Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the most frequent type of hair loss in different age groups, and the prevalent micronutrient deficiency linked to hair loss and to compare the association of serum ferritin, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 levels with hair loss among cases and controls. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which included a total of 100 subjects with 50 hair loss cases and 50 age and sex-matched controls. Serum levels of vitamin D, vitamin B12, and ferritin were measured in all subjects. Results: Most of the subjects were between 20 and 30 years of age. There was a predominance of telogen effluvium followed by male androgenetic alopecia in all age groups. Females had considerably lower levels of serum ferritin compared to males among cases, with p-value of 0.0001. Vitamin D, vitamin B12, and serum ferritin were significantly low among cases compared to controls, with p-values of 0.0001, 0.01, and 0.006, respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that low levels of serum vitamin B12 and serum ferritin and particularly vitamin D might play an appreciable role in hair loss especially telogen effluvium among females. Evaluation of these parameters could aid the clinician in opting for a more precise therapeutic modality, but identification of the exact etiology remains a primary concern as it is multifactorial, which paves path to appropriate and effective treatment.

Resumo Objectivos: Estudar o tipo de queda de cabelo mais frequente em diferentes faixas etárias e a deficiência prevalente de micronutrientes associada à queda de cabelo. Comparar a associação dos níveis séricos de ferritina, vitamina D e vitamina B12 com queda de cabelo entre casos e controles. Métodos: Este foi um estudo transversal que incluiu um total de 100 indivíduos com 50 casos de queda de cabelo e 50 controles pareados por idade e sexo. Os níveis séricos de vitamina D, vitamina B12 e ferritina foram medidos em todos os indivíduos. Resultados: A maioria dos sujeitos tinha entre 20 e 30 anos de idade. Houve predomínio do eflúvio telógeno seguido da alopecia androgenética masculina em todas as faixas etárias. As mulheres apresentaram níveis consideravelmente mais baixos de ferritina sérica em comparação aos homens entre os casos, com valor p de 0,0001. A vitamina D, a vitamina B12 e a ferritina sérica foram significativamente baixas entre os casos em comparação aos controles, com valores de p de 0,0001, 0,01 e 0,006, respectivamente. Conclusão: Este estudo sugere que baixos níveis séricos de vitamina B12 e ferritina sérica e particularmente vitamina D podem desempenhar um papel apreciável na perda de cabelo, especialmente no eflúvio telógeno entre as mulheres. A avaliação destes parâmetros poderia ajudar o médico a optar por uma modalidade terapêutica mais precisa, mas a identificação da etiologia exacta continua a ser uma preocupação primordial, uma vez que é multifactorial, o que abre o caminho para um tratamento adequado e eficaz.

Abstract In this study, the utilization of neem gum powder and snake grass fiber, gathered from snake grass plants is discussed. The fibers are produced in various volume percentages of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35% and their mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and critical stress intensity are investigated. The combination of 30% snake grass fiber, 15% neem gum powder and 55% epoxy resin, in terms of volume, contributes towards the attaining of better mechanical properties. The tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and critical stress intensity of this blend are respectively 36.497±0.429 MPa, 65.87±1.85 MPa, 2682.67±1.866 J/m2 and 42.291±2.61 Pa mm-1/2. The mechanical properties improve with the addition of the fiber. However, as more fiber is added, the adhesion at the interface gets reduced. The automotive and aerospace sectors can use this composite material, which enhances the mechanical characteristics for interior applications.

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and drilling performance of the polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with different volume fractions (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 vol.%) of untreated and alkali treated novel Alstonia macrophylla (AS) fiber were investigated. DMA reports showed that 40 vol.% fiber loaded PP composites imparted good thermomechanical properties in terms of storage modulus (E’), and loss modulus (E”) with a remarkable 366% and 331% improvement than virgin PP laminates respectively. In addition, study also disclosed that, alkali treated composites exhibited higher DMA properties than untreated PP composites owing to strong interfacial bonding of fiber and matrix as result of alkali treatment. Drilling study was also performed to investigate the effect of chemical treatment and drill parameters viz., drill point angle (90°, 118°, and 130°) and feed rate (20, 40, and 60 mm/min) on machinability property of PP/AS composites. Drilling outcomes conveyed that alkali treated PP/AS composites showed slight resistance to drilling than untreated composites owing to strong interfacial strength which played a vital role in resisting thrust force. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to capture the images of the drilled surface to understand the morphology of the PP/AS composite.

Abstract Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal symptoms, primarily attributed to sensitization of somatosensory system carrying pain. Few reports have investigated the impact of fibromyalgia symptoms on cognition, corticomotor excitability, sleepiness, and the sleep quality — all of which can deteriorate the quality of life in fibromyalgia. However, the existing reports are underpowered and have conflicting directions of findings, limiting their generalizability. Therefore, the present study was designed to compare measures of cognition, corticomotor excitability, sleepiness, and sleep quality using standardized instruments in the recruited patients of fibromyalgia with pain-free controls. Methods: Diagnosed cases of fibromyalgia were recruited from the Rheumatology department for the cross-sectional, case-control study. Cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination, Stroop color-word task), corticomotor excitability (Resting motor threshold, Motor evoked potential amplitude), daytime sleepiness (Epworth sleepiness scale), and sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index) were studied according to the standard procedure. Results: Thirty-four patients of fibromyalgia and 30 pain-free controls were recruited for the study. Patients of fibromyalgia showed decreased cognitive scores (p = 0.05), lowered accuracy in Stroop color-word task (for color: 0.02, for word: 0.01), and prolonged reaction time (< 0.01, < 0.01). Excessive daytime sleepiness in patients were found (< 0.01) and worsened sleep quality (< 0.01) were found. Parameters of corticomotor excitability were comparable between patients of fibromyalgia and pain-free controls. Conclusions: Patients of fibromyalgia made more errors, had significantly increased reaction time for cognitive tasks, marked daytime sleepiness, and impaired quality of sleep. Future treatment strategies may include cognitive deficits and sleep disturbances as an integral part of fibromyalgia management.

ABSTRACT Invasive aspergillosis is an uncommon infection, which is mainly seen among immunocompromised patients. In recent years, cases of aspergillosis involving immunocompetent hosts are increasingly being reported. Herein, we report the case of a 27-year-old man with fever, productive cough, shortness of breath, and left hemiparesis. He had suffered trauma to his head 25 days prior. Imaging of the chest showed bilateral cavitary lesions in the lungs, and neuroimaging revealed a space-occupying lesion in the right frontoparietal cerebrum. He was suspected of having an abscess or metastasis. He died on day 3 of hospitalization, and an autopsy was performed. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, with brain dissemination. Invasive aspergillosis is uncommon in apparently immunocompetent individuals, and we discuss the autopsy findings in detail.

ABSTRACT Paraquat is a potent herbicide widely used in the Indian agriculture industry. Human fatality due to paraquat poisoning is not uncommon in this country. The primary effect of paraquat is on the lungs, and the resultant pulmonary damage leads to the patient's demise. There is a high mortality rate in paraquat poisoning as the treatment is usually supportive with no known antidote. There are limited human studies that have observed the histopathological changes in lungs in paraquat poisoning. The authors have discussed the time-related histopathological changes in lungs in paraquat poisoning on autopsy subjects. The role of anticoagulants and fibrinolytic agents in the treatment of this poisoning has also been discussed.

ABSTRACT Blunt chest trauma (BCT) is one of the rarest causes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This paper reports the case of a young married man who suffered from AMI due to BCT sustained in a fight with his wife. The histopathology examination revealed a rupture of atherosclerotic plaque with superimposed thrombus in the proximal left anterior descending artery. This report also reviews previously reported BCT-induced AMI cases in the literature.

ABSTRACT: This paper proposes a methodology to harvest the benefits of camber morphing airfoils for small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) applications. Camber morphing using discrete elements was used to morph the base airfoil, which was split into two, three, and four elements, respectively, to achieve new configurations, into the target one. . In total, thirty morphed airfoil configurations were generated and tested for aerodynamic efficiency at the Reynolds numbers of 2.5 × 105 and 4.8 × 105, corresponding to loiter and cruise Reynolds numbers of a typical SUAV. The target airfoil performance could be closely achieved by combinations of 5 to 8 morphed configurations, the best of which were selected from a pool of thirty morphed airfoil configurations for the typical design specifications of SUAV. Interestingly, some morphed airfoil configurations show a reduction in drag coefficient of 1.21 to 15.17% compared to the target airfoil over a range of flight altitudes for cruise and loiter phases. Inspired by the drag reductions observed, a case study is presented for resizing a SUAV accounting for the mass addition due to the morphing system retaining the benefits of drag reduction.

Abstract. The electrochemical studies of picric acid were carried out in acidic, neutral and basic buffer media at bare glassy carbon (GC) and polypyrrole modified GC electrode. Cyclic Voltammogram (CV) of picric acid exhibited three reduction peaks at -0.4, -0.8 and -1.5V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and two oxidation peaks at 0.8 and 1.4V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Among the various pH studied, highly sensitive response was observed at pH 1.0. The effect of scan rate was studied between 25 and 500 mVs-1 at the optimal pH.CV results revealed the adsorption-controlled reaction at the electrode surface. The GC electrode was modified with polypyrrole conducting polymer film to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of the reductive species. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed the nanosphere morphology of the polypyrrole film, which was coated uniformly on the electrode surface. Under optimum experimental conditions, the influence of concentration on the stripping signal was studied. The linear range of detection was found between 50 ppb and 250 ppb with the lower limit of detection of 10±3 ppb.

Resumen. Los estudios electroquímicos del ácido pícrico se realizaron en medios amortiguados ácidos, neutros y alcalinos con un electrodo de carbono vítreo (GC) y de GC modificado con polipirrol (PP). El voltamperograma cíclico (CV) del ácido pícrico mostró tres picos de reducción a -0.4, -0.8 y -1.5 V (frente a Ag/AgCl) y dos picos de oxidación a 0.8 y 1.4 V (frente a Ag/AgCl). Entre los diversos valores de pH estudiados, se observó una respuesta altamente sensible a pH de 1.0. El efecto de la velocidad de barrido se estudió entre 25 y 500 mVs-1 en el pH óptimo. Los resultados de CV revelaron que la reacción está controlada por adsorción en la superficie del electrodo. El electrodo de GC fue modificado con una película polimérica conductora de PP para mejorar la actividad electrocatalítica de las especies. Las imágenes de la microscopía de fuerza atómica (AFM) mostraron la morfología de la nanoesfera de la película de PP, que recubre uniformemente la superficie del electrodo. Bajo condiciones experimentales óptimas, se estudió la influencia de la concentración en la señal de stripping. El rango lineal de detección se encontró entre 50 ppb y 250 ppb con el límite inferior de detección de 10±3 ppb.

Abstract This study evaluated the effect of moringa and nano ash filler particles on mechanical, chemical corrosion and moisture absorption of basalt fiber/epoxy composites. Epoxy resin and Araldite HY951 hardener was used as matrix along with the inclusion of filler particles while the bi-directional woven basalt fiber mat was used as the reinforcement in fabricating composites using hand layup technique. Three different composites i.e. Plain BF + matrix with no filler particles, BF + matrix with 10 wt, % moringa ash and BF + matrix with 10 wt, % bagasse ash were fabricated and tested according to the ASTM standards to determine the mechanical properties and chemical corrosion resistance. According to the experimental test results, the composites with moringa ash inclusion showed better properties than the bagasse ash inclusion and with no filler added composites.

Abstract Advanced fabric reinforced polymer composites find extensive applications in aerospace and structural fields due to their high mechanical properties. A novel stamp forming technique finds extensive use in the hemispherical forming of thermoplastic composites. This study investigates the influence of stamp forming parameters on the formability of thermoplastic composite using Taguchi’s robust design and grey relational analysis. Taguchi’s orthogonal array was used for designing the forming experiments. Responses such as forming ratio and logarithmic thickness strain were considered for the assessment of sheet formability through single and multi-response optimization. Analysis of variance was used for the determination of the contribution of each parameter on formability and it was identified that the die temperature acts as a prominent factor, followed by blank holder force and blank temperature. The confirmation test was conducted at optimum parameter levels and the obtained experimental grade was seen within the confidence interval of the predicted value.

In this study, an effort has been made to choose an appropriate tool pin profile and rotational speed for a tool using a submerged friction stir processed hot rolled AZ31B magnesium alloy. A defect free process region was obtained using a novel tool shoulder, which consisted of a scroll. Three tool pin profiles, namely, simple cylindrical, stepped cylindrical and stepped square pin have been used. Tensile properties and fracture behavior revealed defect free friction stir processed specimens. The microstructural studies reveal the possibility of producing a defect free processed region using the stepped square pin tool geometry. The presence of fine recrystallized grains (1.99 µm) and the absence of defects in the processed region lead to higher hardness and superior tensile properties.

