Molecular Biology of Bronchial and Vascular Remodelling

: The work embodied in this thesis mainly focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying bronchial angiogenesis and repetitive injury/repair of airway epithelium that eventually contribute to the airway remodelling, a hallmark in the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD. A number of mediators could regulate airway epithelial repair and angiogenesis that directly add to the airway narrowing and hyperresponsiveness by exudation and transudation of pro-inflammatory mediators, cytokines and growth factors. Our results suggest a critical role for the insulin-like growth factor-I/receptor-I (IGF-I/IGFR-I) and fibroblast growth factors/receptor-1 (FGF/FGFR-1) systems in bronchial epithelial repair and airway remodelling. Results included in the second half of the thesis clearly support the notion of ongoing complex mechanisms leading to angiogenesis/vascularisation. We demonstrated an enhanced bronchial expression of VEGF and its receptors ! (Flt 1 and KDR/Flk 1), which may contribute to angiogenesis in COPD. Using human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells in culture, we showed that apart from their critical role in controlling airway function, ASM cells expressed and released biologically active VEGF in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL 1ï¢ and TNF ï¡), vasoactive mediators (ANG II and ET-1) and nitric oxide donors. Finally, simulating the in vivo state of hypercontractility seen in chronic airway diseases, we established an in vitro model of cyclical stretch. We found an enhanced production of direct and indirect angiogenic molecules via ERK1/2 signalling pathway, clearly advocating for an important role of ASM cells in ongoing angiogenic processes during chronic airway diseases. It is anticipated that our findings may be useful in the development of selective therapeutic strategies to achieve regulated bronchial angiogenesis and diminished tissue remodelling in patients with chronic airway diseases, ! like COPD and asthma

Optimizing global health experiences in emergency medicine residency programs: A consensus statement from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors 2011 Academic Assembly global health specialty track

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of emergency medicine (EM) residency training programs have residents interested in participating in clinical rotations in other countries. However, the policies that each individual training program applies to this process are different. To our knowledge, little has been done in the standardization of these experiences to help EM residency programs with the evaluation, administration and implementation of a successful global health clinical elective experience. The objective of this project was to assess the current status of EM global health electives at residency training programs and to establish recommendations from educators in EM on the best methodology to implement successful global health electives. METHODS: During the 2011 Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Academic Assembly, participants met to address this issue in a mediated discussion session and working group. Session participants examined data previously obtained via the CORD online listserve, discussed best practices in global health applications, evaluations and partnerships, and explored possible solutions to some of the challenges. In addition a survey was sent to CORD members prior to the 2011 Academic Assembly to evaluate the resources and processes for EM residents’ global experiences. RESULTS: Recommendations included creating a global health working group within the organization, optimizing a clearinghouse of elective opportunities for residents and standardizing elective application materials, site evaluations and resident assessment/feedback methods. The survey showed that 71.4% of respondents have global health partnerships and electives. However, only 36.7% of programs require pre-departure training, and only 20% have formal competency requirements for these global health electives. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of EM training programs have global health experiences available, but these electives and the trainees may benefit from additional institutional support and formalized structure

Antibacterial potential of sponge endosymbiont marine Enterobacter sp at Kavaratti Island, Lakshadweep archipelago

AbstractObjectiveTo isolate antibacterial potential of sponge endosymbiotic bacteria from marine sponges at Lakshadweep archipelago. Also to identify the potent bacteria by 16s rDNA sequencing and determine the antibacterial activity against clinical pathogens by MIC.MethodsSponge samples was collected from sub-tidal habitats at Kavaratti Island and identified. The endosymbiotic bacteria were isolated and selected potential bacteria which show antibacterial activity in preliminary screening against clinical pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella typhi (S. typhi), Klebsiella pneumoniea (K. pneumoniea) and Streptococcus sp. by disc diffusion assay. The crude extracts of potential bacteria LB3 was tested against clinical pathogens by MIC. The LB3 strain was identified by 16s rDNA sequencing, 1 111 bp was submitted in NCBI (HQ589912) and constructed phylogenetic tree.ResultsSponge sample was identified as Dysidea granulosa (D. granulosa) and potential bacteria LB3 identified as Enterobacter sp TTAG. Preliminary screening of sponge isolates against clinical pathogens, LB3 strain was selected as potential producer of secondary metabolites and crude extract was implies on MIC of LB3 have confirmed with lowest concentration of 5.0 mg/mL in broth medium influence of crude extract on growth inhibitory activity after 5 h of incubation period and completed the inhibitory activity at 15 h.ConclusionsThe present study concluded that phylogenetic analysis of endosymbiotic bacteria Enterobacter sp from sponge D. granulosa of Lakshadweep islands showed significant antibacterial activity against clinical bacterial pathogens

