Evaluation of heavy metal resistance profile of Candida parapsilosis

64-68Heavy metals have caused a lot of imbalance in the environment due to its widespread ill effects. There have been tremendous efforts to reduce the levels of these metals from the environment, but demerits of existing methods exceed over the merits in most of the cases and hence there is a need for more effective mechanisms. In the present study, resistance profile of Candida parapsilosis was studied against various heavy metals. A time based tolerance study was performed using up to 12 mM concentrations of heavy metal salts such as zinc sulfate (Zn), cupric sulfate (Cu), lead acetate (Pb), mercury chloride (Hg), nickel sulfate (Ni), and potassium chromate (Cr). It was observed that tolerance against heavy metal depends upon its concentration as well as time of exposure. The obtained pattern of resistance for each individual heavy metal was Ni > Zn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Hg. Maximum growth of 57.6% was obtained for Ni salt and least for Hg with 26.9% cell viability at 12 mM concentration. Cell viability decreased as time of exposure was increased. After 72 h only 16.4% cell growth was obtained for Hg as compared to Ni showing cell viability of 37.5% up to 12 mM concentration. Significant resistance to other salts such as Zn, Cu, Cr and Pd have also been shown by C. parapsilosis

Targeted exome sequencing integrated with clinicopathological information reveals novel and rare mutations in atypical, suspected and unknown cases of Alport syndrome or proteinuria

We applied customized targeted next-generation exome sequencing (NGS) to determine if mutations in genes associated with renal malformations, Alport syndrome (AS) or nephrotic syndrome are a potential cause of renal abnormalities in patients with equivocal or atypical presentation. We first sequenced 4,041 exons representing 292 kidney disease genes in a Caucasian woman with a history of congenital vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), recurrent urinary tract infections and hydronephrosis who presented with nephrotic range proteinuria at the age of 45. Her biopsy was remarkable for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a potential complication of longstanding VUR. She had no family history of renal disease. Her proteinuria improved initially, however, several years later she presented with worsening proteinuria and microhematuria. NGS analysis revealed two deleterious COL4A3 mutations, one novel and the other previously reported in AS, and a novel deleterious SALL2 mutation, a gene linked to renal malformations. Pedigree analysis confirmed that COL4A3 mutations were nonallelic and compound heterozygous. The genomic results in conjunction with subsequent abnormal electron microscopy, Collagen IV minor chain immunohistochemistry and progressive sensorineural hearing loss confirmed AS. We then modified our NGS approach to enable more efficient discovery of variants associated with AS or a subset of FSGS by multiplexing targeted exome sequencing of 19 genes associated with AS or FSGS in 14 patients. Using this approach, we found novel or known COL4A3 or COL4A5 mutations in a subset of patients with clinically diagnosed or suspected AS, APOL1 variants associated with FSGS in African Americans and novel mutations in genes associated with nephrotic syndrome. These studies demonstrate the successful application of targeted capture-based exome sequencing to simultaneously evaluate genetic variations in many genes in patients with complex renal phenotypes and provide insights into etiology of conditions with equivocal clinical and pathologic presentations

Effect of Yoga on Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to observe the efficacy of yoga on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods: The present systematic reviewand meta-analysis were done following the PRISMA guidelines. Data were collected through specific keyword searches from eminent databases. The risk of bias in included studies was assessed, using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan software. Forest plots were used to illustrate the study findings and meta-analysis results. Results: A total of six studies were finally included in this systematic review, where 375 participants were allocatedto a yoga intervention with the control group, and the age range of participants was 15–75 years. In the yoga group compared to the control, there was a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose (FBG) by 33.02 mg/dL, post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG) by 62.54 mg/dL, fasting insulin by 4.95 μIU/mL and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) by 2.81 in the meta-analysis. Conclusions: Regular yogic practice with oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) have positive effects on insulin resistance compared to the control group (no regular exercise with OHA) in patients with type 2 diabetes

Effectiveness of video-assisted teaching program on dental hygiene among children

