Comparative evaluation of anti-diabetic activity of fresh juice and ethanolic extract of Sunderban mangrove Rhizophora mucronata Lam. leaves in animal model

Background: Mangrove flora possess compounds with potential medicinal values with unique bioactive components. Traditionally Rhizophora mucronata, a mangrove has been used extensively for the treatment of diabetes. Studies revealed that, the leaves of Rhizophora (Bhora) had promising anti-diabetic action in rat model.Methods: A comparative analysis of the anti-diabetic action of fresh juice and ethanolic extract of Rhizophora mucronata leaves was carried out in Streptozotocin induced diabetic model and the different biochemical parameters were evaluated.Results: Present research explored a comparative analysis of the anti-diabetic action of fresh juice and ethanolic extract of leaves of Rhizophora mucronata Lam. in Streptozotocin induced diabetic model. The ethanolic extract showed more potent effect in lowering the elevated blood sugar in the diabetic rats, 200mg/kg was the most effective dose for both the extracts. The ethanol extract was more beneficial having potent lipid lowering action along with anti-hyperglycemic property.Conclusions: This supports the scientific validation for using Rhizophora mucronata leaves in the treatment of diabetes as traditional folk medicine. Identification of the bioactive molecule is under process

Ambient Air Pollution and Dysanapsis: Associations with Lung Function and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease Study

Rationale: Outdoor air pollution is a potential risk factor for lower lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Little is known about how airway abnormalities and lung growth might modify this relationship. Objectives: To evaluate the associations of ambient air pollution exposure with lung function and COPD and examine possible interactions with dysanapsis. Methods: We made use of cross-sectional postbronchodilator spirometry data from 1,452 individuals enrolled in the CanCOLD (Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease) study with linked ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution estimates. Dysanapsis, or the ratio of the airway-to-lung volume calculated from thoracic computed tomography images, was used to examine possible interactions. Measurements and Main Results: In adjusted models, 101.7 ml (95% confidence interval [CI], -166.2 to -37.2) and 115.0 ml (95% CI, -196.5 to -33.4) lower FEV1 were demonstrated per increase of 2.4 ug/m3 PM2.5 and 9.2 ppb NO2, respectively. Interaction between air pollution and dysanapsis was not statistically significant when modeling the airway-to-lung ratio as a continuous variable. However, a 109.8 ml (95% CI, -209.0 to -10.5] lower FEV1 and an 87% (95% CI, 12% to 213%) higher odds of COPD were observed among individuals in the lowest, relative to highest, airway-to-lung ratio, per 2.4 μg/m3 increment of PM2.5. Conclusions: Ambient air pollution exposure was associated with lower lung function, even at relatively low concentrations. Individuals with dysanaptic lung growth might be particularly susceptible to inhaled ambient air pollutants, especially those at the extremes of dysanapsis. Keywords: air quality; chronic airflow obstruction; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; computed tomography; pulmonary function test

Efficient and secure business model for content centric network using elliptic curve cryptography

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dac.3839Initially, Internet has evolved as a resource sharing model where resources are identified by IP addresses. However, with rapid technological advancement, resources/hardware has become cheap and thus, the need of sharing hardware over Internet is reduced. Moreover, people are using Internet mainly for information exchange and hence, Internet has gradually shifted from resource sharing to information sharing model. To meet the recent growing demand of information exchange, Content Centric Network (CCN) is envisaged as a clean‐slate future network architecture which is specially destined for smooth content distribution over Internet. In CCN, content is easily made available using network caching mechanism which is misaligned with the existing business policy of content providers/publishers in IP‐based Internet. Hence, the transition from contemporary IP‐based Internet to CCN demands attention for redesigning the business policy of the content publishers/providers. In this paper, we have proposed efficient and secure communication protocols for flexible CCN business model to protect the existing business policies of the content publisher while maintaining the salient CCN features like in‐network content caching and Interest packet aggregation. To enhance the efficiency and security, the Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is used. The proposed ECC‐based scheme is analyzed to show that it is resilient to relevant existing cryptographic attacks. The performance analysis in terms of less computation and communication overheads and increased efficiency is given. Moreover, a formal security verification of the proposed scheme is done using widely used AVISPA simulator and BAN logic that shows our scheme is well secured

Histologic and morphometric study of human placenta in gestational diabetes mellitus

