A retrospective study of analysis of various factors affecting the outcome of sepsis in neonates admitted to a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit

Background: Sepsis is an important contributor to neonatal mortality and morbidity. Our aim was to study the various factors determining the outcome in neonatal sepsis in tertiary care hospital. Study was conducted in NICU of Government Stanley medical college, Chennai, India.Methods: Designed as retrospective study, based on case records of babies admitted between July to December 2015. Out of the 320 cases admitted during the study period, 120 babies with clinical features suggestive of neonatal sepsis. Risk factors were analyzed for their association with the outcome. Results were statistically analyzed.Results: Among the parameters studied it was observed that birth weight of the baby (p<0.001 ), maturity of the baby (p = 0.002) and laboratory parameters like abnormal leukocyte count ( p<0.001 ) and abnormal platelet count (p<0.001) were significantly associated with poor outcome. These variables retained their significance when subjected to multiple logistic regression analysis.Conclusions: In our study, we found low birth weight, prematurity, abnormal leukocyte counts and thrombocytopenia on admission were found to be associated with poor outcome

Effect of rate of application on degradation of imazethapyr in groundnut and soil under tropical Indian condition

Pesticides though formulated to be biologically degradable, few herbicides reported to cause surface and groundwater contamination which needs the monitoring of herbicide residues in environment continuously. Thus, to monitor the persistence and residues in crops, imazethapyr degradation studies were conducted in soil with groundnut cropping under Indian tropical condition. A groundnut field was treated with different doses of imazethapyr as early post emergence. Results showed that the degradation of imazethapyr in soil and groundnut plant followed first order reaction kinetics irrespective of the dose. The residue of imazethapyr persists in soil up to 60 days at higher rates of application while it persists up to 30 days in plant with the calculated half life of 2.8 to 7.4 days in soil and 5.1 to 5.9 days in plant. At the time of harvest, the residue of imazethapyr in soil, groundnut haulm or pods were below the detectable limit of 0.008 mg/kg across different doses of application. However, the continuous and inappropriate use in light textured soils may cause groundwater contamination and bioaccumulation in plant system. Hence, a pre harvest interval of 75 days must be allowed after the application of imazethapyr for the weed control in groundnut

TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e–graphene quantum dots nanocomposites for photocatalysis in energy and biomedical applications

The focus of current research in material science has shifted from “less efficient” single-component nanomaterials to the superior-performance, next-generation, multifunctional nanocom-posites. TiO2 is a widely used benchmark photocatalyst with unique physicochemical properties. However, the large bandgap and massive recombination of photogenerated charge carriers limit its overall photocatalytic efficiency. When TiO2 nanoparticles are modified with graphene quantum dots (GQDs), some significant improvements can be achieved in terms of (i) broadening the light absorption wavelengths, (ii) design of active reaction sites, and (iii) control of the electron-hole (e−-h+) recombination. Accordingly, TiO2-GQDs nanocomposites exhibit promising multifunctionalities in a wide range of fields including, but not limited to, energy, biomedical aids, electronics, and flexible wearable sensors. This review presents some important aspects of TiO2-GQDs nanocomposites as photocatalysts in energy and biomedical applications. These include: (1) structural formulations and synthesis methods of TiO2-GQDs nanocomposites; (2) discourse about the mechanism behind the overall higher photoactivities of these nanocomposites; (3) various characterization techniques which can be used to judge the photocatalytic performance of these nanocomposites, and (4) the application of these nanocomposites in biomedical and energy conversion devices. Although some objectives have been achieved, new challenges still exist and hinder the widespread application of these nanocomposites. These challenges are briefly discussed in the Future Scope section of this review

Caesarean scar pregnancy with scar dehiscence - successful laparoscopic management and the review of literature

Caesarean scar ectopic pregnancy is a rare but potentially life threatening entity. The diagnosis and treatment of caesarean scar pregnancy is challenging. The true incidence has not been determined as there are only few cases reported in the literature. The optimal management of this condition is individualized based on various factors. Here we report a case of caesarean scar pregnancy with scar dehiscence which was successfully managed laparoscopically. Patient underwent laparoscopy with complete removal of trophoblastic tissue, repair of scar defect following prophylactic bilateral ligation of anterior division of internal iliac artery without need for blood transfusion. Laparoscopy is an effective and minimally invasive approach in dealing with scar pregnancy

Field dissipation of pendimethalin and alachlor in sandy clay loam soil and its terminal residues in sunflower (Helianthus annus L.)

Field experiments were conducted with sunflower as a test crop during 2010-11 to study the dissipation kinetics and the persistence of pendimethalin and alachlor in sandy clay loam soil and its terminal residues in sunflower. Herbicides were applied at recommended and double the recommended dose along with control and the treatments were replicated thrice in randomized block design. The soil and plant samples collected at periodical intervals for herbicides residue determination using GC equipped with ECD detector. Results shows that the degradation of both the herbicides in soil was faster at higher dose of application than at the lower dose and the concentration decreased with the advancement in crop growth. While pendimethalin persisted in soil for 60 – 90 days, the alachlor persisted in soil for 30 - 45 days depending on the quantity of application. Degradation of both the herbicides in soil followed first order kinetics with the mean half life of 14.6 and 9.8 days respectively for pendimethalin and alachlor. Residues of these herbicides were below 0.001 mg/kg at the time of harvest in soil, sunflower seeds and stalks showed that these herbicides a can be safely used for the control of weeds in sunflower cultivation

Isolation and functional characterization of Lycopene β-cyclase (CYC-B) promoter from Solanum habrochaites