Introduction: Worldwide, dental problems affect children’s health, causing millions of school hours to be lost each year. An effective community prevention program as a planned procedure prevents the onset of a disease among a group of individuals and the most cost-effective method is health education. Objectives: Assess the effectiveness of video-assisted teaching program on dental hygiene among primary schoolchildren. Methods and Materials: An experimental study was carried out in 60 primary schoolchildren between the age group of 5 and 10 years by dividing them into experimental and waitlisted control group. Pretest- post-test waitlisted control group design and simple random sampling were used. Standardized plaque index score and semistructured knowledge questionnaire used as tool. Results: The experimental group pre-test means rank (30.23) was significantly lower than the overall post-test rank (44.00) according to Mann–Whitney U-test. The control group pre-test means rank (30.77) was significantly higher than the post-test means rank (17.00) U = 442 (Z = −0.118), p < 0.01. The difference between the experimental and waitlisted control group was large (μ = 0.906). Conclusion: The level of awareness among schoolchildren regarding correct dental hygiene practices is low. The video-assisted teaching program was found to be effective in improving the dental hygiene of the schoolchildren as measured by plaque index score. The knowledge regarding the importance of maintaining dental hygiene will help more and more schoolchildren to follow the correct dental hygiene practices

Type 2 Diabetes as a Risk Factor for Dementia in Women Compared With Men: A Pooled Analysis of 2.3 Million People Comprising More Than 100,000 Cases of Dementia

Objective: Type 2 diabetes confers a greater excess risk of cardiovascular disease in women than in men. Diabetes is also a risk factor for dementia, but whether the association is similar in women and men remains unknown. We performed a meta-analysis of unpublished data to estimate the sex-specific relationship between women and men with diabetes with incident dementia. Research design and methods: A systematic search identified studies published prior to November 2014 that had reported on the prospective association between diabetes and dementia. Study authors contributed unpublished sex-specific relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs on the association between diabetes and all dementia and its subtypes. Sex-specific RRs and the women-to-men ratio of RRs (RRRs) were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. Results: Study-level data from 14 studies, 2,310,330 individuals, and 102,174 dementia case patients were included. In multiple-adjusted analyses, diabetes was associated with a 60% increased risk of any dementia in both sexes (women: pooled RR 1.62 [95% CI 1.45-1.80]; men: pooled RR 1.58 [95% CI 1.38-1.81]). The diabetes-associated RRs for vascular dementia were 2.34 (95% CI 1.86-2.94) in women and 1.73 (95% CI 1.61-1.85) in men, and for nonvascular dementia, the RRs were 1.53 (95% CI 1.35-1.73) in women and 1.49 (95% CI 1.31-1.69) in men. Overall, women with diabetes had a 19% greater risk for the development of vascular dementia than men (multiple-adjusted RRR 1.19 [95% CI 1.08-1.30]; P \u3c 0.001). Conclusions: Individuals with type 2 diabetes are at ∼60% greater risk for the development of dementia compared with those without diabetes. For vascular dementia, but not for nonvascular dementia, the additional risk is greater in women

AID: An automated detector for gender-inclusivity bugs in OSS project pages

The tools and infrastructure used in tech, including Open Source Software (OSS), can embed “inclusivity bugs”—features that disproportionately disadvantage particular groups of contributors. To see whether OSS developers have existing practices to ward off such bugs, we surveyed 266 OSS developers. Our results show that a majority (77%) of developers do not use any inclusivity practices, and 92% of respondents cited a lack of concrete resources to enable them to do so. To help fill this gap, this paper introduces AID, a tool that automates the GenderMag method to systematically find gender-inclusivity bugs in software. We then present the results of the tool’s evaluation on 20 GitHub projects. The tool achieved precision of 0.69, recall of 0.92, an F-measure of 0.79 and even captured some inclusivity bugs that human GenderMag teams missed.Index Terms—Gender inclusivity, automation, open source, information processin

PULSE-I - Is rePetitive Upper Limb SEnsory stimulation early after stroke feasible and acceptable? A stratified single-blinded randomised controlled feasibility study

