Comparison of efficacy of metformin and D-chiro-inositol on clinical biomarkers in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome:an open label study

Objective:Polycystic ovary syndrome(Pcos)is a pathophysiological disorder affecting reproductive and metabolic indices in females.The present study was designed to compare the efficacy of metformin and D-chiroinositol in PcoS patients.Methods:In a tertiary care hospital in North India,prospective observational research was undertaken on 1o0 patients with PCOS,which was diagnosed based on European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Guidelines and ultrasound of lower abdomen.The study involves various clinical characteristics into consideration for the determination of statistical significance(P<0.05)in PCOS patients.Student's t-test along with the association between PCOS and patients taking metformin and D-chiro-inositol,as well as their impact on various biochemical parameters,were investigated finally using Pearson Correlation Analysis.Results:This study comprises 50 patients taking metformin and 50 patients taking D-chiro-inositol in women suffering from PCOS.Body mass index(BMI)and waist-to-hip ratio(WHR)were statistically significant(P<0.05)within the groups of both metformin and D-chiro-inositol.Biochemical parameters such as luteinizing hormone(LH),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),anti-mullerian hormone(AMH)and glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c)were found to be statistically significant(P<0.05)in both groups.LH,FSH and AMH(14.40±0.52;14.28±0.53;1.99±0.10)were comparatively lower in patients taking D-chiro-inositol as compared to metformin group(14.17±0.42;19.88±1.01;2.61±0.04).HbA1c(3.71±0.08)with P<0.05 was found to be decreased more in metformin group as compared to patients taking D-chiro-inositol(4.90±0.09).A positive correlation was found between HbAlc and LH in metformin,&HbAlc and FSH in D-chiro-inositol groups,respectively.Conclusion:The results indicate that D-chiro-inositol shows better results in reducing clinical variables involved in causing PCOS as compared to metformin whereas metformin has better glycemic control in PCOS patients.

Bio-Fortification of Oats Fodder through Zinc Enrichment to Reduce Animal Malnutrition

The availability of poor quality fodders for livestock feeding is a major hurdle for the dairy industry in South Asia. Thelow content of Zn in fodders, leads to its malnutrition in animals. In fodders, Zn facilitates protein synthesis, gene expressions,energy production and involves in various metabolic activities of plants, animals and humans. To achieve these objectives,multi-location field trials were conducted on enrichment of oats fodder with Zn through bio-fortification. The experiment consists ofeight different treatment combinations for enrichment of oats fodder with Zn including control, soil and soil plus foliar application ofZn at different stages of plant growth. The results of the study reported that soil application of Zn at the rate of 25 kg/ha and soil +foliar application of Zn at 0.5% at 60 days after sowing (DAS) (jointing stage), 90 DAS (booting stage) and both 60 DAS and 90DAS showed improvement in plant growth parameters. The results further reported that foliar application of Zn at the rate of 0.5% at60 DAS, 90 DAS, both 60 DAS and 90 DAS reported significant increase in biomass yield and fodder quality. Integrated applicationof Zn at 25 kg/ha in soil along with foliar Zn at the rate of 0.5% at 60 DAS and 90 DAS showed maximum Zn enrichment, greenfodder yield, dry fodder yield, plant height, and Zn accumulation in oats fodder as compared to other treatments of Zn application.These treatments of Zn application through integrated mode also reported significant improvement in fodder quality with maximumcrude protein (CP) and crude protein yield (CPY) while neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ash content andorganic matter showed a non-significant effect. Thus, the results of experimental study concluded that soil and foliar application ofZn at 25 kg/ha and 0.5% Zn, respectively, at 60 DAS and 90 DAS enhanced the growth, yield and quality of oats fodder which willcertainly improve livestock production through bio-fortification.

Gamma Radiation Shielding Properties of Steel and Iron Slags

Using steel slag and two types of (soft and hard) iron slags, ten samples were prepared. Different gamma radiation interaction parameters were computed theoretically and measured experimentally at different energies: 60 keV, 136 keV, 662 keV, 1173 keV and 1332 keV in low and medium energy range using narrow transmission geometry. It has been observed that shielding effectiveness of a sample is inversely proportional to Half Value Layer (HVL). The obtained results were compared with Pure Flyash and it was observed that slag is better aggregate than flyash in shielding radiation as well as in construction applications. The results have been presented in the form of tables and graphs with more useful conclusions.

Stochastic Model of a Cold-Stand by System with Waiting for Arrival &Treatment of Server

The service facility or server is the key constituent to keep a system operational for desired period of time. As any eventuality with the system necessitates immediate presence of it (server) so the time point of arrival and treatment of server significantly affects the system performance. This paper works out the steady state behavior of a cold standby system equipped with two similar units and a server with elapsed arrival and treatment times following general probability distributions. It practices the theory of semi-Markov processes, regenerative point technique and Laplace transforms to derive the expressions for state transition probabilities, mean sojourn times, mean time to system failure, system availability, server busy period and expected frequencies of repairs and treatments. The profit function is also developed taking different costs and revenue in to account. For tracing wider applicability of the model for different reliability and cost-effective systems, a particular case study is also presented as an illustration.

Isolated sporadic bilateral split hand malformation: a case report and review of the literature

Typical cleft hand is a rare disorder usually inherited in an autosomal-dominant manner.We report a case of bilateral typical cleft hand in a 6-year-old male.There was no positive family history of such presentation,and no systemic manifestations were associated with this entity.Preanesthetic evaluation revealed no systemic or airway challenges and parents were counseled for routine surgical and anesthetic risks.The hands underwent successful surgical reconstruction with no peri-operative complications.To the best of our knowledge,this is thefirst report of an operated case of an isolated,bilateral,and sporadic typical split hand malformation.