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carotenoids are a group of C40 isoprenoid molecules that play diverse biological and ecological roles in plants. Tomato is an important vegetable in human diet and provides the vitamin A precursor <it>β</it>-carotene. Genes encoding enzymes involved in carotenoid biosynthetic pathway have been cloned. However, regulation of genes involved in carotenoid biosynthetic pathway and accumulation of specific carotenoid in chromoplasts are not well understood. One of the approaches to understand regulation of carotenoid metabolism is to characterize the promoters of genes encoding proteins involved in carotenoid metabolism. <it>Lycopene β-cyclase </it>is one of the crucial enzymes in carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in plants. Its activity is required for synthesis of both α-and β-carotenes that are further converted into other carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, etc. This study describes the isolation and characterization of chromoplast-specific <it>Lycopene β-cyclase </it>(<it>CYC-B</it>) promoter from a green fruited <it>S. habrochaites </it>genotype EC520061.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A 908 bp region upstream to the initiation codon of the <it>Lycopene β-cyclase </it>gene was cloned and identified as full-length promoter. To identify promoter region necessary for regulating developmental expression of the <it>ShCYC-B </it>gene, the full-length promoter and its three different 5' truncated fragments were cloned upstream to the initiation codon of <it>GUS </it>reporter cDNA in binary vectors. These four plant transformation vectors were separately transformed in to <it>Agrobacterium</it>. <it>Agrobacterium</it>-mediated transient and stable expression systems were used to study the <it>GUS </it>expression driven by the full-length promoter and its 5' deletion fragments in tomato. The full-length promoter showed a basal level activity in leaves, and its expression was upregulated > 5-fold in flowers and fruits in transgenic tomato plants. Deletion of -908 to -577 bp 5' to ATG decreases the <it>ShCYC-B </it>promoter strength, while deletion of -908 to -437 bp 5' to ATG led to significant increase in the activity of GUS in the transgenic plants. Promoter deletion analysis led to the identification of a short promoter region (-436 bp to ATG) that exhibited a higher promoter strength but similar developmental expression pattern as compared with the full-length <it>ShCYC-B </it>promoter.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Functional characterization of the full-length <it>ShCYC-B </it>promoter and its deletion fragments in transient expression system <it>in fruto </it>as well as in stable transgenic tomato revealed that the promoter is developmentally regulated and its expression is upregulated in chromoplast-rich flowers and fruits. Our study identified a short promoter region with functional activity and developmental expression pattern similar to that of the full-length <it>ShCYC-B </it>promoter. This 436 bp promoter region can be used in promoter::reporter fusion molecular genetic screens to identify mutants impaired in <it>CYC-B </it>expression, and thus can be a valuable tool in understanding carotenoid metabolism in tomato. Moreover, this short promoter region of <it>ShCYC-B </it>may be useful in genetic engineering of carotenoid content and other agronomic traits in tomato fruits.</p

Case series of rare ovarian malignancy: granulosa cell tumor

Granulosa cell tumors are rare ovarian sex cord stromal tumors characterized by indolent course and favorable prognosis. The treatment of granulosa cell tumor is individualized based on many factors like age, desire for future fertility and stage of the disease. Here, we report three cases out of which two were acute presentation and one was diagnosed incidentally when she got evaluated for menstrual irregularity. Fertility sparing surgery with proper staging is offered to young patients presenting in early stage. In patients who have completed family, comprehensive surgical staging including hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo oophorectomy is the standard treatment. Lymph node metastasis in granulosa cell tumor is very rare, hence pelvic and para aortic lymphadenectomy can be safely avoided if preoperative findings and frozen section favour granulosa cell tumor

Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast: A rare entity

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the breast are a rare and distinct entity that is not routinely encountered in clinical practice. The&nbsp;diagnosis of primary neuroendocrine breast carcinoma is mainly a diagnosis of exclusion as the metastatic disease is more common&nbsp;a possibility. The algorithmic approach in the evaluation of such tumors includes the clinical and radiological examination of the&nbsp;breast lumps followed by correlation with Histopathological study and Immunohistochemistry tests. We report a case of primary&nbsp;neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast in a 64-year-old female who presented with breast lump for one month duration

Simplification of parcel mapping process and its application: geographical information system based approach

Parcel maps facilitate administration, Zoning, Flood determination, Real Estate, Service territories, Financial services, Tax, Utilities, Building and site development, lake and stream erosion control, Planning, Design and construction of roads, public works etc. Understanding actual parcel boundaries significantly improves the positional accuracy of property location. Positional accuracy is a measurement how close are the property location features representing the true position on Earth. Knowing actual parcel boundaries significantly improves the accuracy of parcel data. This study mainly focuses on implementation of GIS technology in parcel mapping process and discussing various methods on creation and maintaining of high level accuracy of digital parcel data. The methodology of creating digital parcel map depends on the availability and quality of the source maps, application software availability, requirements for quality and completeness of the data. In this context CoreLogic internally developed many customized GIS tools and various methods in AutoCAD Map and ArcGIS environment for parcel mapping, these methods plays vital role in creation of new of parcel map and updating large quantity of existing parcel map. These method which includes Geo-referencing, vector based Geo-reference, COGO (Coordinate Geometry), Tally methods, Object ID cross checking, Hathways tool, ET tool, APN Attribution, Spatial Unique ID Creation, Multiple Stack Creation Tool, Arc Google Synchronize Tool, Simplification of Raw Data, Simplification of Projection Setting System, Color Code Check, Data base check etc. The main aim of this study is to analyze various methods in parcel mapping and simplification of the process to improve daily team productivity and to meet high data accuracy as per National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA)