Effect of obesity on autonomic nervous system

The present study was carried out on 100 volunteers of which 50 subjects with BMI > 30kg/m2 were included in study group and 50 subjects with BMI < 30kg/m2 (non obese) were included in control group. The functioning of Autonomic nervous system was evaluated by six non-invasive tests- four of which were based mainly on parasympathetic control (30:15 ratio, standing to lying ratio (S/L ratio), expiration/inspiration ratio (E/I ratio) and valsalva maneuver) and two on sympathetic control (Blood pressure response to standing and cold pressor test). The results of the present study showed significantly low (p=0.001) S/L ratio in study group (1.04 ± 0.12) when compared to controls (1.12 ± 0.11) indicating impaired parasympathetic function. The mean change in sytolic blood pressure before and after cold pressor test (CPT) was less in study group (7.12 ± 5.28) as compared to control group (10.38 ± 6.35) and this was statistically significant (p=0.006) indicating impaired sympatheitc function. Thus ,in obese both division of ANS are affected which may be the cause of various cardiovascular complications

Immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions to a single dose of oxaliplatin

Hypersensitivity reaction (HSR), occurring during or immediately after oxaliplatin infusions are well documented and occur more commonly after multiple courses of therapy.A 69-year-old white woman with Stage Ill colon cancer commenced adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and capecitabine. Ten minutes after the completion of the oxaliplatin infusion she experienced a severe hypersensitivity reaction. Symptoms resolved after treatment With corticosteroids, antihistamines, and bronchodilators. Nineteen hours later, a similar reaction Occurred.A review of the literature found 2 similar cases of delayed reactions to oxaliplatin occurring 20 and 10 hours after infusion, respectively. The first case occurred after the initial dose and again with cycle 2. The second case happened after the sixth infusion.This is the first reported case, to our knowledge, of immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions occurring after the initial dose of oxaliplatin

Genomic Diversity among Beijing and non-Beijing Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates from Myanmar

Background: The Beijing family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is dominant in countries in East Asia. Genomic polymorphisms are a source of diversity within the M. tuberculosis genome and may account for the variation of virulence among M. tuberculosis isolates. Till date there are no studies that have examined the genomic composition of M. tuberculosis isolates from the high TB-burden country, Myanmar. Methodology/Principle Findings: Twenty-two M. tuberculosis isolates from Myanmar were screened on whole-genome arrays containing genes from M. tuberculosis H37Rv, M. tuberculosis CDC1551 and M. bovis AF22197. Screening identified 198 deletions or extra regions in the clinical isolates compared to H37Rv. Twenty-two regions differentiated between Beijing and non-Beijing isolates and were verified by PCR on an additional 40 isolates. Six regions (Rv0071-0074 [RD105], Rv1572-1576c [RD149], Rv1585c-1587c [RD149], MT1798-Rv1755c [RD152], Rv1761c [RD152] and Rv0279c) were deleted in Beijing isolates, of which 4 (Rv1572-1576c, Rv1585c-1587c, MT1798-Rv1755c and Rv1761c) were variably deleted among ST42 isolates, indicating a closer relationship between the Beijing and ST42 lineages. The TbD1 region, Mb1582-Mb1583 was deleted in Beijing and ST42 isolates. One M. bovis gene of unknown function, Mb3184c was present in all isolates, except 11 of 13 ST42 isolates. The CDC1551 gene, MT1360 coding for a putative adenylate cyclase, was present in all Beijing and ST42 isolates (except 1). The pks15/1 gene, coding for a putative virulence factor, was intact in all Beijing and non-Beijing isolates, except in ST42 and ST53 isolates. Conclusion: This study describes previously unreported deletions/extra regions in Beijing and non-Beijing M. tuberculosis isolates. The modern and highly frequent ST42 lineage showed a closer relationship to the hypervirulent Beijing lineage than to the ancient non-Beijing lineages. The pks15/1 gene was disrupted only in modern non-Beijing isolates. This is the first report of an in-depth analysis on the genomic diversity of M. tuberculosis isolates from Myanmar

Chewing the Fat Regulating Autophagy in Drosophila

AbstractAutophagy is the major cellular process responsible for bulk cytoplasmic degradation. Two reports in this issue of Developmental Cell describe how both PI3 kinase and TOR signaling in Drosophila are critical for controlling autophagy in response to developmental and environmental cues

Patterns of Cervical Lymph Node Metastases in Primary and Recurrent Papillary Thyroid Cancer

