Prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and HPV DNA positivity among HIV positive women

Background: The relationship among HIV, HPV, and development of CIN is complex and incompletely understood. Present study is undertaken to find out the prevalence and relationship of abnormal cervical cytology and HPV infection in HIV positive women.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, case control study conducted on 95 HIV seropositive and 95 seronegative women. Specimen was collected from the cervix for HPV DNA testing, subtyping and cytology.Results: HPV DNA positivity was higher in seropositive group (18.6% vs. 7.4%). Premalignant conditions were found only in seropositive group. At CD4 count 500 HPV DNA positivity was 19%.Conclusions: Prevalence of abnormal cytology and HPV DNA positivity is higher amongst HIV positive women and there is an association between HPV DNA positivity with lower CD4 counts.

Appearance of hyaluronan binding protein 1 proprotein in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids correlates with spermatogenesis

The proprotein form of hyaluronan binding protein 1 (HABP1) has been reported to be present in the pachytene spermatocytes and the round spermatids of the adult testis. To explore the role of HABP1 proprotein in spermatogenesis, its expression in the testes of adult rats was compared with that in the testes of developing rats and that in the testes of adult rats that received estriadiol to halt spermatogenesis. Immunoblotting revealed that the mature form of HABP1 was consistently present in the testis, but its precursor form was not found in the testis of animals aged 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. However, immunohistochemical analysis revealed the presence of the proprotein form in the pachytene spermatocytes and the round spermatids of testes from rats aged 21 and the 28 days, the appearance of which correlated well with the appearance of these cells during spermatogenesis. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction revealed transcriptional upregulation of HABP1 in the testes of adult rats, compared with the testes of developing rats. Finally, loss of HABP1 proprotein expression from the pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids was observed in the testes from rats in which spermatogenesis was arrested. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the appearance of HABP1 proprotein in the pachytene spermatocytes and the round spermatids during the initial stages of postnatal testis development and suggest that this expression may be crucial for spermatogenesis

A cross-sectional study on the nasopharyngeal microbiota of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection across three COVID-19 waves in India

BackgroundMultiple variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have plagued the world through successive waves of infection over the past three years. Independent research groups across geographies have shown that the microbiome composition in COVID-19 positive patients (CP) differs from that of COVID-19 negative individuals (CN). However, these observations were based on limited-sized sample-sets collected primarily from the early days of the pandemic. Here, we study the nasopharyngeal microbiota in COVID-19 patients, wherein the samples have been collected across the three COVID-19 waves witnessed in India, which were driven by different variants of concern.MethodsThe nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 589 subjects providing samples for diagnostics purposes at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad, India and subjected to 16s rRNA gene amplicon - based sequencing.FindingsWe found variations in the microbiota of symptomatic vs. asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. CP showed a marked shift in the microbial diversity and composition compared to CN, in a wave-dependent manner. Rickettsiaceae was the only family that was noted to be consistently depleted in CP samples across the waves. The genera Staphylococcus, Anhydrobacter, Thermus, and Aerococcus were observed to be highly abundant in the symptomatic CP patients when compared to the asymptomatic group. In general, we observed a decrease in the burden of opportunistic pathogens in the host microbiota during the later waves of infection.InterpretationTo our knowledge, this is the first analytical cross-sectional study of this scale, which was designed to understand the relation between the evolving nature of the virus and the changes in the human nasopharyngeal microbiota. Although no clear signatures were observed, this study shall pave the way for a better understanding of the disease pathophysiology and help gather preliminary evidence on whether interventions to the host microbiota can help in better protection or faster recovery

Comparing the Effectiveness of Ambu® AuraGain™ Laryngeal Mask Airway with LMA® ProSeal™ in Patients undergoing Laparoscopic Surgeries- A Randomised Clinical Trial

Introduction: Second generation Supraglottic Airway Devices (SADs) contain a gastric drain tube which separates the respiratory and the alimentary tract. This provides a better oropharyngeal seal and reduces the risk of pulmonary aspiration of refluxed gastric contents compared to the first generation SADs. Aim: To compare Ambu® AuraGain™ (AAU) laryngeal mask airway with LMA® ProSeal™ (PLMA) in terms of Oropharyngeal Leak Pressure (OLP) in laparoscopic surgeries. Materials and Methods: This randomised clinical study was conducted from December 2017-September 2019, at Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, India in 80 patients, aged 18-65 years, of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I and II undergoing laparoscopic surgeries. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: group PLMA and group AAU. After induction of anaesthesia, SADs were inserted by an experienced anaesthesiologist. OLP, pharyngeal mucosal pressure, peak airway pressure and secondary outcome parameters (the number of attempts, time required, ease, and haemodynamic response associated with insertion of LMA) were recorded at set time points. Data was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Results: All patients in both the groups were comparable in terms of demographic data and baseline vital parameters. The Oropharyngeal Leak Pressure of group AAU was comparable to group PLMA at all measured time-points. The two groups were comparable in terms of pharyngeal mucosal pressure immediately after insertion of LMA, but group AAU had lesser pharyngeal mucosal pressure compared to group PLMA immediately after pneumoperitoneum, at 30 and 60 minutes. Mean peak airway pressures were lower in group AAU than group PLMA immediately after insertion of LMA (15.53±1.50 versus 17.06±2.56 cmH2O, p=0.004) and immediately after creation of pneumoperitoneum (23.03±2.96 versus 26.58±10.12 cmH2O, p=0.04). Both the groups were comparable in terms of number of attempts, time taken, haemodynamic response associated with LMA insertion and with passage of gastric tube except that PLMA was easier to insert in the first attempt compared to AAU (26/40 versus 13/40, Grade 1 ease of insertion). Conclusion: Ambu® AuraGain™ could be a useful alternative to LMA® ProSeal™ in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries

Transportation Of Drug-Gold Nanocomposites By Actinomyosin

Nanotechnology is playing an important role in drug delivery to overcome limitations of conventional drug delivery systems in terms of solubility, in vivo stability, pharmacokinetics, and bio-distribution. The controlled transportation of drug into the cell and within the cell is a major challenge to be addressed. Cellular molecular motors have been exploited for their cargo carrying capacity for various applications including engineering and health care. Combination of nanotechnology and biomolecular motors can address some of the challenges in drug delivery. In the present study, transportation of drug nanocomposites has been demonstrated. Nanocomposites of 6-mercaptopurine and levodopa drugs (cancer and Parkinson’s disease, respectively) were prepared with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) by covalent attachment and these nanocomposites were attached to actin filaments. These nanocomposites were in-turn transported by actin filaments on myosin tracks. Characterization of drug nanocomposites formation was done by UV–Vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy. GNP composites of 6-mercaptopurine and levodopa were formed by sulfide and amide bond formation, respectively. Average velocity of actin filament attached to nanocomposites was found to be 3.17 and 3.89 μm/s for levodopa and 6-mercaptopurine, respectively, as compared to actin filaments with velocity of 4.0–6.0 μm/s. Three concepts have been proposed for the study of drug transportation into the cell based on polycationic complex formation, interaction of actin with cellular myosin and Biomolecular Adaptor for Retrograde Transport (BART) technology. The aspects of this study heads toward the development of an approach to utilize molecular motors for nanoscale transportation endogenously

Extraction of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solution by Emulsion Liquid Membrane

538-542The extraction of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution by cocobetaine in a mixture of kerosene and benzene is investigated. The results indicate that in acidic solution the extraction efficiency of Cr(VI) is excellent. In these experiments the relative affinities of different anions to cocobetaine are in the order: NO3- > Cl-> SO42-. Experimental results show that dichromate ion (Cr2O72-) is the major extractable species of Cr (VI) at lower pH. The strippant composed of 0.1 M sodium hydroxide and 1 M sodium nitrate, results in maximum stripping

Transportation of drug-gold nanocomposites by actinomyosin motor system

Nanotechnology is playing an important role in drug delivery to overcome limitations of conventional drug delivery systems in terms of solubility, in vivo stability, pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution. The controlled transportation of drug into the cell and within the cell is a major challenge to be addressed. Cellular molecular motors have been exploited for their cargo carrying capacity for various applications including engineering and health care. Combination of nanotechnology and biomolecular motors can address some of the challenges in drug delivery. In the present study, transportation of drug nanocomposites has been demonstrated. Nanocomposites of 6-mercaptopurine and levodopa drugs (cancer and Parkinson’s disease, respectively) were prepared with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) by covalent attachment and these nanocomposites were attached to actin filaments. These nanocomposites were in-turn transported by actin filaments on myosin tracks. Characterization of drug nanocomposites formation was done by UV–Vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy. GNP composites of 6-mercaptopurine and levodopa were formed by sulfide and amide bond formation, respectively. Average velocity of actin filament attached to nanocomposites was found to be 3.17 and 3.89 lm/s for levodopa and 6-mercaptopurine, respectively, as compared to actin filaments with velocity of 4.0–6.0 lm/s. Three concepts have been proposed for the study of drug transportation into the cell based on polycationic complex formation, interaction of actin with cellular myosin and Biomolecular Adaptor for Retrograde Transport (BART) technology. The aspects of this study heads toward the development of an approach to utilize molecular motors for nanoscale transportation endogenously

Proteomics-based study on asthenozoospermia: differential expression of proteasome α complex

With a view to understand the molecular basis of sperm motility, we have tried to establish the human sperm proteome by two-dimensional PAGE MALDI MS/MS analysis. We report identification of 75 different proteins in the human spermatozoa. Comparative proteome analysis was carried out for asthenozoospermic and normozoospermic patients to understand the molecular basis of sperm motility. Analysis revealed eight proteins (including one unidentified) with altered intensity between the groups. Differential proteins distributed into three functional groups: 'energy and metabolism' (triose-phosphate isomerase, glycerol kinase 2, testis specific isoform and succinyl-CoA:3-ketoacid co-enzyme A transferase 1, mitochondrial precursor); 'movement and organization' (tubulin β 2C and tektin 1) and 'protein turnover, folding and stress response' (proteasome α 3 subunit and heat shock-related 70 kDa protein 2). It was interesting to note that although the proteins falling in the functional group of 'energy and metabolism' are higher in the asthenozoospermic patients, the other two functional groups contain proteins, which are higher in the normozoospermic samples. Validation of results carried out for proteasome alpha 3 subunit by immunoblotting and confocal microscopy, confirmed significant changes in intensity of proteasome α 3 subunit in asthenozoospermic samples when compared with normozoospermic controls. Significant positive correlation too was found between proteasome α 3 subunit levels and rapid, linear progressive motility of the spermatozoa. In our understanding, this data would contribute appreciably to the presently limited information available about the proteins implicated in human sperm motility