BACKGROUNDLeptospirosis is associated with characteristic symptoms, signs and functional alterations in many organs and systems. The purpose of this study was to analyse functional changes in many organs and systems and to determine outcome and complications.

This work reports on a novel approach to deposit composite coatings based on biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) incorporating graphene oxide (GO) on 316L stainless steel (316L SS) and on its protective nature against corrosion in the simulated body fluid (SBF). For this purpose, 2-dimensional GO was successfully incorporated in 1% and 3% weight ratios as mechanical strength enhancer and pore size reducer for the prepared coatings. It was observed that upon increasing the GO content, the corrosion rate was drastically decreased when compared to pristine BCP coating. The corrosion resistance polarization results are in good agreement with the test results obtained for SBF immersion study. The size of the particles has significantly decreased, as shown by transmission electron microscopy (from 190 to 27 nm). The experimental results indicate that the composite hydroxyapatite-β-tricalcium phosphate-GO (HAp-β-TCP-GO) coatings enhanced the corrosion resistance of the surgical grade 316L SS, turning it a better implanting option for orthopedic applications.

BACKGROUNDThyroid dysfunction is associated with characteristic symptoms, signs and functional alterations in many organs and systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate objectively the functional changes in the peripheral nervous system and to determine the type and the prevalence of these diseases. The prevalence of neuromuscular disorders related to thyroid dysfunction has been reported to be between 20-80%.

BACKGROUNDFollow-up of patients with First line antiretroviral therapy, Cluster Differentiation (CD4) counts are done every 6 months. Viral load is not possible in resource poor settings like India. Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO's), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treating physicians and international guidelines recommend viral load as the follow-up method for first line failure, so to study the impact of national program with immunological criteria and its sensitivity to identify virological failure is needed at this juncture.