Cold stress offered modulation on chlorpyrifos toxicity in aging rat central nervous system

The adverse effects produced by chlorpyrifos (CPF) or cold stress alone in humans and animals are well documented, but there is no information available relating to the consequences of their co- exposure in an age-related manner. In this study, effects of sublethal doses of CPF were carried out in vivo, for 48 h to assess the biochemical perturbations in relation to interactions with cold stress (15°C and 20°C) in different age group rat CNS. A positive interaction of CPF with age of animal and cold exposure was observed resulting in marked decrease in the activity levels of AChE (P<0.05), ChAT (P<0.05), Na+,K+-ATPase (P<0.05), Ca2+-ATPase (P<0.05), and Mg2+-ATPase (P<0.05). The ANOVA and posthoc analysis showed that regulatory enzymes decreased significantly (P<0.05) on CPF exposure. Overall, the effect of co-exposure was appreciably different from either of the exposures. Synergistic interaction of CPF and cold stress at 15°C showed higher inhibition in comparison with CPF and cold stress alone and together at 20°C. Further, this study reveals that young animals are significantly vulnerable and sensitive than adults

SYNTHESIS, AB INITIO STRUCTURE DETERMINATION, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MANGANESE(III) PHENYL PHOSPHONATES

ABSTRACT , space group P1, and Z ϭ 2. The final agreement factors were R WP ϭ 12.8%, R P ϭ 9.1%, and R F ϭ 3.2%. There are 22 non-hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric part of the unit cell, and the positional parameters were refined with the help of soft constraints. The octahedral manganese coordination spheres are distorted due to the Jahn-Teller effect. The structure of this organic-inorganic compound is layered. The thermal behavior of Mn(HO 3 PC 6 H 5 )(O 3 PC 6 H 5 )⅐H 2 O was studied and its thermal decomposition product was identified. © 1998 Elsevier Science Lt

TIRSPEC : TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager

We describe the TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC) designed and built in collaboration with M/s. Mauna Kea Infrared LLC, Hawaii, USA, now in operation on the side port of the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), Hanle (Ladakh), India at an altitude of 4500 meters above mean sea level. The TIRSPEC provides for various modes of operation which include photometry with broad and narrow band filters, spectrometry in single order mode with long slits of 300" length and different widths, with order sorter filters in the Y, J, H and K bands and a grism as the dispersing element as well as a cross dispersed mode to give a coverage of 1.0 to 2.5 microns at a resolving power R of ~1200. The TIRSPEC uses a Teledyne 1024 x 1024 pixel Hawaii-1 PACE array detector with a cutoff wavelength of 2.5 microns and on HCT, provides a field of view of 307" x 307" with a plate scale of 0.3"/pixel. The TIRSPEC was successfully commissioned in June 2013 and the subsequent characterization and astronomical observations are presented here. The TIRSPEC has been made available to the worldwide astronomical community for science observations from May 2014.Comment: 20 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Journal of Astronomical Instrumentatio

International multicentre study of candida auris infections

Background: Candida auris has emerged globally as a multi-drug resistant yeast and is commonly associated with nosocomial outbreaks in ICUs. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational multicentre study to determine the epidemiology of C. auris infections, its management strategies, patient outcomes, and infection prevention and control practices across 10 centres from five countries. Results: Significant risk factors for C. auris infection include the age group of 61–70 years (39%), recent history of ICU admission (63%), diabetes (63%), renal failure (52%), presence of CVC (91%) and previous history of antibiotic treatment (96%). C. auris was commonly isolated from blood (76%). Echinocandins were the most sensitive drugs. Most common antifungals used for treatment were caspofungin (40%), anidulafungin (28%) and micafungin (15%). The median duration of treatment was 20 days. Source removal was conductedin 74% patients. All-cause crude mortality rate after 30 days was 37%. Antifungal therapy was associated with a reduction in mortality (OR:0.27) and so was source removal (OR:0.74). Contact isolation precautions were followed in 87% patients. Conclusions: C. auris infection carries a high risk for associated mortality. The organism is mainly resistant to most azoles and even amphotericin-B. Targeted antifungal therapy, mainly an echinocandin, and source control are the prominent therapeutic approaches

In vivo measurement of the surface energy of human fingernail plates

The work described in this article was supported by The School of Pharmacy, University of London, and a small part of it was presented at U.K. PharmSci conference, 31 August–2 September 2010, Nottingham, U.K. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare

Proceedings of a workshop to address animal methods bias in scientific publishing

Animal methods bias in scientific publishing is a newly defined type of publishing bias describing a preference for animal-based methods where they may not be necessary or where nonanimal-based methods may already be suitable, which impacts the likelihood or timeliness of a manuscript being accepted for publication. This article covers the output from a workshop between stakeholders in publishing, academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations. The intent of the workshop was to exchange perspectives on the prevalence, causes, and impact of animal methods bias in scientific publishing, as well as to explore mitigation strategies. Output from the workshop includes summaries of presentations, breakout group discussions, participant polling results, and a synthesis of recommendations for mitigation. Overall, participants felt that animal methods bias has a meaningful impact on scientific publishing, though more evidence is needed to demonstrate its prevalence. Significant consequences of this bias that were identified include the unnecessary use of animals in scientific procedures, the continued reliance on animals in research—even where suitable nonanimal methods exist, poor rates of clinical translation, delays in publication, and negative impacts on career trajectories in science. Workshop participants offered recommendations for journals, publishers, funders, governments, and other policy makers, as well as the scientific community at large, to reduce the prevalence and impacts of animal methods bias. The workshop resulted in the creation of working groups committed to addressing animal methods bias and activities are ongoin