Symptomatic, radiological profile of patients with endobronchial aspergilosis: a descriptive study

Background: Aspergillosis is a common presentation, involving respiratory system and is usually seen as a fungus ball that colonizes and grows into a pre-existing lung cavity, in the majority of cases secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis (PT). An endobronchial aspergilloma (EBA) is a rare disease, and another, but unusual, presentation of aspergillosis, characterized by the growth of Aspergillus species into the bronchial lumen. These two different presentations of aspergillosis can co-exist in the same patient. endobronchial aspergillosis, a variant of invasive aspergillus tracheobronchitis, a rare manifestation, where disease is limited to tracheobronchial tree without invasion of lung parenchyma and in many cases incidentally diagnosed, in a patient who had undergone a bronchoscopy to investigate haemoptysis, or for another reason.Methods: Patients who were attending respiratory OPD with symptoms of cough with expectoration with immune compromised status or previous history of tuberculosis with abnormal chest X-ray were subjected to chest CT scan, with abnormal endobronchial mass in CT scan were further investigated with fibreoptic bronchoscopy and histopathological examination.Results: 16 patients were diagnosed as endobronchial aspergilloma of which 11 patients were having past history of tuberculosis, 9 patients were having type 2 diabetes mellitus on treatment, 2 were having cardiac disease.Conclusions: IATB is a rare manifestation caused by Aspergillus species affecting people with immunocompromised status or previous respiratory pathology like tuberculosis leading to formation of mass like growth obstructing the airway lead to respiratory distress and it should be taken as differential diagnosis in patients with previous respiratory pathology presented with mass like growth in bronchi

Reproductive biology, diet and feeding pattern of longtail tuna Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851) in the north-eastern Arabian Sea off Gujarat, India

Longtail tuna Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851) is the major tuna resource in the neritic realms of the northern Arabian Sea and forms considerable fishery in the coastal nations in the region. Gujarat, on the north-west coast is the major province landing longtail tuna in India. The paper attempts to add to the hitherto sparse knowledge base on biology of the longtail tuna fished along the north-west coast of India, through a study spanning from 2011 to 2015. Reproductive biology, spawning, food and feeding dynamisms of the species were investigated. Sex ratio of the species was estimated as 1:2.1 and depicted an increase in male preponderance as the size increased. The fish attains maturity at 607 mm and it spawns during summer months starting from May. The fish is typically a non-selective feeder and over 22 taxa comprising of fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans formed the diet at varying rates over the year. Variation in feeding intensity at different reproductive stages is discussed besides the constraint posed by the large presence of unidentifiable, partially digested gut content

Fishery and stock status of billfishes exploited from the Eastern Arabian Sea

Billfishes are a group of highly predatory fishes distributed extensively along the world oceans. In India, the billfish fishery is supported by four genera and following five species: Istiophorus platypterus, Istiompax indica, Makaira nigricans, Xiphias gladius, Tetrapturus audax and T. angustirostis. Mechanised gillnetters contributed major share of their landings. I. platypteurs was the dominant species in the fishery and T.angustirostis was sporadically landed. Billfishes along the Indian coast were mainly exploited by mechanised gillnetters followed by other mechanised crafts operating pelagic longlines. The west coast of India recorded 60% of annual billfish landings. The maturity and length range of I. platypterus, I. indica, M. nigricans and X. gladius, the major species in the fishery, were monitored during 2019 and the length at which 50% of the population matured (Lm50) and stock parameters of these four species of billfishes were estimated based on samples collected from major landing centres along the eastern Arabian Sea. Fishery biological observations of billfish species indicated that the stocks in general are healthy, with fairly high spawning stock biomass and are being fished at sustainable levels

Dead Bryde's whale washed ashore at Veraval, Gujarat

Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879) measuring 10.4 m in length and weighing about 7 tons was found washed ashore on the beach of Veraval on 4th august 2017. Locally called as “Machchh” it was found in dead condition with small injuries in the caudal peduncle and genital region. With the intervention and supervision of forest officials, it was towed ashore and a veterinary officer conducted post-mortem after which it was buried on the shore. Occurrenc

Diet composition and feeding behavior of largehead hairtail Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus 1758 along the Eastern Arabian Sea and Western Bay of Bengal

Information on diet composition and feeding habits of species is very much essential for the scientific planning to develop sustainable management plans. The feeding biology of Trichiurus lepturus was studied during 2014 to 2018 from 6167 and 3346 specimens collected on a weekly basis along Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) and Western Bay of Bengal (WBB), respectively. Crustaceans mainly represented Acetes spp. (98.6 %) and were categorized as dominant and preferred (%QI = 51.35; %IRI = 53.31) food item; teleosts were categorized as dominant and secondary (%QI = 47.46; %IRI = 45.71) food items and molluscs as accidental and accessory food items of T. lepturrus based on the values of dietary coefficient and Index of Relative Importance along the Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) while, teleosts were completely dominant (%QI = 99.61; %IRI = 99.27) with both molluscs (%QI = 0.34; %IRI = 0.56) and crustaceans (%QI = 0.01; %IRI = 0.17) forming accessory and accidental food items along the Western Bay of Bengal (WBB). The teleostean prey items belonging to 23 genera were encountered in the guts of T. lepturus from EAS with Stolephorus spp. (17.09 %), Sardinella longiceps (6.65 %), Decapterus spp. (5.75 %), Rastrelliger kanagurta (1.36 %), and Megalaspis cordyla (0.89 %) as major component; whereas, in WBB, 16 genera of teleosts representing Sardinella longiceps (50 %), Stolephorus spp. (31.52 %), Decapterus spp. (4.57 %), and Rastrelliger kanagurta (2.26 %) formed the major portion of diet by %IRI. Crustaceans were dominated by Acetes spp. (52.61% IRI) in EAS, while other crustaceans’ contribution as prey item was negligible. However, along WBB, the crustaceans’ contribution as food components was very minimal. Molluscs did not contribute much as dietary constituents of T. lepturus in both EAS and WBB. About 50.15 % and 56.83 % of the stomachs had food content in various proportions in EAS and WBB, respectively and rest of the stomachs were empty

