EVALUATION OF EFFICACY OF OOSHAKADI LEKHANA BASTI IN HYPERLIPIDAEMIA - A SINGLE BLINDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY

Disorders of lipid metabolism and obesity are reported by 30% to 40% with increased prevalence. These conditions are co-related with Medo-pradoshajavikara - a condition leading for excess formation of Meda (lipids) directly from Amarasa Dhatu (improperly formed chyle) and travel all over body through blood circulation. This stage is compared to hyperlipidaemia where it is defined as excess circulation of lipids in blood. The present study highlights the efficacy of Ooshakadi Lekhana Basti (type of therapeutic enema) processed by Ooshakadigana Dravyas (alkaline substances). Ooshaka (alkaline sand) was special drug and used almost for first time which is synonymously known as Kshara Mrittika. A single blinded controlled study has been conducted on 45 patients randomized in to three groups each containing 15 patients. The control drug was atrovastin. Average mean reduction of lipids were found statistically significant (p<0.05) in the experimental groups over control group in all types of lipids except HDL which has presented increase pattern. Hence the study establishes the efficacy of Ooshakadi Lekhana Basti in hyperlipidaemia of obese and non-obese patients

Investigating sources and sinks of N2O expression from freshwater microbial communities in urban watershed sediments

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as point-source inputs for a variety of nutrients often dominated by nitrogenous compounds as a result of anthropogenic influence. These effluents can impact biogeochemical cycles in freshwater estuaries, influencing microbial communities in both the water and sediment compartments. To assess the impact of point source nutrients, a transect of sediment and pore water samples were collected from 4 locations in the Little River Sub-watershed including locations above and below the Little River Pollution Control Plant (LRPCP). Variation in chemistry and microbial community/gene expression revealed significant influences of the effluent discharge on the adjacent sediments. Phosphorus and sulfur showed high concentrations within plume sediments compared to the reference sediments while nitrate concentrations were low. Increased abundance of denitrifiers Dechloromonas, Dok59 and Thermomonas correlating with increased expression of nitrous-oxide reductase suggests a conversion of N2O to N2 within the LRPCP effluent sediments. This study provides valuable insight into the gene regulation of microbes involved in N metabolism (denitrification, nitrification, and nitrite reduction to ammonia) within the sediment compartment influenced by wastewater effluent. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Extracellular matrix-modulated expression of human cell surface glycoproteins A42 and J143. Intrinsic and extrinsic signals determine antigenic phenotype.

Extracellular matrix (ECM)' plays an important regulatory role in cellular growth, migration, and differentiation (1-4). Pathologic processes such as tumor cell invasion and metastasis are also determined by cellular interactions with ECM (5, 6). Biochemical studies have identified collagens, fibronectin, laminin, proteoglycans, and several other proteins as major ECM components (1-3), and have shown that ECM composition varies between different normal and tumor tissues. The complexity and heterogeneity of ECM composition have hampered the molecular analysis of ECM-cell interactions . However, a range of phenotypic changes has been described for cultured cells after transfer from plastic surfaces to substrates coated with native ECM (7, 8) or with purified ECM components; ECM-induced phenotypic changes include enhanced substrate adhesiveness, cell spreading and migration, changes in cell morphology and proliferative activity, and expression of differentiated cellular functions (I-4). Some of these effects, e.g., increased substrate adhesion, may result directly from the binding of specialized cell surface structures to ECM molecules. Others are likely mediated by an active cellular response triggered by the interaction of ECM with cell surface receptors. Thus, ECM-derived signals (9) may activate a cascade of molecular changes within the cell and on the cell surface that account for the pleiotropic effects observed with ECM

Abnormalities at chromosome region 3p12–14 characterize clear cell renal carcinoma

In an effort to determine whether or not any characteristic chromosomal abnormalities exist in renal cancer, cytogenetic findings were correlated with tumor histology in nine cases of renal adenocarcinoma. Metaphase preparations adequate for analysis were obtained from cultures harvested between day 3 and day 21. Model chromosome number was diploid in three cases, hypodiploid in three, and hyperdiploid in the remaining three. One clear cell adenocarcinoma failed to reveal any chromosomal abnormality. Two tumors, a tubular/papillary carcinoma and an acinar/papillary carcinima, showed the clonal abnormalities del(1)(p21),+2,+7,+8,+12,+13,+16,+17,-21 and t(2;lO)(q14-21;q26),+7q,+11q,-18, respectively. Interestingly, five of six clear cell tumors studied had clonal abnormalities affecting the short arm of chromosome #3 in the 3p12-21 region, and in the remaining case, of 15 karyotyped metaphases suitable for interpretation, one showed a deletion in 3p. These data indicate that clear cell carcinoma of the kidney may be associated with a nonrandom chromosomal abnormality involving the 3p12-14 region

The role of competencies in shaping the leadership style of female entrepreneurs: the case of North West of England, Yorkshire, and North Wales

This study investigates linkages between personal competencies and leadership style among female small and micro business owners. Although prior research suggests that leadership style is shaped according to a leader's traits and abilities, few empirical studies corroborate this, particularly among female owners. Using survey data from the North West of England, Yorkshire, and North Wales, we reveal that transformational leadership style is the most dominant style adopted, and it is linked to perceived human and personal competencies as well as entrepreneurial competencies

A 3-Mb High-Resolution BAC/PAC Contig of 12q22 Encompassing the 830-kb Consensus Minimal Deletion in Male Germ Cell Tumors

Cytogenetic and molecular genetic analyses have shown that the 12q22 region is recurrently deleted in male germ cell tumors (GCTs), suggesting that this site may harbor a tumor suppressor gene (TSG). Previous loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analyses identified a consensus minimal deleted region between the markers D12S377 and D12S296, and a YAC clone contig covering the region was generated. Here, we describe a high-resolution sequence-ready physical map of this contig covering a 3-Mb region. The map comprised of 52 cosmids, 49 PACs, and 168 BACs that were anchored to the previous YAC contig; 99 polymorphic, nonpolymorphic, EST, and gene-based markers are now placed on this map in a unique order. Of these, 61 markers were isolated in the present study, including one that was polymorphic. In addition, we have narrowed the minimal deletion to ∼830 kb between D12S1716 (proximal) and P382A8-AG (distal) by LOH analysis of 108 normal-tumor DNAs from GCT patients using 21 polymorphic STSs. These physical and deletion maps should prove useful for identification of the candidate TSG in GCTs, provide framework to generate complete DNA sequence, and ultimately generate a gene map of this segment of the chromosome 12

Effect of COD: SO42- Ratio, HRT and Linoleic Acid Concentration on Mesophilic Sulfate Reduction: Reactor Performance and Microbial Population Dynamics

Biological sulfate (SO42-) reduction was examined in anaerobic sequential batch reactors (ASBRs) operated under different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) ranging from 12 to 36 h and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand)/SO42- ratios of 2.4, 1.6 and 0.8. Competition between SO42- reducing bacteria (SRBs), methane producing archaea (MPAs) and homoacetogens (HACs) was examined in controls and cultures treated with linoleic acid (LA). The ASBR performance was influenced by the COD/SO42- ratio in control cultures with a SO42- reduction of 87% at a COD/SO42- ratio of 0.8. At a 12 h HRT, in both control and LA treated cultures, greater than 75% SO42- removal was observed under all the conditions examined. In control reactors operating at a 36 h HRT, high levels of MPAs belonging to Methanobacteriales and Methanosarcinales were detected; however, in comparison, under low COD/SO42- ratio and with decreasing HRT conditions, a relative increase in SRBs belonging to Desulfovibrio and Desulfatibacillum was observed. Adding 0.5 gL(-1) LA suppressed Methanobacteriales, while increasing the LA concentration to 1 gL(-1) completely suppressed MPAs with a relative increase in SRBs. HACs belonging to Bacteroidetes were observed in the control and in cultures operated at 12 h HRT with a COD/SO42- ratio of 1.6 and fed 0.5 gL(-1) LA; however, with all other LA levels (0.5 and 1.0 gL(-1)) and HRTs (12, 24 and 36 h), HACs were not detected

Disturbing Times: Medieval Pasts, Reimagined Futures

From Kehinde Wiley to W.E.B. Du Bois, from Nubia to Cuba, Willie Doherty’s terror in ancient landscapes to the violence of institutional Neo-Gothic, Reagan’s AIDS policies to Beowulf fanfiction, this richly diverse volume brings together art historians and literature scholars to articulate a more inclusive, intersectional medieval studies. It will be of interest to students working on the diaspora and migration, white settler colonialism and pogroms, Indigenous studies and decolonial methodology, slavery, genocide, and culturecide. The authors confront the often disturbing legacies of medieval studies and its current failures to own up to those, and also analyze fascist, nationalist, colonialist, anti-Semitic, and other ideologies to which the medieval has been and is yoked, collectively formulating concrete ethical choices and aims for future research and teaching. In the face of rising global fascism and related ideological mobilizations, contemporary and past, and of cultural heritage and history as weapons of symbolic and physical oppression, this volume’s chapters on Byzantium, Medieval Nubia, Old English, Hebrew, Old French, Occitan, and American and European medievalisms examine how educational institutions, museums, universities, and individuals are shaped by ethics and various ideologies in research, collecting, and teaching

Reduced proficiency in homologous recombination underlies the high sensitivity of embryonal carcinoma testicular germ cell tumors to Cisplatin and poly (adp-ribose) polymerase inhibition

Testicular Germ Cell Tumors (TGCT) and patient-derived cell lines are extremely sensitive to cisplatin and other interstrand cross-link (ICL) inducing agents. Nevertheless, a subset of TGCTs are either innately resistant or acquire resistance to cisplatin during treatment. Understanding the mechanisms underlying TGCT sensitivity/resistance to cisplatin as well as the identification of novel strategies to target cisplatin-resistant TGCTs have major clinical implications. Herein, we have examined the proficiency of five embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines to repair cisplatin-induced ICLs. Using γH2AX staining as a marker of double strand break formation, we found that EC cell lines were either incapable of or had a reduced ability to repair ICL-induced damage. The defect correlated with reduced Homologous Recombination (HR) repair, as demonstrated by the reduction of RAD51 foci formation and by direct evaluation of HR efficiency using a GFP-reporter substrate. HR-defective tumors cells are known to be sensitive to the treatment with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. In line with this observation, we found that EC cell lines were also sensitive to PARP inhibitor monotherapy. The magnitude of sensitivity correlated with HR-repair reduced proficiency and with the expression levels and activity of PARP1 protein. In addition, we found that PARP inhibition strongly enhanced the response of the most resistant EC cells to cisplatin, by reducing their ability to overcome the damage. These results point to a reduced proficiency of HR repair as a source of sensitivity of ECs to ICL-inducing agents and PARP inhibitor monotherapy, and suggest that pharmacological inhibition of PARP can be exploited to target the stem cell component of the TGCTs (namely ECs) and to enhance the sensitivity of cisplatin-resistant TGCTs to standard treatments