The aim of this paper is to determine the feasibility of submerged friction stir welding of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy on different water heads through macrostructuralanalysis.In this work, aluminium 6061-T6 alloy was friction stir welded under normal and submerged conditions at different rotational speeds of 400 rpm, 800 rpm, 1200 rpm, 1600 rpm. The water head was varied from 10 to 30 mm in the case of thesubmerged friction stir welding process. In both normal and submerged friction stir welding processes, a welding speed of 45 mm/min, a normal load of 30 kN, tool tilt angle of 2˚, depth of tool penetration and tool geometry were kept constant. Torque is measured during the welding process, and power (kW) is calculated after the welding process. The macrostructural analysis was carried out for locating defect formation and identifying the feasible working range of process parameters of the welded aluminium 6061-T6 alloy. The mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of submerged friction stir welded of 6061 aluminium alloys were investigated.Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) metallography was used for comparing the microstructure of the parent material, friction stir welded and submerged stir welded samples.

In this investigation, an attempt has been made to fabricate dissimilar thickness corner joint using non-heat treatable (AA5086) and heat treatable (AA6061) dissimilar aluminium alloys by friction stir welding process with plate thicknesses of 6mm and 4mm. Three parameters and three levels were considered to conduct the experiments such as welding and rotational speeds of 100, 150 and 190 mm/min and 900, 1000 and 1100 rpm and plunge depth of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mm. The mechanical properties were evaluated using hardness and tensile tests. Taguchi grey relational analysis was carried out to determine the optimum process parameters. The higher value of tensile strength was obtained 192 MPa at rotational and welding speeds of 1000 rpm and 150 mm/min which was 76.80% of parent material and maximum hardness was 157 HV at thermomechanically affected zone for the rotational speed of 1100 rpm and hardness at stir zone was maximum because of refined grain formation. The microstructures of various regions were observed and analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopes. The tensile samples fractured at the heat affected zone. The spindle motor current consumption, work material temperature distribution, and force generation during friction stir welding were estimated and analyzed.

RESUMO Indigofera linnaei Ali pertence à família Leguminosae e é utilizada para o tratamento de várias doenças na medicina tradicional. No presente estudo, os efeitos benéficos do extrato metanólico da planta inteira de I. linnaei (MEIL) foram avaliados em respostas inflamatórias e nocicepção em modelos de roedores. Testes in vitro de atividade inibitória do óxido nítrico (NO), lipoxigenase (LOX) e ciclooxigenase (COX) também foram realizados para compreender o modo de ação. MEIL nas doses de 200 e 400 mg/kg, p.o. inibiu significativamente o volume da pata de rato induzido por carragenana e reduziu o peso do granuloma no modelo de pélete de algodão. Os resultados obtidos foram comparáveis ao do fármaco padrão, aceclofenaco. O efeito anti-nociceptivo de MEIL foi avaliado em camundongos no modelo de placa quente e de contorção induzida por ácido acético. O extrato da planta reduziu significativamente o número de contorções e o efeito analgésico foi maior do que o do fármaco padrão, ácido acetilsalicílico. Porém, o extrato não conseguiu aumentar o período de latência no método da placa quente, sugerindo que este produz nocicepção por atividade periférica. O extrato produziu efeito inibitório sobre o NO, LOX e COX dependente da concentração. O extrato exibiu inibição acentuada e seletiva da COX-2. No seu conjunto, estes resultados sugerem que o extrato metanólico de Indigofera linnaei poderia ser considerado como agente anti-inflamatório e analgésico potencial.

ABSTRACT Indigofera linnaei Ali. (Tamil Name: Cheppu Nerinjil) belongs to the family Fabaceae, used for the treatment of various ailments in the traditional system of medicine. In the present study, the beneficial effects of methanol extract of whole plant of I. linnaei (MEIL) were evaluated on inflammation and nociception responses in rodent models. In vitro nitric oxide (NO), lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygense (COX) inhibitory activities were also performed to understand the mode of action. MEIL at the dose of 200 & 400 mg/kg, p.o. significantly inhibited carrageenan induced rat paw volume and reduced the weight of granuloma in cotton pellet granuloma model. The results obtained were comparable with the standard drug aceclofenac. The anti-nociceptive effect of MEIL in mice was evaluated in hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing model. The plant extract significantly reduced the number of writhes and the analgesic effect was higher than that of the standard drug aspirin. However, the extract fails to increase the latency period in hot plate method suggesting that the extract produce nociception by peripheral activity. The extract produced inhibitory effect on NO, LOX and COX in concentration dependent manner. The extract exhibited pronounced and selective COX-2 inhibition. Altogether, these results suggested that the methanol extract of Indigofera linnaei could be considered as a potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent.