Prevalence of raised IgE levels and absolute eosinophil count in bronchiolitis in children aged 2 months-2 years in tertiary care hospital

Background: Bronchiolitis is defined by IAP as 'A constellation of clinical symptoms and signs including viral upper respiratory prodrome followed by increased respiratory effort and wheeze in less than 2 year old children'. Aim of the study was to study the prevalence of raised IgE levels and raised Absolute eosinophil count & RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) antigen by PCR in bronchiolitis between age group of 2 months - 2 years with the occurrence of wheeze after first episode in 1 year follow up.Methods: 96 Children between 2 months - 2 years with first episode of bronchiolitis are included with the exclusion criteria of previous heart disease, lung disease, immune deficiency, second episode of bronchiolitis. In all the children CRP (C reactive protein), IgE (Immunoglobulin E), AEC (Absolute eosinophil count), RSV, PCR was done.Results: Out of 96 children, 60 children (62%) are males with maximum incidence on subjects of 53 (55.2%) in age group 2-6months. Fever, cough and rhinorrhoea are the major presenting complaints apart from breathlessness. Among 96 children 37 children (38.5%) had high serum IgE out of which 17 developed wheeze in 1 year of follow up. 27 (28.2%) had raisedAEC, out of which 10 had wheeze in follow up. Out of 10 children who had raised IgE andAEC, 3 had wheeze on follow up. 34 (35.4%) children had positive RSVPCR, 14 children had wheeze in follow up.Conclusions: The prevalence of raised IgE, AEC and RSV PCR are 38.5%, 28.1% and 41.1% and the occurrence of wheeze on follow up was 45.9%, 37% and 41.1% respectively

Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Dextramers: New Tools for the Detection of antigen-Specific, CD4 T Cells in Basic and Clinical Research

The advent of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) tetramer technology has been a major contribution to T cell immunology, because tetramer reagents permit detection of antigen-specific T cells at the single-cell level in heterogeneous populations by flow cytometry. However, unlike MHC class I tetramers, the utility of MHC class II tetramers has been less frequently reported. MHC class II tetramers can be used successfully to enumerate the frequencies of antigen-specific CD4 T cells in cells activated in vitro, but their use for ex vivo analyses continues to be a problem, due in part to their activation dependency for binding with T cells. To circumvent this problem, we recently reported the creation of a new generation of reagents called MHC class II dextramers, which were found to be superior to their counterparts. In this review, we discuss the utility of class II dextramers vis-a-vis tetramers, with respect to their specificity and sensitivity, including potential applications and limitations

Pathways towards reverse logistics adoption in Indian educational institutes: a challenging factors analysis

Reverse logistics (RL) has been proven to have a positive effect on addressing the issue of effectively utilizing resources. India has a population of over one billion people with most of it dominated by youth. Developing RL strategies and exposing it to students will encourage them to find ways to manage the limited resources available in our country. This study is focused on identifying the challenges of RL implementation in education institutes in India and finding the inter-relationship among them. The most crucial barrier to RL implementation in educational institutes is also sought in the process. We initially review the RL practices in the Indian sub-continent to examine the challenges of effectively implementing RL. We then identify the challenges of RL based on literature and discussions with experts from the education industry. The experts selected for this study include administrators from schools and universities in Kerala, India (South India). A survey was conducted in two phases. The Fuzzy-DEMATEL technique was applied to determine the inter-relationship between the challenges and obtain the causal diagram. Initially, 45 challenges were identified. Based on responses from experts from phase one of the survey, it was narrowed down to 29 crucial challenges. A pairwise comparison among the challenges was then done by experts in the education field. Finally, on the application of Fuzzy-DEMATEL, a causal diagram was generated to indicate the extent of influence of the RL challenges. Our findings indicate that educational institutions are faced with lack of awareness about reverse logistic, lack of responsibilities about environment, resistance to change, lack of supplies on supplier end, lack of knowledge, and no proper outlet for disposal in managing RL operations in educational institutes. The challenges identified in our study is unique to the Indian sub-continent and provides a result based on the current scenario of RL implementation in Indian educational institutes. The findings from our study indicate a unique perspective of RL implementation challenges. We analyzed 29 challenges to obtain our findings. Furthermore, we use Fuzzy-DEMATEL as our analysis tool to facilitate finding results. We present this as the uniqueness of our study from the available literature

Improved responsiveness and reduced sample size requirements of PROMIS physical function scales with item response theory

INTRODUCTION: The Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) and the SF-36 PF-10, among other instruments, yield sensitive and valid Disability (Physical Function) endpoints. Modern techniques, such as Item Response Theory (IRT), now enable development of more precise instruments using improved items. The NIH Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is charged with developing improved IRT-based tools. We compared the ability to detect change in physical function using original (Legacy) instruments with Item-Improved and PROMIS IRT-based instruments. METHODS: We studied two Legacy (original) Physical Function/Disability instruments (HAQ, PF-10), their item-improved derivatives (Item-Improved HAQ and PF-10), and the IRT-based PROMIS Physical Function 10- (PROMIS PF 10) and 20-item (PROMIS PF 20) instruments. We compared sensitivity to detect 12-month changes in physical function in 451 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and assessed relative responsiveness using P-values, effect sizes (ES), and sample size requirements. RESULTS: The study sample was 81% female, 87% Caucasian, 65 years of age, had 14 years of education, and had moderate baseline disability. All instruments were sensitive to detecting change (\u3c 0.05) in physical function over one year. The most responsive instruments in these patients were the Item-Improved HAQ and the PROMIS PF 20. IRT-improved instruments could detect a 1.2% difference with 80% power, while reference instruments could detect only a 2.3% difference (P \u3c 0.01). The best IRT-based instruments required only one-quarter of the sample sizes of the Legacy (PF-10) comparator (95 versus 427). The HAQ outperformed the PF-10 in more impaired populations; the reverse was true in more normal populations. Considering especially the range of severity measured, the PROMIS PF 20 appears the most responsive instrument. CONCLUSIONS: Physical Function scales using item improved or IRT-based items can result in greater responsiveness and precision across a broader range of physical function. This can reduce sample size requirements and thus study costs

Sonneratia ovata (Sonneratiaceae)－A New Distributional Record for India from Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Sonneratia ovata Backer was found from Havelock, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, representing a new addition to the mangrove flora of India. This species lacks petals and is characterized by the finely warty calyx, the lobes of which are red on the inner side and by the adpressed calyx lobes in fruit. Since S. ovata is considered rare as a whole, conservation measures are imperative for managing the mangrove diversity of the Islands with special reference to this species

Fishery and Exploitation of Malabar Grouper, Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) from Andaman Islands

The fishery and population dynamics of groupers from Andaman Islands were studied from Jan 2010 to Dec 2011 with a special emphasis on Malabar grouper, Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider 1801). The average annual catch of Malabar grouper was 1,296 tonnes contributing to 21.6% of annual grouper landings. Length-weight relationship of Malabar grouper showed that growth was allometric (b=2.96) and relative condition factor (Kn) was 1 and the growth parameters viz., L∞, K and t0 were 124.60 cm, 0.80 and -0.05 respectively. The recruitment pattern was unimodal with one major peak during April to July throughout the study period. The natural mortality (M), fishing mortality (F) and total mortality (Z) were 1.05, 1.48 and 2.53 respectively and exploitation rate (E) was 0.58. The M/K ratio (1.31) was found to be well within the normal range of 1to 2.5. Catch per unit effort varied from 4 to16.5 kg.h-1. The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) was 1,107 tonnes which was lower than the average annual catch (1,296 tonnes), indicating over exploitation. The current study calls for further research in identifying the grouper fishing and spawning aggregation grounds and introduce measures for reducing fishing efforts with input and output controls to sustain the Malabar grouper fishery in Andaman waters

Validation of Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) forecasts from Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The annual exploitable fisheries of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are estimated to be 1.48 lakh t of which a meagre 22% is harvested currently. Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) forecasts based on remotelysensed chlorophyll concentration and sea surface temperature were applied for harvesting the unexploited marine fishery resources. Simultaneous validation experiments (n = 87) synchronizing with PFZ forecasts within (PFZs) and outside (non-PFZs) the demarcated zones employing different vessel categories viz., gillnetters (n = 50), trawlers (n = 22) and longliners (n = 15) were carried out. Significant disparity in fish catch was observed within and outside PFZs. Fish catch from gillnetters composed of carangids, clupeids, scombrids with Megalaspis cordyla being dominant at PFZ. Carangids, sphyraenids, serranids, lutjanids, lethrinids and carcharhinids were reported from trawlers with significantly higher CPUE from PFZs except nemipterids. Fish catch from longliners constituted mainly of carcharhinids and serranids, where the catch of former was found to be significantly higher at PFZs

Tropical storm off Myanmar coast sweeps reefs in Ritchie’s Archipelago, Andaman

The reefs in some islands of Andaman and Nicobar suffered severe damage following a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal off Myanmar coast during 13–17 March 2011. Surveys were conducted at eight sites in Andaman, of which five were located in the Ritchie’s Archipelago where maximum wind speeds of 11 ms-1 was observed; and three around Port Blair which lay on the leeward side of the storm and had not experienced wind speeds of more than 9 ms-1. Corals in the shallow inshore reefs were broken and dislodged by the thrust of the waves. Significant damage in the deeper regions and offshore reefs were caused by the settlement of debris and sand brought down from the shallower regions. The fragile branching corals (Acropora sp.) were reduced to rubbles and the larger boulder corals (Porites sp.) were toppled over or scarred by falling debris. The reefs on the windward side and directly in the path of the storm winds were the worst affected. The investigation exposes the vulnerability of the reefs in Andaman to the oceanographic features which generally remain unnoticed unless the damage is caused to the coastal habitats

Efficacy of different modes in disseminating Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) forecasts - a case study from Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Potential Fishing Zone forecasts based on Indian Remote Sensing satellite P4 Ocean Colour Monitor derived chlorophyll concentration and National Oceanographic Aerospace Administration-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer derived sea surface temperature were disseminated through different modes viz., Digital display boards, e-mail, telephoning/text messaging, radio, community networking and distribution of print-outs in person to the targeted fishermen and the efficacy was tested. Profound reach of technology dissemination was observed in telephoning/text messaging with an average of 72 users per forecast. Printouts of PFZ maps were distributed to an average of 35 fishermen/boat-masters in person. Digital Display Boards were viewed by 30 fishermen per forecast. E-mail message containing PFZ forecasts were sent to regional fisheries sub-stations of remote islands and it was inferred that an average of 15 fishermen per forecasts were benefitted. Further, PFZ messages were transmitted through All India Radio and Agromet Field Unit for extensive reach all along the inhabited islands. Since the validity period of PFZ forecasts is limited to 2-3 days, near real-time dissemination through telephoning/text messaging was found as an optimal tool for efficient utilisation. Field level constraints in different dissemination modes are illustrated in the paper