Aims: The aim was to study morphometry, site of umbilical cord insertion and histological changes in placentae of women with gestational diabetes mellitus and compare the results with those of normal pregnancies and observe the perinatal outcome. Methods: It was an observational, correlational study of 130 placenta specimens collected from labour room and operation theatre of Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata. The subjects were mothers who attended antenatal clinic of the hospital regularly and delivered their babies in the same hospital. Cases were selected randomly, and divided in two groups: group A consisted of mothers having normal, uncomplicated pregnancy, group B consisted of mothers whose pregnancies were complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus. Morphometry, site of umbilical cord insertion and histological changes in placentae of all women were recorded. Perinatal outcome of the cases were also registered. The statistical methods used were chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test.Results: It was observed that the placentae of diabetic mothers were significantly bigger in size, weight, volume, area, thickness, diameter and circumference than those of normal mothers. Also, in diabetic mothers, there was significant increase in villous oedema, fibrin deposition, calcification and congestion of blood vessels. These placental changes were significantly correlated with birth weights of babies. Out of 70 mothers in Group B, 65 had live births, 5 had still-born babies.Conclusions: Placentae of women with GDM showed several changes that may be associated with impaired functioning, leading to bad perinatal outcome

Predicting invasive fungal disease due to Candida species in non-neutropenic, critically ill, adult patients in United Kingdom critical care units

Background Given the predominance of invasive fungal disease (IFD) amongst the non-immunocompromised adult critically ill population, the potential benefit of antifungal prophylaxis and the lack of generalisable tools to identify high risk patients, the aim of the current study was to describe the epidemiology of IFD in UK critical care units, and to develop and validate a clinical risk prediction tool to identify non-neutropenic, critically ill adult patients at high risk of IFD who would benefit from antifungal prophylaxis. Methods Data on risk factors for, and outcomes from, IFD were collected for consecutive admissions to adult, general critical care units in the UK participating in the Fungal Infection Risk Evaluation (FIRE) Study. Three risk prediction models were developed to model the risk of subsequent Candida IFD based on information available at three time points: admission to the critical care unit, at the end of 24 h and at the end of calendar day 3 of the critical care unit stay. The final model at each time point was evaluated in the three external validation samples. Results Between July 2009 and April 2011, 60,778 admissions from 96 critical care units were recruited. In total, 359 admissions (0.6 %) were admitted with, or developed, Candida IFD (66 % Candida albicans). At the rate of candidaemia of 3.3 per 1000 admissions, blood was the most common Candida IFD infection site. Of the initial 46 potential variables, the final admission model and the 24-h model both contained seven variables while the end of calendar day 3 model contained five variables. The end of calendar day 3 model performed the best with a c index of 0.709 in the full validation sample. Conclusions Incidence of Candida IFD in UK critical care units in this study was consistent with reports from other European epidemiological studies, but lower than that suggested by previous hospital-wide surveillance in the UK during the 1990s. Risk modeling using classical statistical methods produced relatively simple risk models, and associated clinical decision rules, that provided acceptable discrimination for identifying patients at ‘high risk’ of Candida IFD

Predicting invasive fungal disease due to Candida species in non-neutropenic, critically ill, adult patients in United Kingdom critical care units.

BACKGROUND: Given the predominance of invasive fungal disease (IFD) amongst the non-immunocompromised adult critically ill population, the potential benefit of antifungal prophylaxis and the lack of generalisable tools to identify high risk patients, the aim of the current study was to describe the epidemiology of IFD in UK critical care units, and to develop and validate a clinical risk prediction tool to identify non-neutropenic, critically ill adult patients at high risk of IFD who would benefit from antifungal prophylaxis. METHODS: Data on risk factors for, and outcomes from, IFD were collected for consecutive admissions to adult, general critical care units in the UK participating in the Fungal Infection Risk Evaluation (FIRE) Study. Three risk prediction models were developed to model the risk of subsequent Candida IFD based on information available at three time points: admission to the critical care unit, at the end of 24 h and at the end of calendar day 3 of the critical care unit stay. The final model at each time point was evaluated in the three external validation samples. RESULTS: Between July 2009 and April 2011, 60,778 admissions from 96 critical care units were recruited. In total, 359 admissions (0.6 %) were admitted with, or developed, Candida IFD (66 % Candida albicans). At the rate of candidaemia of 3.3 per 1000 admissions, blood was the most common Candida IFD infection site. Of the initial 46 potential variables, the final admission model and the 24-h model both contained seven variables while the end of calendar day 3 model contained five variables. The end of calendar day 3 model performed the best with a c index of 0.709 in the full validation sample. CONCLUSIONS: Incidence of Candida IFD in UK critical care units in this study was consistent with reports from other European epidemiological studies, but lower than that suggested by previous hospital-wide surveillance in the UK during the 1990s. Risk modeling using classical statistical methods produced relatively simple risk models, and associated clinical decision rules, that provided acceptable discrimination for identifying patients at 'high risk' of Candida IFD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The FIRE Study was reviewed and approved by the Bolton NHS Research Ethics Committee (reference: 08/H1009/85), the Scotland A Research Ethics Committee (reference: 09/MRE00/76) and the National Information Governance Board (approval number: PIAG 2-10(f)/2005)

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

第673回千葉医学会整形外科例会 28.

Description of patients included at each time point in each of the development and validation samples. (DOC 37 kb

第702回千葉医学会例会・第1内科教室同門会例会 17.

Description of patients included at each time point in each of the development and validation samples. (DOC 37 kb

Predicting time to death after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy in potential organ donors: a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Donation after cardio-circulatory death (DCD) is a vital program to address the current deficit of transplantable organs. Uncertainty about the time to death when withdrawing life support therapy is a major barrier to DCD. The primary objective of this study is to develop a new model to predict death within 120 minutes of withdrawal of life sustaining therapy (WLST). METHODS: Prospective multicentre observational data from adult, DCD-eligible donors were analysed to develop prediction models using a priori selected potential predictors and two statistical approaches: "classical" multivariable logistic regression and "ensemble" random forest classification. Models were internally validated in bootstrapped samples. Model performances and physician's prediction of outcome were compared for accuracy, discrimination and calibration. Models were re-analysed with the inclusion of physician's prediction as an additional potential predictor and post-hoc univariable analysis of the included predictors were conducted. RESULTS: Out of the included 307 eligible adult DCD donors, 57.7% died within 120 minutes of WLST. Based on the optimism adjusted area under the curve values, the "classical" models appeared to perform better than the "ensemble" models. The clinician's predictions appeared to be superior to both a priori models. The re-assessed classical model with physician's prediction and the a priori potential predictors, appeared to outperform all other models. CONCLUSION: Developing efficient models including commonly assessed objective predictors is possible. Including physician's prediction improved model performances. Further exploration of the models in larger sample sizes is required.CONTEXTE : Le programme de don d'organes après décès cardiocirculatoire (DDC) représente un potentiel considérable d'accroître l'offre d'organes pour pallier la pénurie pour les greffes. Il nous permettra de réduire le temps d'attente pour les greffes, de sauver des vies et d'améliorer nettement la qualité de vie d'un grand nombre de Canadiens, notamment ceux vivant avec une maladie d'organes en phase terminale. L'incertitude liée au délai écoulé entre le retrait des thérapies de maintien des fonctions vitales (TMFV) et le décès est un obstacle majeur à l'adoption du DCD. L'objectif principal de cette étude est de développer un nouveau modèle permettant de prédire le délai de décès dans les 120 minutes suivant le retrait des TMFV. MÉTHODES : Il s'agit d'une étude analysant des données provenant d'une étude observationnelle prospective, multi-centres et multinationale, réalisée en milieu de soins intensifs auprès de donneurs DDC gravement malades, chez qui la décision du retrait des TMFV avait été prise. Les prédicteurs potentiels ont été identifiés a priori au début du développement des modèles et puis des deux techniques statistiques d'analyse suivantes ont été utilisées : une approche "classique", basée sur la méthode de régression logistique et une approche "ensemble" utilisant la méthode des forêts aléatoires. Ces modèles a priori développés ont été évalués et comparés en fonction de la précision, de la discrimination et de la calibration, et d'une validation interne réalisée à l'aide d'échantillons bootstrappés. Ils ont également été évalués en rapport aux prévisions des médecins. Les modèles ont été ensuite modifiés en incluant les prévisions des médecins comme prédicteur potentiel supplémentaire. Ces nouveaux modèles et des modèles a priori développées ont été réexaminés. Finalement, une analyse univariée post-hoc des prédicteurs potentiels a été faite. RÉSULTATS : Parmi les 307 donneurs de DCD adultes éligibles inclus, 57,7% sont décédés dans les 120 minutes suivant le retrait des TMFV. Sur la base de la discrimination estimée par l'aire sous la courbe ROC (AUC) avec un ajustement pour l'optimisme, le modèle "classique" s'est révélé plus performant que le "modèle d'ensemble" parmi les deux modèles a priori développés. Les prévisions des médecins semblaient supérieures à celles des deux modèles. Lorsque les résultats ont par la suite été comparés aux deux nouveaux modèles développés incluant les prévisions du médecin, le nouveau modèle classique semblait être supérieur à tous les autres modèles. CONCLUSION : Dans l'état actuel de notre analyse des modèles de prédiction développés dans cette étude, la conception de modèles efficaces comprenant des prédicteurs objectifs couramment évalués est possible. L'inclusion du prédicteur de la prévision des médecins améliore les performances des modèles développés. Une exploration plus approfondie des modèles développés ici dans des échantillons de plus grande taille serait nécessaire