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BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion is an essential element of a health care system. Safety of blood transfusion is of extreme importance in order to avoid any severe morbidity and mortality in the patient. By screening donated blood units, we get a clue of the prevalence of those infections among donor pop ulations and consequently the safety of collected donations. It also gives us an idea of the prevalence of the Transfusion transmissible infections ( TTIs) in the community. OBJECTIVES : To find out the sero - prevalence of TTIs namely HBV (Hepatitis B) in the blood donor population at MMC&RI, Mysore. To stratify sero prevalence of TTIs based on the age and sex of the donor population . METHODOLOGY: The present study was carried out in the Blood Bank , Mysore Medical College and Research Institute , Mysore during the period from November 2012 to May 2014 among 14075 blood donors. All the samples were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by ELISA method . RESULTS : Out of a total of 14075 blood donors , a total of 103 tested positive for TTIs . 94.08% were males and remaining 5.92% were females. A majority of donors were voluntary donors (85.79%) and a majority of the donors were between the age group of 18 - 39 years (78.17%). The prevalence rate of HBV in blood donors was 0.73%. The seroprevale nce in voluntary donors was 0.57% and in replacement donors was 1.75 % respectively. CONCLUSION : Voluntary blood donation is safe, compared to replacement as high prevalence of Hepatitis B is observed in replacement donors.

NTRODUCTION : Thyroid hormone is a central regulator of body haemodynamic, thermoregulation and metabolism. The effect of thyroid hormones on lipid metabolism is well known, whereas the effect on electrolytes and minerals has not been well established and also the underlying mechanisms not well understood. Thyroid hormones regulate the activity of sodium potassium pumps in mo st of the tissues. The higher prevalence of thyroid disease in women suggests that estrogen might be involved in the pathophysiology of thyroid dysfunction. With this background the present study was undertaken to assess the alterations in the levels of serum electrolytes in hyperthyroid, hypothyroid & euthyroid female patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS : The present study was conducted in female patients who atte nded medicine outpatient D epartment of S. N. Medical C ollege & HSK H ospital , Bagalkot . Thyroid hormones were estimated by chemiluminiscence method . Electrolyte levels (Na + , k + & Cl - ) were measured by ion selective electrode method. Serum levels of free T3 T4 and TSH were obtained. Patients with history of intake of thyroid drugs, hypertensive, diabetes mellitus, obesity and all other causes for electrolyte abnormalities were excluded from the study. STATISTICS : All the values are expressed in mean ± SD . Unp aired ‘t’ test was applied. Pearson’s correlation was done to see the correlation between serum electrolytes and thyroid hormones using SPSS (version 16.0). RESULTS : In the present study mean age group of patients were between 20 - 60yrs. There were 90 femal e patients total in number. Out of which 30 patients were with hypothyroidism, another 30 were with hyperthyroidism and remaining 30 were with euthyroidism. Mean serum levels for thyroid function parameters and electrolytes are given in below table no.2 an d 3. DISCUSSION : Hypothyroidism is a very common condition and seen more in women than in men. The higher prevalence of thyroid disease in women suggests that estrogen might be involved in the pathophysiology of thyroid dysfunction. In our study the serum sodium levels were markedly decreased as compared to healthy controls. According to Saruta T et al Plasma Renin Activity (PRA) and Plasma Aldosterone (PA) may be suppressed in hypothyroidism probably due to dysfunction of juxtaglomerular cells and glomerul osa cells respectively. The suppression of PRA and PA in patients with hypothyroidism is related to exaggerated sodium excretion and decrease in potassium excretion. CONCLUSION : We conclude that significant decreased Na + and increased K + levels were seen in female hypothyroid patients compared to controls. Hence monitoring of serum levels of these electrolytes will be helpful during the management of hypothyroid patient