Preparation and Characterisation of ZnO - SiO2 and Bi2O3 – CuO Nanocomposites

In the present work, ZnO - SiO2 and Bi2O3– CuO nanocomposites have been prepared by sol gel with alternate precursors existing in literature. They are characterised by XRD, SEM,UV, FTIR and photoluminescence  spectra .The XRD results indicate a crystallite size of  approximately 80 nm for both nanocomposites. SEM image shows a heterogeneous particle size for both samples. The band gap of ZnO - SiO2 and Bi2O3– CuO obtained from Taucs plot is 4.1 eV and 2.85 eV, respectively. PL spectra show high intensity absorption for ZnO-SiO2 in comparison to   Bi2O3–CuO. The composites of Bi2O3–CuO is recommended for efficient optical coating against the coating made from Bi2O3

A Comparative Study on Corona Virus Pandemic – What do figures indicate?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is recognized as one of the most significant outbreak in recent times given the spread across the nations. It has affected over 185 countries across the globe and is still expanding significantly. This paper aims to compare the data on two counts and a detailed descriptive analysis is presented in the paper. Given the threat level and the classification of the disease as a pandemic, an attempt is made to analyse the data based on a linear regression estimation and predict its evolution. The statistical results indicate that the death and the recovery rate are influenced substantially by the facilities available in the form of hospital beds, patient-physician and nurse ratio. Keywords: Corona Virus, Statistical, SARS; MERS JEL Classifications: I0; I1; I2; C0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.1032

Does a Country's Risk Factors Impact in Spreading COVID-19 in African Countries?

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has extended its spread across the globe, and most of the countries have reported infections. In what started as a first case single reported in Egypt has now magnified and close to about 355000+ infections have been reported across the African region as on 26-6-2020.  The transmission trajectory of COVID-19 across the globe remains a mystery, and much remains to be learned. The fear of spread among nations is a cause for concern, especially among African countries with weaker governance, high poverty levels, weak health systems etc. The density of population in urban areas could be a trigger factor and could be devastating. The management and control of COVID-19 are critical to check the spread, and most of it is reliant on the health facilities in countries to carryout repeated tests. This paper aims to analyses the various parameters and tabulates a risk matrix and places it analysis using SPSS based on the available data. The analysis also provides potential insight into the vulnerabilities among African countries and a relative review of factors associated with the novel coronavirus. Keywords: SPSS, Risk Matrix, COVID-19, Pandemic, SARS, MERS JEL Classifications: I0; I1; I2; C0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.1032

Effect of process parameters on tensile strength and surface quality of PLA-ABS part produced by fused deposition modeling

300-310Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing technology to fabricate three-dimensional prototypes with complex geometries. The ultimate tensile strength and surface finish of the parts produced by FDM process are strongly related to the fabrication process parameters. So it is necessary to identify the optimal process parameters to improve the ultimate tensile strength and surface finish of the part. FDM process has been influenced by many process parameters and the process parameters such as raster angle, infill pattern and build orientation have been considered in this study to determine their influence on the response parameters such as ultimate tensile strength and surface roughness of Polylactic Acid (PLA)-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blend. In this work, an experimental study has been validated using the response surface methodology and influence of the process parameters on response parameters has been analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images have been used to study the microstructure of the specimen at the fracture interface. The result has shown that infill pattern is the significant factor affecting the ultimate tensile strength. Surface roughness of the specimen has been found influenced by the build orientation followed by the infill pattern and raster angle

Four years of mass balance on Chhota Shigri Glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India, a new benchmark glacier in the western Himalaya

ABSTRACT. Little is known about th

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability