A comparative study of neonatal and maternal outcome between forceps delivery and vacuum extraction

Background: Aims and objectives of the study were to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes of forceps versus vacuum application in assisted vaginal delivery. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal over one year. Women in labor with vertex presentation were delivered by vacuum and forceps. A total of 100 cases were included of which 50 patients selected for forceps delivery and 50 patients for vacuum extraction. The instruments were either silastic cup vacuum extractor or Wrigley`s outlet forceps. Maternal morbidity was studied in terms of cervical tears, vaginal lacerations, episiotomy extension, perineal tears, PPH, and retention of urine. Neonatal morbidity was studied in terms of Apgar score, instrumental injuries, cephalhematoma, NICU admission and the outcome was compared. Chi square test was used to analyze the data. Results: Observations maternal morbidity viz. episiotomy extension, traumatic PPH were significant in the forceps group (p=0.01). With regards to neonatal morbidity, SNCU admission were significantly higher in forceps delivery (p=0.02) and incidence of cephalohematomas were more in ventouse delivery (p=0.02). Conclusions: Vacuum and forceps should remain appropriate tools in the armamentarium of the modern obstetrician. However, ventouse may be chosen first (if there is no fetal distress) as it is significantly less likely to injure the mother.

Human B-cell Ontogeny in Humanized NOD/SCID γcnull^{null} Mice Generates a Diverse Yet Auto/Poly- and HIV-1 Reactive Antibody Repertoire

Characterization of the human antibody (Ab) repertoire in mouse models of the human immune system is essential to establish their relevance in translational studies. Single human B-cells were sorted from bone marrow and periphery of humanized NOD/SCID γc$^{null}$ mice at 8–10 months post-engraftment with human cord blood-derived CD34$^+$ stem cells. Human immunoglobulin variable heavy (V$_H$) and kappa (V$_κ$) genes were amplified, cognate V$_H$-V$_κ$ gene-pairs assembled as single-chain variable fragment-Fc antibodies (scFvFcs) and functional studies performed. Although overall distribution of V$_H$ genes approximated the normal human Ab repertoire, analysis of the V$_H$-third complementarity determining regions (H-CDR3) in the mature B-cell subset demonstrated an increase in length and positive charges suggesting autoimmune characteristics. Additionally, >70% of Vκ sequences utilized V$_κ$4-1, a germline gene associated with autoimmunity. The mature B-cell subset-derived scFvFcs displayed the highest frequency of autoreactivity and polyspecificity, suggesting defects in checkpoint control mechanisms. Furthermore, these scFvFcs demonstrated binding to recombinant HIV envelope corroborating previous observations of poly/autoreactivity in anti-HIVgp140 antibodies. These data lend support to the hypothesis that anti-HIV BnAbs may be derived from auto/polyspecific Abs that escaped immune elimination and that the hNSG mouse could provide a new experimental platform for studying the origin of anti-HIV neutralizing Ab responses

Silicon as a powerful element for mitigation of cadmium stress in rice: A review for global food safety

Every day, agricultural lands are shrinking at an alarming rate and generating heavy metal stress owing to climate change and anthropogenic activities like rapid urbanization, deforestation and industrial development. Being a staple food, high Cadmium (Cd) contaminated rice grain is the prime source of oral Cd intake and poses a serious health risk to consumers. Cd translocation from soil to root cells is achieved by different transporters mainly employed for beneficial mineral uptake in rice. To combat these challenges of food and nutritional security, several feasible approaches have been proposed for Cd mitigation in contaminated landraces. Recently, application of Silicon (Si) is an emerging and fascinating practice to ameliorate Cd inflicted stress conditions. Si plays favourable role to develop elite rice cultivars with consistently low Cd content through vacuolar sequestration, phytochelatins formation, cell wall adsorption etc. In this review, the role of Si against Cd stress with underpinned mechanisms of action has been elaborated