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES : Anemia in Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is common and its pathogenesis is multifactorial. Since the clinico - pathological patterns are reflected by their underlying etiopathogenic factors, it is important to study the associated morbidity and mortalit y and to establish their causes for an effective management. The purpose of the present study is to determine the prevalence, patterns, clinico - pathological and morphological types of anemia in protein energy malnutrition children. The objectives of the st udy are: (1) To study the clinico - pathological and morphological patterns of anemia in PEM children of age group 6 month – 5 years. (2) To assess the resultant morbidity and mortality. (3) To determine the ideal parameter for iron deficiency anemia. METHOD S: This study was conducted on 75 clinically diagnosed Protein energy malnutrition patients of age group 6 months to 5 years. Detailed clinical history elicitation and thorough clinical examination was performed. Peripheral smears of these patients were ex amined. The complete hemogram including reticulocyte count was done. The special investigations like bone marrow study, Hb electrophoresis, iron studies and stool examination were done whenever required. RESULTS: In our study, anemia in PEM affected female population more than the males of age 36 - 47 months. Most of children had Grade III PEM and Microcytic hypochromic anemia was most prevalent. Most of the children had Iron deficiency anemia. This study also indicated that Serum iron assay and TIBC are the better indicators of iron deficiency anemia in patients with PEM and it is the investigation of choice when compared to serum ferritin as it gets falsely elevated in these patients with infections confirmed by elevated CRP level. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUS ION: Malnutrition, Infection and Anemia show a synergistic relationship. So it necessitates prompt screening and early diagnosis through proper investigation, by utilization of available advanced technical modalities in order to initiate timely treatment a nd appropriate management.

Separation of o‐/p‐aminoacetophenones (o‐/p‐AAPs) is investigated by a two‐step process: selective solubilization in an organic solvent followed by reactive adsorption on functionalized polymers. Since, p‐AAP and o‐AAP show inter‐ and intra‐molecular hydrogen bonding, respectively, the former is solubilized to a much lesser extent than the latter in an organic solvent. For example, o‐AAP dissolves completely while p‐AAP shows only 1.8% saturation solubility in toluene. Selective solubilization of o‐AAP in toluene, therefore, gives pure p‐AAP as residual solid in high yields. In the subsequent adsorption step, a strongly acidic ion exchange resin removes selectively the trace amounts of p‐AAP from the toluene phase giving pure o‐AAP.

Heavy-lift helicopter blades are estimated to be large and heavy (upwards of 360 kg per blade) when the spars are constructed as monocoque structures. It is proposed to replace these conventional spar designs with lighter grid-stiffened composite shells. Composite stiffened shells have been known to provide superior strength to weight ratio and damage tolerance with a great potential to reduce weight. The design space for grid-stiffened rotor blade spar structures is new and the behavior of these structures under axial, bending, and torsion loads needs to be accurately predicted. The overall objective of the present research is to develop and integrate the necessary design analysis tools to conduct a feasibility study in employing grid-stiffened shells for heavy-lift rotor blade spars. A new analytical model was developed to accurately model various grid stiffening configurations and the results were compared with current state-of-the-art analysis, finite element analysis (FEA) and in certain cases, experiments. Parametric studies of grid density, stiffener angle, and aspect ratio of stiffener cross section showed excellent correlation (within 5-7%) between FEA and the new model. On the other hand, differences in the range of 26-60% between current state-of-theart analysis and FEA were seen for certain designs. A preliminary design study was conducted to evaluate the weight saving potential of a simple cylindrical grid-stiffened rotor blade spar structure compared to a baseline monocoque design. Discretized design variables were stiffener density, stiffener angle, shell laminate, and stiffener aspect ratio and the design constraints were stiffness, material strength, and stability. For the range of the design variables explored, a weight saving of 9% compared to the baseline was obtained without violating any of the design constraints.

PubMedID: 19782823 Statement of problem: Cast-to components are commonly used in screw-retained implant-supported restorations to produce precise fit. There is little information in the literature about the compositions and microstructures of commercially available products. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize as-received cast-to components from 5 manufacturers (Dentsply Friadent CeraMed, Lifecore Biomedical, Inc, Nobel Biocare AB, Institut Straumann AG, and Zimmer Dental). Material and methods: Two components from each manufacturer were mounted in metallographic resin, sectioned into quarters, remounted, wet polished with alumina abrasives, cleaned by ultrasonic agitation in distilled water, etched with aqua regia solutions, and carbon coated for scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. Secondary (SE) and backscattered electron (BSE) images were collected to investigate the variations in surface topography and composition, respectively. Elemental analyses (EDS) were performed using an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer coupled to the SEM. Overall Vickers hardness (500-g load) and Vickers hardness of the 2 primary microstructural constituents (10-g load) were measured. Mean values and standard deviations were determined for the composition and Vickers hardness data. Results: All implant components were composed of 2 distinctive parallel-band constituents containing gold, palladium, and platinum. Trace concentrations of iridium were also found. Elemental compositions of the darker bands observed by BSE differed by up to 20% for Au and Pt in the 5 products, whereas there was a minimal difference in Pd content. The lighter bands observed by BSE had nearly the same compositions in all 5 products, and contained much more Au and much less Pt than the darker bands. The gold-rich bands in each product were found to have much lower Vickers hardness. At high magnifications, each of the 2 bands appeared to contain 2 phases. Conclusions: The elemental compositions, microstructures, and Vickers hardness of the 5 as-received cast-to implant components were similar. Because both microstructural bands principally contain gold, palladium, and platinum, these noble cast-to implant components should be metallurgically compatible with noble metal casting alloys. (J Prosthet Dent 2009;102:216-223). © 2009 The Editorial Council of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.

Advanced Grid-stiffened (AGS) structures are characterized by shells which are integrally stiffened by a series of ribs or stiffeners arranged in combinations of lateral, longitudinal, and angular patterns, all fabricated using composite materials. Such configurations possess excellent resistance to impact damage, delamination, and crack propagation while exhibiting high stiffness to weight ratio. Though the AGS structures are commonly used in fuselage structures, space vehicle shrouds, and wing structures, they are not used in rotor blade spar designs. The large size, high torsional stiffness requirements, large bending stresses along the blade length due to high lift and lower CF make it impractical to employ the conventional monocoque spar designs to the proposed heavy lift rotor blades. Considering the potential advantages of AGS structures, the feasibility of employing them to the heavy lift rotor blade spar designs has to be investigated thoroughly. As a preliminary study, the present investigation focuses on the structural behavior of closed cross-section cylindrical structures with helical grids under axial, torsion, and bending loads is investigated. The objective is to develop finite element and analytical models to predict the stiffness properties of the cylindrical grids and perform validation studies by conducting experiments. A general purpose finite element code is employed to create and analyze the grid and grid-stiffened models. Several grid specimens are fabricated and tested for deflections under various loading conditions and the results are compared with closed form analytical solutions and FEM. It is demonstrated that the results from FEM and experiments are in good agreement for the grid-only beams. It is also observed that the closed form analytical formulation has to be modified to incorporate out of plane bending of the grid segments, skin-stiffener interaction, and the curvature of the grid-stiffened structures to accurately predict the structural responses.

Near-infrared optical tomography is an interesting technique of imaging with high blood-based contrast. Unfortunately non-invasive NIR tomographic imaging has been restricted to specific organs like breast that can be transilluminated externally. In this paper, we demonstrate that near-infrare d (NIR) optical tomography can be employed at the endoscope-scale, and implemented at a rapid samp ling speed that allows translation to in vivo use. A spread-spectral-encoding technique based on a broadband light source is combined with light delivery by linear-to-circular fiber bundle, to provide endoscopic probing of multiple source/detector fibers for to mographic imaging as well as parallel sampling of all source-detector pairs for rapid data acquisition. Endoscopic NIR tom ography is demonstrated by use of a 12mm diameter probe housing 8 sources and 8 detectors at 8 Hz frame rate. Transrectal NIR optical tomography by use of tissue specimen is also presented. This novel approach provides the key feas ibility studies to allow this blood-based contrast imaging technology to be tried in cancer detection of internal organs via endoscopic interrogation. Keywords: Near-infrared optical tomography, endoscopic, trans-rectal, reconstruction

Flexible Matrix Composites (FMC), are shown to exhibit large failure strains and high anisotropic properties with excellent potential for elastic tailoring. A box-beam analytical model exhibiting extension-twist coupling is extended to include thermomechanical eects. Using this model, a detailed parametric study is conducted on various FMC and carbonepoxy (CE) designs. Thermal analyses performed on FMC designs showed that some designs are highly sensitive to temperature variations whereas certain others are more thermally curvature stable than the baseline CE. A design procedure involving stiness, deflections and strength is employed to derive candidate designs for FMC from a wide spectrum of laminates. Detailed quantitative analyses are performed on FMC candidate designs and compared with that of a CE baseline design. It is showed that FMC can be tailored to obtain thermally curvature stable laminates while satisfying certain design constraints. For example, the design [45, 75, 15]s generates nearly 5 times twist under axial load when compared with the CE baseline. This design exhibits only 0.5 ‐ twist at the tip due to a change in temperature of -200 ‐ F whereas the baseline generates 6.5 ‐ . Validation studies on analytical predictions are performed by conducting experiments on FMC specimens. Wet filament winding technique is employed to fabricate several FMC box-beam specimens exhibiting extension-twist coupling. The specimens are tested for axial deformation, twist, and bending under various loading conditions. Excellent correlation between analytical predictions and experimental results is observed. For [45, 45] specimen, experimental data fall within 6% of the theoretical results for twist and bending under axial and bending loads respectively. The present investigation demonstrates the potential of FMC for structural tailoring and shows that it is a viable candidate for applications involving large elastic deformations.