting in significant economic, societal, and health care impact. Epidural injections are one of the most commonly performed interventions in managing chronic low back pain (LBP) along with surgical intervention. Cost effectiveness and affordability has become the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine, and has an influence on coverage decisions, especially in developing countries such as India. LBP is a common problem. The aim of this study was to find the therapeutic efficacy of epidural steroid injections (ESIs) in chronic LBP.Methods: 50 patients presenting with LBP with or without radiculopathy treated with ESIs were prospectively followed for average duration of 12 months.Results: Fifty patients were included in this study with average age 51.02±7.1, out of these 26 (52%) were males and 24 (48%) females. Significant pain relief (>50%) was demonstrated in 43 (71%) of patients and functional status improvement was demonstrated by a reduction of 40% in Oswestry disability index (ODI) score in 49 (81%) patients.Conclusions: ESIs are very effective and significantly reduce pain in patients with chronic function-limiting LBP

Knowledge of patients\u27 visual experience during cataract surgery: a survey of eye doctors in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have recommended that ophthalmologists must be aware of the visual sensations (and their associated anxiety/fear) experienced by patients undergoing cataract surgery. We assessed the knowledge of a group of eye doctors in Pakistan regarding these phenomena. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey. Eye doctors (ophthalmologists, residents and medical officers) attending the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan Annual Conference 2011, in Karachi were invited to participate in the study. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to examine their knowledge of visual sensations and their associated anxiety/fear experienced by patients during cataract surgery. Simple frequencies and proportions were calculated to describe the data. RESULTS: A total of 150 ophthalmologists, residents and medical officers were invited to participate in the study. Of these, 68 (45.3%) responded. The mean age (±SD) of the participants was 42.9 (13.2) years. The proportion of participants who thought that patients could experience visual sensations during cataract surgery under regional anaesthesia was 89.7% and that under topical anaesthesia was 73.5%. The most frequently cited sensations included: light perception, changes in light brightness, movements, instruments and surgeon\u27s hands or fingers.The eye doctors estimated that 38.9% and 64.3% patients would see at least something during cataractsurgery under regional anaesthesia and topical anaesthesia, respectively. They also believed that 24.2%-36.9% of patients may experience anxiety/fear as a result of visual sensations during such surgery. Approximately half of the eye doctors did not think that retained vision was a source of fear or anxiety for the patients. While most of them acknowledged the importance of preoperative counselling in helping to alleviate such fear/anxiety, the majority of them did not regularly counsel their patients on what to expect during the surgery. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that a significant proportion of eye doctors do not have adequate knowledge of the visual phenomenon and their associated anxiety or fear, that patients can experience during cataract surgery. Targeted educational interventions are needed to increase awareness of this phenomenon among eye care professionals

Outcome analysis of vacuum assisted closure therapy in patients with open wounds

Background: Vacuum assisted Closure (VAC) of wound is a recent trend and proven method of fast and better healing of wounds. The basic concept is the removal of blood and serous collection from the wound site with negative pressure and promoting the healing process rapidly by altering the local microcellular environment.The objective of the study was to show the efficacy of healing process in open wounds treated by VAC method of dressing.Methods: In this prospective study, total of 50 patients with upper and lower limbs non-healing open wounds were recruited. Before the application of VAC, surgical debridement was performed to remove all the devitalized necrotic tissues and the wound was packed with povodine iodine. Prior to and at the end of VAC dressing, wound dimensions were noted.Results: Patients mean age was 46.72±7.63 years and out of which 42 patients (84%) were males and 8 patients (16%) were females. All patients had suffered an acute trauma. VAC therapy was applied through continuous or intermittent suction on wounds and dressing were changed every second or third day. After application of VAC therapy all wounds showed improvement, which were indicated by presence of healthy granulation tissue, absence of necrotic tissue and subsequent wound closure. Conclusions: VAC dressing in an open wound is an efficient and safe adjunct to treat severe infections and may be a good alternative to treat the open wounds in selected patients. Short time intervals between VAC changes and short course of therapy result in good patient acceptance. This method is recommended for all the types of non-healing wounds management