Expression and distribution of transcription factors NPAS3 och RFX3 in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimers sjukdom (AD) är den vanligaste formen av demens och påverkar miljontals människor världen över. Förekomst av senil plack och tangles in hjärnan hos personer med AD har varit ett känt faktum sedan början av 1900-talet. Flera studier gjorda under de senaste åren har påvisat en kopplling mellan AD och Diabetes, då försämrad insulin-signalering och nedbrytning av glukos påverkar flera av de molekylära förändringar som uppvisas i AD. I det här projektet använde vi oss av immunofluorescence för att studera uttryck och lokalisering av två transkriptionsfaktorer involverade i nedbrytning av glukos; NPAS3 och RFX3, i hjärnbarken hos patienter med AD, Lewykroppsdemens (DLB) hälsosamma kontroller. Intensiteten på infärgningen av NPAS3 och RFX3 visade inte mängden protein och kvantifierades med algoritmer skrivna i ImageJ. Infärgningen av NPAS3 och RFX3 visade inte på någon signifikant skilland mellan de tre kohorterna och för att förstå mer om deras roll i nedbrytningen av glukos och om det kan påverka AD, måste både infärgnings- och kvantifieringsprocesserna använda i detta projekt optimeras.Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia. affecting millions o people worldwide. Beta amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are known to be part of AD pathology since the early nineteen hundreds. In recent years evidence showing that impairments in glucose metabolism can initiate plaque- and tangle formation, as well as several of the other degenerative mechanisms taking place in the AD brain, suggests a potential connection between Alzheimer's disease and Diabetes. Here we used immunofluorescence to study expression of two transcription factors involved in regulation of glucose metabolism; NPAS3 and RFX3. Expression of NPAS3 and RFX3 was investigated in temporal cortex from patients with AD, Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and non-demented age matched controls. The intensity of the immunofluorescent stainings was assumed to be proportional to the amount of stained protein and was quantified in ImageJ. This explorative study did not reveal a significant difference between groups and staining- an quantification procedures would have to be optimized in order to get a clearer understanding about the role of NPAS3 and RFX3 in glucose metabolism, and if that could affect the progression of AD

Intracellular accumulation of a 46 kDa species of mouse prion protein as a result of loss of glycosylation in cultured mammalian cells

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the accumulation of an abnormal isoform (PrPSc) of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) in the brain. Reportedly, abnormal N-linked glycosylation patterns in PrPC are associated with disease susceptibility; thus, we compared the glycosylation status of normal and several mutant forms of the murine prion protein (MuPrP) in cultured mammalian cells. Substitution of the N-terminal signal sequence of normal MuPrP with a heterologous signal peptide did not alter glycosylation. When expressed without the C-terminal glycophosphatidylinositol anchor signal, the majority of MuPrP remained intracellular and unglycosylated, and a 46 kDa species (p46) of the unglycosylated PrPC was detected on reducing gels. p46 was also observed when wild-type MuPrP was expressed in the presence of tunicamycin or enzymatically deglycosylated in vitro. A rabbit polyclonal anti-serum raised against dimeric MuPrP cross-reacted with p46 and localized the signal within the Golgi apparatus. We propose that the 46 kDa signal is a dimeric form of MuPrP and in the light of recent studies, it can be argued that a relatively stable, non-glycosylated, cytoplasmic PrPC dimer, produced as a result of compromised glycosylation is an intermediate in initiating conversion of PrPC to PrPSc in sporadic transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Alveolar soft part sarcoma: A rare diagnosis

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS) is an extremely rare disease arising from connective tissues with a propensity for recurrence and metastasis. Clinically, it can be confused with hemangioma or arterio-venous malformations. Thus, a high index of suspicion and histopathological examination are required to make a definitive diagnosis. We report a case of recurrent ASPS in a young female with multiple sites involvement without any features of metastasis who has been treated with excision of the symptomatic lesions followed by chemotherapy

Preexposure efficacy of a novel combination DNA and inactivated rabies virus vaccine

Several strategies are being examined to enhance the potency of DNA rabies vaccine (DRV) so that it can be used for both prophylaxis and postexposure therapy of rabies. In this study, we report a novel combination rabies vaccine (CRV) containing a low dose of cell culture-derived inactivated rabies virus vaccine and DRV. Mice immunized with CRV develop higher levels of rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) than those immunized with DRV and are completely protected against peripheral as well as intracerebral rabies virus challenge. The quantity of inactivated rabies virus vaccine required for enhancing the potency of DRV can be 625-fold lower than that of a standard dose of inactivated rabies virus vaccine. CRV induces higher levels of RVNA than DRV in cattle as well. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time that coinoculation of DNA vaccine and a low dose of inactivated virus vaccine can be developed into a novel cost-effective vaccination strategy for combating rabies in particular, and infectious diseases in general

A noval vaccine formulation consisting of DNA vaccine inactivated virus

Disclosed herein is a novel vaccine formulation for prophylactic or therapeutic immunization of vertebrates against infections caused by vertebrate viruses. The said vaccine contains a min. of two components, one of which is a deoxyribonucleotide (DNA) vaccine comprising of a DNA mol. that encodes a polypeptide of the virus and the other component consisting of inactivated form of the virus. This invention can also be used to develop low cost inactivated virus-based vaccines that contain much lower amt. of the said virus than that present in similar vaccines known in the prior art. The examples focus on the methods of producing a novel vaccine compn. against the rabies virus