Correlation of phytoplankton density with certain hydrological parameters along the coastal waters of Veraval, Gujarat

The present study was conducted to study the biological diversity of phytoplankton and the impact of abiotic factors on them along coastal waters at two locations viz., Location-1 (Jaleshwar) and Location-2 (Sagareshwar Mandir), Veraval from May 2012 to April 2013. Six classes of marine phytoplankton were identified from these locations. Out of the total 162 species of marine phytoplankton collected, nine could not be identified. Diatoms were the dominant group (133 spp.) followed by dianoflagellates (12 spp.), blue-green algae, brown or orange chromatophores and green algae. The correlation between the density of phytoplankton with the environmental variables viz., Dissolved Oxygen and pH were significantly positive, whereas it was inversely correlated with temperature and salinity. The density of phytoplankton, ranged from 4,90,495 to 8,57,160 cells L-1 and 3,87,495 to 8,65,665 cells L-1 at Location-1 and Location-2 respectively. Phytoplankton cell count was the highest and lowest in January and March respectively and the diversity was higher in winter than other seasons. The diversity of marine phytoplankton was very high along the coastal waters of Veraval (at both the locations of study) which confirms that the Veraval coastline is very productive and supportive for fish production and also for other marine biodiversity

An AKAP-Lbc-RhoA interaction inhibitor promotes the translocation of aquaporin-2 to the plasma membrane of renal collecting duct principal cells

Stimulation of renal collecting duct principal cells with antidiuretic hormone (arginine-vasopressin, AVP) results in inhibition of the small GTPase RhoA and the enrichment of the water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2) in the plasma membrane. The membrane insertion facilitates water reabsorption from primary urine and fine-tuning of body water homeostasis. Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) interact with RhoA, catalyze the exchange of GDP for GTP and thereby activate the GTPase. However, GEFs involved in the control of AQP2 in renal principal cells are unknown. The A-kinase anchoring protein, AKAP-Lbc, possesses GEF activity, specifically activates RhoA, and is expressed in primary renal inner medullary collecting duct principal (IMCD) cells. Through screening of 18,431 small molecules and synthesis of a focused library around one of the hits, we identified an inhibitor of the interaction of AKAP-Lbc and RhoA. This molecule, Scaff10-8, bound to RhoA, inhibited the AKAP-Lbc-mediated RhoA activation but did not interfere with RhoA activation through other GEFs or activities of other members of the Rho family of small GTPases, Rac1 and Cdc42. Scaff10-8 promoted the redistribution of AQP2 from intracellular vesicles to the periphery of IMCD cells. Thus, our data demonstrate an involvement of AKAP-Lbc-mediated RhoA activation in the control of AQP2 trafficking

Do migrant remittances promote human capital formation? Evidence from 89 developing countries

The few published empirical studies on the effect of migrant remittances on educational attainments are roughly based on cross-sectional microdata from household surveys. This paper applies the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator on aggregate level data from 1970 to 2010 in five-year intervals to examine the impact of migrant remittances on human capital formation in 89 developing countries. The estimation results show that, on average, an increase in migrant remittance inflows by 1% is associated with a 2% rise in years of schooling at both the secondary and tertiary levels. This suggests that migrant remittances have the potential to relax liquidity constraints and generate spillover effects that facilitate more schooling opportunities in remittance-receiving countries

Comprehensive characterization of the Published Kinase Inhibitor Set

Despite the success of protein kinase inhibitors as approved therapeutics, drug discovery has focused on a small subset of kinase targets. Here we provide a thorough characterization of the Published Kinase Inhibitor Set (PKIS), a set of 367 small-molecule ATP-competitive kinase inhibitors that was recently made freely available with the aim of expanding research in this field and as an experiment in open-source target validation. We screen the set in activity assays with 224 recombinant kinases and 24 G protein-coupled receptors and in cellular assays of cancer cell proliferation and angiogenesis. We identify chemical starting points for designing new chemical probes of orphan kinases and illustrate the utility of these leads by developing a selective inhibitor for the previously untargeted kinases LOK and SLK. Our cellular screens reveal compounds that modulate cancer cell growth and angiogenesis in vitro. These reagents and associated data illustrate an efficient way forward to increasing understanding of the historically untargeted kinome

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer