There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Advanced Statistical Methods in Biometric Research.

An artery, vein, aneurysm, vascular malformation or arterial fistula is occluded through endovascular occlusion by the endovascular insertion of a platinum wire and/or tip into the vascular cavity. The vascular cavity is packed with the tip to obstruct blood flow or access of blood in the cavity such that the blood clots in the cavity and an occlusion if formed. The tip may be elongate and flexible so that it packs the cavity by being folded upon itself a multiple number of times, or may pack the cavity by virtue of a filamentary or fuzzy structure of the tip. The tip is then separated from the wire mechanically or by electrolytic separation of the tip from the wire. The wire and the microcatheter are thereafter removed leaving the tip embedded in the thrombus formed within the vascular cavity. Movement of wire in the microcatheter is more easily tracked by providing a radioopaque proximal marker on the microcatheter and a corresponding indicator marker on the wire. Electrothrombosis is facilitate by placing the ground electrode on the distal end of the microcatheter and flowing current between the microcatheter electrode and the tip.

Endovascular electrolytically detachable wire and tip for the formation of thrombus in arteries, veins, aneurysms, vascular malformations and arteriovenous fistulas

Inulin and oligofructose belong to a class of carbohydrates known as fructans. The main sources of inulin and oligofructose that are used in the food industry are chicory and Jerusalem artichoke. Inulin and oligofructose are considered as functional food ingredients since they affect physiological and biochemical processes in rats and human beings, resulting in better health and reduction in the risk of many diseases. Experimental studies have shown their use as bifidogenic agents, stimulating the immune system of the body, decreasing the levels of pathogenic bacteria in the intestine, relieving constipation, decreasing the risk of osteoporosis by increasing mineral absorption, especially of calcium, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis by lowering the synthesis of triglycerides and fatty acids in the liver and decreasing their level in serum. These fructans modulate the hormonal level of insulin and glucagon, thereby regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism by lowering the blood glucose levels; they are also effective in lowering the blood urea and uric acid levels, thereby maintaining the nitrogen balance. Inulin and oligofructose also reduce the incidence of colon cancer. The biochemical basis of these beneficial effects of inulin and oligofructose have been discussed. Oligofructoses are non-cariogenic as they are not used byStreptococcus mutans to form acids and insoluble glucans that are the main culprits in dental caries. Because of the large number of health promoting functions of inulin and oligofructose, these have wide applications in various types of foods like confectionery, fruit preparations, milk desserts, yogurt and fresh cheese, baked goods, chocolate, ice cream and sauces. Inulin can also be used for the preparation of fructose syrups.

http://wealthandhealth.ltd.uk/articles/Applications%20of%20inulin%20and%20oligofructose%20in%20health%20and%20nutrition.pdf

Applications of inulin and oligofructose in health and nutrition.

The herb Artemisia annua has been used for many centuries in Chinese traditional medicine as a treatment for fever and malaria. In 1971, Chinese chemists isolated from the leafy portions of the plant the substance responsible for its reputed medicinal action. This compound, called qinghaosu (QHS, artemisinin), is a sesquiterpene lactone that bears a peroxide grouping and, unlike most other antimalarials, lacks a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring system. The compound has been used successfully in several thousand malaria patients in China, including those with both chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Derivatives of QHS, such as dihydroqinghaosu, artemether, and the water-soluble sodium artesunate, appear to be more potent than QHS itself. Sodium artesunate acts rapidly in restoring to consciousness comatose patients with cerebral malaria. Thus QHS and its derivatives offer promise as a totally new class of antimalarials.

Quinghaosu (artemisin): an antimalarial drug from china

Applications of Nanotechnology in Agricultural and their Role in Disease Management

PURPOSE: To analyze results of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for stenosis of the descending thoracic and/or abdominal aorta caused by Takayasu arteritis (TA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 16 patients (12 female and four male, aged 6-46 years) with symptoms of hypertension or severe bilateral lower limb claudication. Total aortography revealed stenotic lesions in the descending thoracic aorta in five, in the abdominal aorta in 10, and in both vessels in one patient. Involvement of arch vessels in four patients and of the renal artery in four patients was also noted. Double-balloon angioplasty was performed in eight patients. RESULTS: Initial technical and clinical success was 100%. The maximum follow-up period was 52 months (mean, 21 months 2 weeks). Ankle-brachial index as determined with Doppler ultrasound improved considerably in 10 patients. Three patients had symptoms of restenosis during follow-up. Cumulative patency rate by life-table analysis was 67%. CONCLUSION: PTA has a def...

Takayasu arteritis: initial and long-term follow-up in 16 patients after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta.

A collection of Phyllanthus amarus was made from various parts of India to determine the extent of genetic variability using analysis at DNA level. RAPD profiling of 33 collections from different locations, covering states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana was generated. Analysis through UPGMA revealed up to 65% variation among these accessions. However, intra-population variation was found to be much larger in the accession from the southern part of the country. Nevertheless, inter-population variation also overlaps in the phylogenetic clustering, which is understandable from the natural dissemination of this plant species as a weed that has spread across the geographical boundaries. The study indicates the random hybridization across the populations falling within the range of possible cross-pollination in terms of physical distance. A study of these accessions at a single location, allowing free mating, would throw light on the extent of cross-pollination and genetic flow.

Molecular diversity in Phyllanthus amarus assessed through RAPD analysis

Our experience in the treatment of stenoses of the infrarenal portion of the abdominal aorta with balloon angioplasty in 27 patients is reported. Clinical findings were lower limb claudication (all patients), impotence (eight patients), and blue-toe syndrome (two patients). The underlying disease was atherosclerosis in 24 patients and nonspecific aortoarteritis in three patients. Dilatation was successful in all patients. Embolic occlusions of the left common iliac artery (one patient) and left superficial femoral artery (one patient) were the only major complications. Claudication in the affected limb continued in the first patient; the second died when diagnostic angiography, performed 3 months after angioplasty, caused a severe atheroembolus. Of the other 25 patients, nine of the 10 followed up for 13-48 months and all seven followed up for 3-8 months were free of symptoms. Six of eight patients with sexual dysfunction had normal function after angioplasty. Seven patients still awaited follow-up and on...

A. K. Gupta

Papers

Applications of Nanotechnology in Agricultural and their Role in Disease Management

Takayasu arteritis: initial and long-term follow-up in 16 patients after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta.

Molecular diversity in Phyllanthus amarus assessed through RAPD analysis

Obstruction of the infrarenal portion of the abdominal aorta: results of treatment with balloon angioplasty.

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