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

Smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is a significant cause of lip and oral cavity cancers. Globally, oral cancer (OC) prevalence is strongly linked to the types of tobacco products used, their chemical composition, and their pattern of use. Except snus, all SLT products sold in different WHO regions are strongly associated with OC incidence. Shammah showed the highest association odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) (OR 38.74, 95% CI 19.50-76.96), followed by oral snuff (OR 11.80, 95% CI 8.45-16.49), gutkha (OR 8.67, 95% CI 3.59-20.93), tobacco with betel quid (OR 7.74, 95% CI 5.38-11.13), toombak (OR 4.72, 95% CI 2.88-7.73) and unspecified chewing tobacco (OR 4.72, 95% CI 3.13-7.11). Most SLT products containing high levels of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) exhibit a high risk of oral cancer. There is an urgent need to frame and implement international policies for OC prevention through legal control of the TSNA levels in all SLT product types.

Oral Cancer Risk Assessment for Different Type of Smokeless Tobacco Products Sold Worldwide: A Review of Reviews and Meta-analyses.

Induced resistance in potato against Phytophthora infestans was studied using inducer chemicals (salicylic acid, benzothiadiazol, fosetyl-Al, calcium chloride, ethylene, hydrogen peroxide, potassium hydrogen phosphate) and bio-agents (Pseudomonas fluorescens, Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma harzianum). Treatments were given as tuber dip for ten minutes before sowing, spray application and combined tuber treatment and spray application. Challenge inoculations by P. infestans were done at 10 days intervals of each treatment. Observations were recorded in terms of per cent disease severity. Leaves from treated plants were used to study changes in total phenols, o - dihydroxy phenol, defense related enzymes (PAL, PPO, PO) and chitinase activity. Minimum disease severity (2.0%) was recorded in case of plants sprayed with salicylic acid @ 100μg/ml and it was completely controlled when observed after 7 days of first inoculation where combined tuber treatment and spray application of salicylic acid were given. It was followed by benzothiadiazole @ 100μg/ml and fosetyl-Al @ 1000μg/ml. Disease severity started increasing after subsequent challenge inoculations. There was increase in total phenols, o-dihydroxy phenols, PAL in treated plants after challenge inoculations. Maximum increase (52.4%) in peroxidase and chitinase activity was observed in salicylic acid treated plants. Comparatively, lower induction of resistance was observed with the bio-agents tested.

A. K. Gupta

Papers

Oral Cancer Risk Assessment for Different Type of Smokeless Tobacco Products Sold Worldwide: A Review of Reviews and Meta-analyses.

Induced resistance in potato against Phytophthora infestans using chemicals and bio- agents

Effect of oestrous behaviour on fertility in crossbred cattle

Comparative study of water characteristics and algal biodiversity in river Gomti and Varuna.

Innovative Approaches in Plant Disease Management