Impact of fiscal deficit on inflation in Sri Lanka: an econometric time series analysis

There is a relationship between the fiscal deficit and inflation, which was confirmed empirically in several studies conducted in many countries. Sri Lanka has been encountering the problem of inflation for the recent years. But in Sri Lanka, this proposition has not yet been studied scientifically. Therefore, this study was going to fill this gap. The objective of this study was to test the impact of fiscal deficit on inflation in Sri Lanka. For this study, the annual time series data were used during the period of 1959 to 2013. The fiscal deficit, exchange rate, government expenditures and import outflow were used as independent variables while the Colombo consumer price index was considered as dependent variable. In addition, the multiple regressions model was used to test the impact of fiscal deficit on inflation. Based on the regression results, the fiscal deficit preserved the positive relationship with inflation in Sri Lanka at one percent significant level. Therefore, this study confirmed that the fiscal deficit accelerates the inflation in Sri Lanka

A study on antimicrobial sensitivity pattern in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent throughout the world. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) play a major role in the transmission of HIV infection. The risk of acquiring HIV infection in non-ulcerative STD is 3 to 5 times more than that in persons without any sexually transmitted infections. One of the main non-ulcerative STD is gonorrhoea. The relative incidence of gonococcal infections is about 10 to 13% of total sexually transmitted infections in STD clinics. Aims and objectives was to identify gonococcal infection in patients attending the STD clinic and associated sexually transmitted infections and to study the antimicrobial susceptibility of gonococcus and to modify the disease intervention strategies.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in our institute of venereology, government general hospital and madras medical college, Chennai-03, Tamil Nadu, India. 43 patients with gram stained smear or culture positive for gonococcus who attended the institute from February 2013 to September 2014 were taken into the study. All the details were collected from the case records of the patients. The antibiotic sensitivity testing in N. gonorrhoeae had been done by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Screening for other sexually transmitted diseases had been done and were treated according to the institute guidelines.Results: Specimens from 43 patients (40 male, 3 females) had been collected. 40 specimens were found to be culture positive. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were carried out on those 40 isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae obtained in pure culture. 70% of isolates were resistant to penicillin and 30% were less sensitive to it. 52.5% of the isolates were PPNG. 57.5% of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and 42.5% were less sensitive to it. 7.5% were resistant to ceftriaxone, 12.5% were resistant to cefixime and 15% were resistant to spectinomycin. All the isolates were sensitive to Azithromycin. Three male patients had HIV (6.9%), three had syphilis and one had genital wart. One female patient had trichomoniasis.Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that multidrug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae is prevalent in this region. Associated STDs must be investigated to prevent the transmission of HIV and further complications. The need for establishing a national surveillance programme for antibiotic resistance becomes clear with this study

Cuban Land Use and Conservation, from Rainforests to Coral Reefs

Cuba is an ecological rarity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its complex political and economic history shows limited disturbances, extinctions, pollution, and resource depletion by legal or de facto measures. Vast mangroves, wetlands, and forests play key roles in protecting biodiversity and reducing risks of hazards caused or aggravated by climate change. Cuba boasts coral reefs with some of the region’s greatest fish biomass and coral cover. Although Cuba has set aside major protected areas that safeguard a host of endemic species, its environment is by no means pristine. Its early history is one of deforestation and agricultural production for colonial and neo-colonial powers. Using remote sensing, we find Cuba’s land today is 45% devoted to agricultural, pasturage, and crop production. Roughly 77% of Cuba’s potential mangrove zone is presently in mangrove cover, much outside legal protection; this is likely the most intact Caribbean mangrove ecosystem and an important resource for coastal protection, fish nurseries, and wildlife habitat. Even the largest watersheds with the most agricultural land uses have a strong presence of forests, mangroves, and wetlands to buffer and filter runoff. This landscape could change with Cuba’s gradual reopening to foreign investment and growing popularity among tourists—trends that have devastated natural ecosystems throughout the Caribbean. Cuba is uniquely positioned to avoid and reverse ecosystem collapse if discontinuities between geopolitical and ecosystem functional units are be addressed, if protection and conservation of endemic species and ecosystems services accompany new development, and if a sound ecological restoration plan is enacted

Application of Supply Chain Tools In Power Plant- A Case of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant

Inventories are considered to be one of the important weapons of supply chain to improve the efficiency of any manufacturing unit. Continuous availability of inventories are the prime requirement for uninterrupted working .To effectively manage inventory levels, it is essential to consider the appropriate reorder points as well as the optimized ordering quantity. The proposed system uses the Genetic algorithm to find the optimized ordering quantity at proper reorder point , by considering the power plant live data as a practical case study. The proposed approach is implemented in Matlab  platform version 7.10 Key words. Inventories, supply chain, Genetic algorithm, Reorder point, ordering quantity, manufacturing unit, power plant, raw materials

Seborrhoeic keratosis with autosomal dominant inheritance - a rare case report

Seborrhoeic keratosis is a benign tumour composed of epidermal keratinocytes, displaying varying morphological features, frequently pigmented and more common in the elderly. Various clinical and histopathological variants have been described. A genetically determined predisposition to Seborrhoeic keratosis is largely accepted. We report a case of multiple Seborrhoeic keratoses of childhood onset and transmitted for three generations in her family members as an autosomal dominant trait

Evaluation of Salivary Chemerin Levels in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Periodontitis: A Cross Sectional Study

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To evaluate the salivary levels of chemerin in three groups i. systemically and periodontally healthy subjects, ii. systemically healthy subjects with chronic periodontitis, iii. Type II Diabetes Mellitus subjects with chronic periodontitis. 2. To compare the salivary levels of chemerin among systemically and periodontally healthy subjects, subjects with CP with / without Type II DM. 3. To correlate the salivary levels of chemerin with Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) and Clinical Attachment level (CAL) in systemically and periodontally healthy subjects, subjects with chronic periodontitis with / without Type II DM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 75 subjects were included in the study, who were divided into three groups: Group – I (Systemically & periodontally healthy n = 25); Group – II (Sytemically healthy with generalized chronic periodontitis n = 25); Group – III (Generalized chronic periodontitis with Type – II Diabetes Mellitus n = 25). The clinical parameters including Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), Probing depth (PD), Clinical attachment level (CAL) and Body mass index (BMI) and haematological parameters like Random blood glucose (RBG), Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were recorded and saliva samples were collected from all the subjects prior to non-surgical periodontal therapy. The levels of chemerin in saliva samples were analysed by using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analysed using the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, ver.18.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Shapiro Wilks test was used to assess normality of the obtained data. Data were found to be in non-normal distribution hence descriptive statistics were obtained. Comparison of variables between the study groups were performed using Kruskal Wallis H test. Kendall's tau correlation coefficient was employed to find correlation between overall volumes of chemerin with HbA1c levels and CAL. RESULTS: The clinical parameters (PI, GI, PPD, CAL and BMI) were elevated in group-III and group-II and least in group-I and showed statistical significance (p < 0.05). Haematological parameters (RBG and HbA1c) showed statistical significant elevated values in group-III compared to group-II and group-I (p < 0.05). Higher salivary chemerin levels were observed in group-III (71.4742 ng/ml) compared to group-II (47.8733 ng/ml) and group-I (43.8068 ng/ml). The differences were not statistically significant (p < 0.172). There is no statistically significant correlation observed between chemerin and HbA1c (p - 0.077); chemerin and CAL (p - 0.115). SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Chemerin in saliva can be considered as a biomarker for subjects with chronic periodontitis with / without Type-II DM but the difference was not statistically significant

Review of 14 drowning publications based on the Utstein style for drowning

Abstract Background The Utstein style for drowning (USFD) was published in 2003 with the aim of improving drowning research. To support a revision of the USFD, the current study aimed to generate an inventory of the use of the USFD parameters and compare the findings of the publications that have used the USFD. Methods A search in Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus was performed to identify studies that used the USFD and were published between 01-10-2003 and 22-03-2015. We also searched in Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus for all publications that cited the two publications containing the original ILCOR advisory statement introducing and recommending the USFD. In total we identified 14 publications by groups that explicitly used elements of the USFD for collecting and reporting their data. Results Of the 22 core and 19 supplemental USFD parameters, 6–19 core (27–86%) and 1–12 (5–63%) supplemental parameters were used; two parameters (5%) have not been used in any publication. Associations with outcome were reported for nine core (41%) and five supplemental (26%) USFD parameters. The USFD publications also identified non-USFD parameters related to outcome: initial cardiac rhythm, time points and intervals during resuscitation, intubation at the drowning scene, first hospital core temperature, serum glucose and potassium, the use of inotropic/vasoactive agents and the Paediatric Index of Mortality 2-score. Conclusions Fourteen USFD based drowning publications have been identified. These publications provide valuable information about the process and quality of drowning resuscitation and confirm that the USFD is helpful for a structured comparison of the outcome of drowning resuscitation

Shear induced carboplatin binding within the cavity of a phospholipid mimic for increased anticancer efficacy

Vesicles 107 ± 19 nm in diameter, based on the self-assembly of tetra-para-phosphonomethyl calix[4]-arene bearing n-hexyl moieties attached to the phenolic oxygen centres, are effective in binding carboplatin within the cavity of the macrocycle under shear induced within a dynamic thin film in a continuous flow vortex fluidic device. Post shearing the vesicles maintain similar diameters and retain carboplatin within the cavity of the calixarene in a hierarchical structure, with their size and morphology investigated using DLS, TEM, SEM and AFM. Location of the carboplatin was confirmed using NMR, FTIR, ESI-MS and EFTEM, with molecular modelling favouring the polar groups of carboplatin hydrogen bonded to phosphonic acid moieties and the four member cyclobutane ring directed into the cavity of the calixarene. The loading efficiency and release profile of carboplatin was investigated using LC-TOF/MS, with the high loading of the drug achieved under shear and preferential released at pH 5.5, offering scope for anti-cancer drug delivery. The hierarchical structured vesicles increase the efficacy of carboplatin by 4.5 fold on ovarian cancer cells, lowered the IC&lt;inf&gt;50&lt;/inf&gt; concentration by 10 fold, and markedly increased the percent of cells in the S-phase (DNA replication) of the cell cycle

Chemokine Production by G Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation in a Human Mast Cell Line: Roles of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase and NFAT

Chemoattractants are thought to be the first mediators generated at sites of bacterial infection. We hypothesized that signaling through G protein-coupled chemoattractant receptors may stimulate cytokine production. To test this hypothesis, a human mast cell line (HMC-1) that normally expresses receptors for complement components C3a and C5a at low levels was stably transfected to express physiologic levels of fMLP receptors. We found that fMLP, but not C3a or C5a, induced macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β (CCL4) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL2) mRNA and protein. Although fMLP stimulated both sustained Ca2+ mobilization and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), these responses to C3a or C5a were transient. However, transient expression of C3a receptors in HMC-1 cells rendered the cells responsive to C3a for sustained Ca2+ mobilization and MIP-1β production. The fMLP-induced chemokine production was blocked by pertussis toxin, PD98059, and cyclosporin A, which respectively inhibit G(iα) activation, mitgen-activated protein kinase kinase-mediated ERK phosphorylation, and calcineurin-mediated activation of NFAT. Furthermore, fMLP, but not C5a, stimulated NFAT activation in HMC-1 cells. These data indicate that chemoattractant receptors induce chemokine production in HMC-1 cells with a selectivity that depends on the level of receptor expression, the length of their signaling time, and the synergistic interaction of multiple signaling pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation, sustained Ca2+ mobilization and NFAT activation

Estrogen treatment following severe burn injury reduces brain inflammation and apoptotic signaling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with severe burn injury experience a rapid elevation in multiple circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, with the levels correlating with both injury severity and outcome. Accumulations of these cytokines in animal models have been observed in remote organs, however data are lacking regarding early brain cytokine levels following burn injury, and the effects of estradiol on these levels. Using an experimental animal model, we studied the acute effects of a full-thickness third degree burn on brain levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and the protective effects of acute estrogen treatment on these levels. Additionally, the acute administration of estrogen on regulation of inflammatory and apoptotic events in the brain following severe burn injury were studied through measuring the levels of phospho-ERK, phospho-Akt, active caspase-3, and PARP cleavage in the placebo and estrogen treated groups.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, 149 adult Sprague-Dawley male rats received 3rd degree 40% total body surface area (TBSA) burns. Fifteen minutes following burn injury, the animals received a subcutaneous injection of either placebo (n = 72) or 17 beta-estradiol (n = 72). Brains were harvested at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 24 hours after injury from the control (n = 5), placebo (n = 8/time point), and estrogen treated animals (n = 8/time point). The brain cytokine levels were measured using the ELISA method. In addition, we assessed the levels of phosphorylated-ERK, phosphorylated-Akt, active caspase-3, and the levels of cleaved PARP at the 24 hour time-point using Western blot analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In burned rats, 17 beta-estradiol significantly decreased the levels of brain tissue TNF-α (~25%), IL-1β (~60%), and IL-6 (~90%) when compared to the placebo group. In addition, we determined that in the estrogen-treated rats there was an increase in the levels of phospho-ERK (<it>p </it>< 0.01) and Akt (<it>p </it>< 0.05) at the 24 hour time-point, and that 17 beta-estradiol blocked the activation of caspase-3 (<it>p </it>< 0.01) and subsequent cleavage of PARP (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Following severe burn injury, estrogens decrease both brain inflammation and the activation of apoptosis, represented by an increase in the levels of phospho-Akt and inhibition of caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Results from these studies will help further our understanding of how estrogens protect the brain following burn injury, and may provide a novel, safe, and effective clinical treatment to combat remote secondary burn injury in the brain and to preserve cognition.</p