Viscosity prediction of Pongamia pinnata (Karanja) oil by molecular dynamics simulation using GAFF and OPLS force field.

The increasing concern on the harmful effects caused by mineral oil-based lubricants towards the environment has given impetus to the evolution of green-lubricants. Vegetable oils are highly biodegradable, renewable, and possesses good lubricating property. In the present study Pongamia pinnata, non-edible vegetable oil, also known as Karanja Oil (KO) was used as the base oil for a lubricant. The preliminary properties, such as fatty acid profile and viscosity, which has a vital role in governing the performance of lubricants were evaluated experimentally as per international standards. The shear viscosity of KO which constitutes 8 major fatty acids were predicted using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) and periodic perturbation (PP) method using Optimised Potentials for Liquid Simulations (OPLS) and Generalized Amber Force Field (GAFF). The shear viscosities were evaluated at temperatures ranging from 313K to 373 K and pressure P = 0.1 MPa. The experimental and simulation data of KO shear viscosity are in line with each other using OPLS. The kinematic viscosities were calculated using the shear viscosities and densities obtained from simulation. The variation between experimental and simulation data is less while using OPLS, while GAFF force fields resulted in higher deviations.

Total knee arthroplasty: good agreement of clinical severity scores between patients and consultants.

BACKGROUND: Nearly 20,000 patients per year in the UK receive total knee arthroplasty (TKA). One of the problems faced by the health services of many developed countries is the length of time patients spend waiting for elective treatment. We therefore report the results of a study in which the Salisbury Priority Scoring System (SPSS) was used by both the surgeon and their patients to ascertain whether there were differences between the surgeon generated and patient generated Salisbury Priority Scores. METHODS: The Salisbury Priority Scoring System (SPSS) was used to assign relative priority to patients with knee osteoarthritis as part of a randomised controlled trial comparing the standard medial parapatellar approach versus the sub-vastus approach in TKA. The operating surgeons and each patient completed the SPSS at the same pre-assessment clinic. The SPSS assesses four criteria, namely progression of disease, pain or distress, disability or dependence on others, and loss of usual occupation. Crosstabs and agreement measures (Cohen's kappa) were performed. RESULTS: Overall, the four SPSS criteria showed a kappa value of 0.526, 0.796, 0.813, and 0.820, respectively, showing moderate to very good agreement between the patient and the operating consultant. Male patients showed better agreement than female patients. CONCLUSION: The Salisbury Priority Scoring System is a good means of assessing patients' needs in relation to elective surgery, with high agreement between the patient and the operating surgeon.

Sub-clinical infection with Mycobacterium leprae in household contacts of leprosy.

870 household contacts of leprosy patients were examined for sub-clinical infection with M. leprae by smear (skin and nasal), lepromin and FLA-ABS tests. 0.6%, 3.3%, 71.5% and 14.4% of the contacts were found to be positive for skin smear, nasal smear, lepromin and FLA-ABS tests respectively. An analysis of the results revealed that 4% of the lepromin positive contacts and 3.6% of the lepromin negative contacts were positive to both FLA-ABS and skin or nasal smear.