Background Reduction in sensorimotor function of the upper limb is a common and persistent impairment after stroke, and less than half of stroke survivors recover even basic function of the upper limb after a year. Previous work in stroke has shown that repetitive sensory stimulation (RSS) of the upper limb may benefit motor function. As yet, there have been no investigations of RSS in the early-acute period despite this being the time window during which the neuroplastic processes underpinning sensorimotor recovery are likely to occur. Methods A single-blinded stratified randomised controlled feasibility study was undertaken at 2 NHS acute trusts to determine the recruitment rate, intervention adherence, and safety and acceptability of an RSS intervention in the early after stroke. Participants were recruited within two weeks of index stroke. Stratified on arm function, they were randomised to receive either 45 minutes of daily RSS and usual care or usual care alone (UC) for two weeks. Changes from baseline on the primary outcome of the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) to measurements taken by a blinded assessor were examined after completion of the intervention (2 weeks) and at 3 months from randomisation. Results Forty patients were recruited and randomised (RSS: n=23; UC: n=17) with a recruitment rate of 9.5% (40/417) of patients admitted with a stroke of which 52 (12.5%) were potentially eligible, with 10 declining to participate for various reasons. Participants found the RSS intervention acceptable and 20 adherence was good. The intervention was safe and there were no serious adverse events. Conclusions This study indicates that recruitment to a trial of RSS in the acute period after stroke is feasible. The intervention was well tolerated and appeared to provide additional benefit to usual care. In addition to a definitive trial of efficacy, further work is warranted to examine the effects of varying doses of RSS upon arm function and the mechanism by which RSS induces sensorimotor recovery in the acute period after stroke

Border crossings in the African travel narratives of Ibn Battuta, Richard Burton and Paul Theroux

This article compares the representation of African borders in the 14th-century travelogue of Ibn Battuta, the 19th-century travel narrative of Richard Burton and the 21st-century travel writing of Paul Theroux. It examines the mutually constitutive relationship between conceptions of literal territorial boundaries and the figurative boundaries of the subject that ventures across borders in Africa. The border is seen as a liminal zone which paradoxically separates and joins spaces. Accounts of border crossings in travel writing from different periods suggest the historicity and cultural specificity of conceptions of geographical borders, and the way they index the “boundaries” of the subjects who cross them. Tracing the transformations in these conceptions of literal and metaphorical borders allows one to chart the emergence of the dominant contemporary idea of “Africa” as the inscrutable, savage continent

The relationship between plasma lipid peroxidation products and primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation is modified by donor smoking and reperfusion hyperoxia

BACKGROUND: Donor smoking history and higher fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) at reperfusion are associated with primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation. We hypothesized that oxidative injury biomarkers would be elevated in PGD, with higher levels associated with donor exposure to cigarette smoke and recipient hyperoxia at reperfusion. METHODS: We performed a nested case-control study of 72 lung transplant recipients from the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group cohort. Using mass spectroscopy, F2-isoprostanes and isofurans were measured in plasma collected after transplantation. Cases were defined in 2 ways: grade 3 PGD present at day 2 or day 3 after reperfusion (severe PGD) or any grade 3 PGD (any PGD). RESULTS: There were 31 severe PGD cases with 41 controls and 35 any PGD cases with 37 controls. Plasma F2-isoprostane levels were higher in severe PGD cases compared with controls (28.6 pg/ml vs 19.8 pg/ml, p = 0.03). Plasma F2-isoprostane levels were higher in severe PGD cases compared with controls (29.6 pg/ml vs 19.0 pg/ml, p = 0.03) among patients reperfused with FIO2 >40%. Among recipients of lungs from donors with smoke exposure, plasma F2-isoprostane (38.2 pg/ml vs 22.5 pg/ml, p = 0.046) and isofuran (66.9 pg/ml vs 34.6 pg/ml, p = 0.046) levels were higher in severe PGD compared with control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma levels of lipid peroxidation products are higher in patients with severe PGD, in recipients of lungs from donors with smoke exposure, and in recipients exposed to higher Fio2 at reperfusion. Oxidative injury is an important mechanism of PGD and may be magnified by donor exposure to cigarette smoke and hyperoxia at reperfusion