The incidence of thyroid cancer is rising in the United States with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) being the most common type. We performed a retrospective study of 49 patients with PTC who underwent 57 lateral neck dissections (NDs). The extent of NDs varied, but 29 of 57 (51%) consisted of levels II–V. Twelve of 57 (21%) NDs consisted of levels I–V. Twelve of 57 (21%) NDs consisted of levels II–IV. One of 57 (1.8%) necks involved only levels I–IV. One of 57(1.8%) necks involved only levels I–V. One of 57(1.8%) necks involved only levels III–V. Two (3.5%) double-level (III–IV) neck surgeries were also performed. Metastatic PTC adenopathy was confirmed pathologically in 2%-level-I, 45%-level-II, 57%-level-III, 60%-level-IV, and 22%-level-V necks. Level-V was positive in 21% of primary and 24% of recurrent groups (P = 0.76). Comparing primary and recurrent disease, there was no difference in nodal distribution or frequency for levels I, II, III, and V. Level-IV was more common in the recurrent cases (P = 0.05). Based on the pathologic distribution of nodes, dissection should routinely include levels II–IV and extend to level-V in primary and recurrent cases. Our data does not suggest routine dissection of level-I

Research on mechanisms of alloy strengthening. Part 1 - Strengthening through fine particle dispersion. Part 2 - Control of structure and properties by means of rapid quenching of liquid metals /splat cooling/ Semiannual report

Alloy strengthening mechanisms - strengthening by fine particle dispersion, and structure and properties control by rapid quenching or splat cooling of liquid metal

Radiographic Thresholds With Increased Odds of a Poor Outcome Following Distal Radius Fractures in Patients Over 65 Years Old

© 2019 Purpose: Older patients (aged older than 65 years)appear to tolerate a great degree of anatomic deformity after DRFs; however, the threshold beyond which the deformity becomes unacceptable is unknown. The purposes of this study were to identify the acceptable threshold for radiographic parameters after DRFs in patients aged over 65 years according to a patient-rated pain and disability outcome measure and to determine whether baseline activity levels influenced these parameters. Methods: A cohort of 190 older adults (aged 65 years and older)with DRF were selected from an existing prospectively collected database. The influence of specific radiographic parameters (ulnar variance, radial inclination [RI], and volar-dorsal tilt)and baseline activity levels on 1-year Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE)scores was investigated. The odds ratio (OR)of a poor outcome according to a 1-year PRWE (cutoff score of ≥25)at various alignment thresholds was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Activity level (underactive vs active)was determined using the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity survey. Results: Radiographic parameters for the cohort varied widely (mean ulnar variance, 1.9 ± 0.9 mm, range –2.4 to 8.0 mm; mean RI, 18.7°± 5.9°, range, 0.1° to 38°; and mean dorsal tilt, 4.5° ±11.9°, range –24.0° to 33.6°). Most of the cohort (n = 158, 83%)had a good outcome (mean PRWE, 14.4 ± 19.5). The OR of a poor outcome was significant for RI less than 20° (OR = 3.6; 95% CI 1.5–8.7)and dorsal tilt greater than 15° (OR = 5.3; 95% CI, 1.0–27.8). Malalignment on radiographs and a poor outcome according to PRWE were not significantly different in the underactive versus active subpopulations. Conclusions: This study provides alignment cutoffs that best discriminate adverse pain and disability patient outcomes after DRF in a cohort aged more than 65 years. This information can be used to counsel older patients about their increased likelihood of a poor outcome with RI less than 20˚ or a dorsal tilt greater than 15°. Further research is required to examine outcomes after applying these thresholds in a prospective manner to management decision algorithms for DRF in patients aged over 65 years. Type of study/level of evidence: Prognostic II

Inverse problem of photoelastic fringe mapping using neural networks

This paper presents an enhanced technique for inverse analysis of photoelastic fringes using neural networks to determine the applied load. The technique may be useful in whole-field analysis of photoelastic images obtained due to external loading, which may find application in a variety of specialized areas including robotics and biomedical engineering. The presented technique is easy to implement, does not require much computation and can cope well within slight experimental variations. The technique requires image acquisition, filtering and data extraction, which is then fed to the neural network to provide load as output. This technique can be efficiently implemented for determining the applied load in applications where repeated loading is one of the main considerations. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the novelty of this technique to solve the inverse problem from direct image data. It has been shown that the presented technique offers better result for the inverse photoelastic problems than previously published works