Swarna makshika [SM], a mineral having various therapeutic uses, has been used since long in Ayurveda. The present study was conducted to generate a fingerprint for raw and processed SM using techniques which can be used by pharmacies. Powdered SM was heated in an iron pan by adding lemon juice for 3 days, till liberation of sulfur fumes stopped. Bhasma of this shuddha SM was obtained by triturating it withit with shuddha gandhaka and lemon juice. It was then subjected to heat in 09* putas, and for firing in each puta, 4 kg cow dung cakes were used. To assure the quality of bhasma, rasa shastra quality control tests like nischandratva, varitara, amla pariksha, etc., were used. After the bhasma complied with these tests, the bhasma was analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis of raw SM and SM bhasma revealed that raw SM contains CuFeS2, and SM bhasma contains Fe2O3, FeS2, CuS and SiO2. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies showed that the grains in SM bhasma were uniformly arranged in agglomerates of size 1-2 microns as compared to the raw SM which showed a scattered arrangement of grains of size 6-8 microns. It may be concluded that raw SM is a complex compound which gets converted into a mixture of simple compounds having very small particle size after the particular process of marana. This is the first report of fingerprinting of SM bhasma prepared using this particular method.

This study was conducted to evaluate cellular proliferation of germinal and non-germinal elements of seminiferous tubules following continuous Day 1 to Day 17 exposure of methotrexate (12.5 microgram) in male rats. There was significant decrease in the diameter of seminiferous tubules (P < 0.10) followed by increase of interstitial space (P < 0.01). The size of various stages of primary, secondary spermatocytes, and spermatids was altered significantly compared to controls. Vacuolization/decondensation of "chromatin-mass" in spermatocytes changed from rounded to oval. The size of the Sertoli and Leydig cells were reduced significantly. Basement membrane at some places seems to be disrupted and thin in experimental testis. Methotrexate induced cytotoxicity on the proliferation of cellular contents of seminiferous tubules elucidating the mechanism of dose-dependent drug induced testicular damage during spermatogenesis.

Background: Nerve conduction study (NCS) Gender has definite effects on NCS variables. Males had higher CMAP amplitude, longer latencies and duration. SNAP latencies and duration were longer in males whereas amplitude was higher in females. Without adjustment for these factors, the sensitivity and specificity of NCS will decrease when using the same reference data in patients with different gender.

Background

Results. There were 212 patients included. Seventynine percent of patients who underwent PC had a clini-