Serum apolipoproteins in the patients of myocardial infarction in different age groups

The level of serum cholesterol (Ch), serum-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), serum-low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), serum very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLc), Triglyceride (Tg), Apolipoprotein A-1, B and ratio of Apolipoprotein A1/B were observed in 151 survivors of myocardial infarction in different age groups. A significant increase was found in the level of triglyceride, LDLc, apolipoprotein-B and a significant decrease in apolipoprotein-A1 and the ratio of apolipoprotein A1/B. No significant alteration was found in serum cholesterol, HDLc except in the age group of 31–40 years and 41–50 years and VLDLc. Thus, serum Apo A-1 and Apo-B may be considerably better markers for coronary artery disease than traditional lipid parameters.     

Effects of short-term hormone replacement on atherogenic indices in Indian postmenopausal women

Indian ethnicity by itself is a strong risk factor for development of CAD in Indian postmenopausal women due to lower HDL levels as compared to Whites and women of oriental origin. We evaluated and compared the short-term effects of menopause, estrogen replacement therapy and combined estrogen and progestin replacement therapy on various atherogenic indices. 40 postmenopausal women, both surgical and natural (20 each) were selected. 10 surgical postmenopausal women were given 0.625 mg conjugated estrogens daily for 6 months and 10 natural postmenopausal women were given 0.625 mg conjugated estrogen with 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate daily. 20 women were included in the control group and given placebo. Fasting venous blood samples were analyzed for extended lipid profile and calculated atherogenic indices before starting the therapy and after 1,3 and 6 months. LDL and Apolipoprotein B increased (p<0.05) and those of Apolipoprotein A1 and HDL decreased in the control groups. In both the study groups levels of serum cholesterol and LDL decreased (p<0.05) and those of HDL and Apolipoprotein A1 increased (p<0.01). LDL/HDL, Apo B/ApoA1, Total Cholesterol/HDL decreased significantly (p<0.05) in both the study groups compared to the control groups. The effect of estrogen alone was more significant as compared to combination therapy. Log Triglycerides (TG)/HDL ratio showed a decrease in women on estrogen alone but the difference was not significant. Our study confirms that short term HRT has a favorable effect on atherogenic indices in Indian postmenopausal women.     

Modulation of convulsive threshold of pentylene tetrazole by zinc

In the present study which was aimed to see the effect of zinc on pentylenetetrazole induced convulsive threshold in rats we found that zinc sulfate 100 μg intracerebroventricularly) and pentylenetetrazole (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally) produced dose related seizure activity; however, pretreatment with zinc decreased the threshold, increased the severity, incidence of multiple seizures and total duration of pentylenetetrazole induced seizures. Diazepam (5 mg/kg intraperitoneally) pretreatment increased the threshold and lowered the incidence of convulsions in zinc induced seizures which further confirms that the convulsive effect of zinc is through inhibition of gamma aimino butyric acid.     

Automation in textile machinery

During the period 1952 to 1965, there were strenuous world-wide efforts to produce an automated cotton spinning mill. These attempts, which involved the use of concepts developed outside the textile machinery industry (i.e. automatic transfer systems), were motivated by the need to reduce the very great amount of manual handling of packages between successive operations in the yarn manufacturing process.The case is unusual in that, while many of the developments were ‘technically successful’ in that installations were made which functioned satisfactorily in the mill), they were, without exception, commercially unsuccessful from the point of view of the machinery manufacturer and mill operator. This paper describes the economic forces which led to the attempts at automation, and explains why, after an expenditure in excess of £ 25 mill/on worldwide, commercial success was not achieved.The prime reason for failure lay in minor and major developments of existing individual machines, which had continued independently of automation research, and which had, to a great extent, obviated the economic need for automation. The surprising thing (in retrospect at least), is that, as production rates were increased step by step, development engineers working to produce automated systems saw, in the increasing speeds, only a challenge to their ingenuity — not a disappearance of the need for automatic transfer devices.A secondary reason for failure in the particular case of the Shirley Institute's automated card room sequence lay in the fact that the research was directed by a committee whose terms of reference were limited to pursuance of a defined goal — the development of an automated card room. The committee had no mandate to question the soundness of its objectives, and the work continued until a technically successful system was finally produced.     

Innovators and imitators: Organizational reference groups and adoption of organizational routines

Firms vary greatly in their rates of creating and adopting technological and organizational innovations, in part because of their choice of reference group. We argue that the selection of a reference group is a crucial and neglected source of firm heterogeneity. Comparisons to the average of other firms in a population cause most firms to adopt innovations once they are widely accepted. A distinctive feature of the minority of innovating firms that create innovations or adopt them early is that they compare themselves with, compete with, and try to differ from other innovating firms, whereas the majority of firms compare themselves with, and conform to, a broader group of firms. We elaborate this argument based on the behavioral theory of the firm and institutional theory, and test it on a two-period survey on adoptions of innovative organizational forms in Europe and the US. The analysis shows the predicted differences in the adoption patterns of innovating and imitating firms.     

Study on arsenic level in public water supply of Delhi using hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer

Exposure to arsenic has been associated with several health hazards. Worldwide the main reason for chronic human intoxication with arsenic is intake of contaminated drinking water. Air acetylene type of atomic absorption spectrophotometer in combination with hydride generator accessory was used to analyze arsenic level in 25 water samples collected from 25 booster pumping stations and 313 water samples collected from tap water supply of 62 areas of Delhi. Results were analyzed using SPSS and Barlett’s Chi Square Test. Mean arsenic level detected in water samples collected from booster pumping stations was 0.00976 ppm (Range 0.000–0.017 ppm, Standard Deviation 0.006 and Standard error of Mean 0.00118). Maximum arsenic level (0.017 ppm) was found in water samples of booster pumping stations of Mehrauli, Punjabi Bagh and Ramjas Road. Mean arsenic level detected in samples collected from tap water supply was 0.013 ppm (Range 0–0.0430 ppm, Standard Deviation 0.00911 and Standard error of Mean 0.000515). In water samples of 42 areas arsenic level detected was exceeding WHO/EPA permissible limit of 0.01 ppm (10 ppb). The mean arsenic level detected in water samples of booster pumping station was within WHO/EPA permissible limit while mean arsenic level detected in tap water samples was marginally higher. Mixing of ground water and contamination through broken or leaking channel could be the possible reason of higher arsenic level in tap water. Continuous monitoring of quality of drinking water is required particularly in view of water contamination caused by industrial waste and uncontrolled ground water extraction.     

Ischemia modified albumin: A novel marker for acute coronary syndrome

Early identification of patients with acute myocardial infarction is of prime importance due to the associated very high mortality. Only 22% of the patients presenting at emergency cardiology care with chest pain have coronary disease. A number of biochemical tests like CKMB and Troponin-T/I have been introduced for early detection of the coronary syndrome (ACS). Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) has been recently introduced as a marker of myocardial ischemia. We estimated serum IMA in four sequential samples from 25 patients admitted to ICCU. Twenty five healthy volunteers formed the control group from which the normal range was derived. IMA was significantly raised in ischemia patients than in controls as well as compared to the patients who did not have cardiac ischemia. IMA demonstrated good discrimination between the ischemic and the non-ischemic patients with an Odds Ratio of 16.9 (6.29–46.87) than CKMB which showed an Odds Ratio of 2.07 (1.18–6.08). Sensitivity and specificity of IMA for the detection of ACS was 78.0% and 82.7% compared to 58.0% and 60.0%, respectively for the CK-MB assay. The area under the ROC curve of IMA for ischemic v/s non-ischemic patients was 0.834. IMA appears to be developing into a new and very potent marker, of cardiac ischemia.     

Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology

Research and development at the nanoscale requires a large degree of integration, from convergence of research disciplines in new fields of enquiry to new linkages between start-ups, regional actors and research facilities. Based on the analysis of two clusters in nanotechnologies (MESA+ (Twente) and other centres in The Netherlands and Minatec in Grenoble in France), the paper discusses the phenomenon of technological agglomeration: co-located scientific and technological fields associated to coordinated technology platforms to some extent actively shaped by institutional entrepreneurs. Such co-location and coordination are probably a pre-requisite for the emergence of strong nanoclusters.