Mesenchymal Stem Cells Modulate the Immune System in Developing Therapeutic Interventions

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging as key players in regenerative medicine for the treatment of various diseases associated with the inflammation and degeneration, thereby aiding in therapeutic advancements. Several tissues have been identified as potential sources of MSCs including the bone marrow, cord blood, dental pulp, umbilical cord, adipose tissue, peripheral blood, and fetal liver, of which some are clinically recognized. MSCs are capable of differentiating into cells of multiple lineages and therefore established as suitable candidates for transplantation in damaged organs. They have added advantage of higher proliferation, easy expansion, and, more importantly, the absence of HLA class II receptors, with potential applications extending toward allogenic settings. MSCs are actively involved in different mechanisms related to repair and regeneration of tissues via immunomodulation, transdifferentiation, paracrine factors, etc. They are known to exhibit profound immunomodulatory effect on T and B cells and natural killer (NK) cells mediated via soluble factors and direct cell-cell contact. The MSCs activate the immune responses and inhibit proliferation, maturation, and differentiation of T and B cells. The MSC-activated immune responses induce the expression of regulatory T cells (Tregs). A plethora of studies have established that MSCs suppress immune responses via immunomodulation that makes them a preferred cell source for the use in clinical trials

A comparative study of clinical outcomes of post placental insertion versus interval insertion of Copper T 380A intrauterine device

Background: The objective of this study was to study the safety and efficacy of PPIUCD insertion and to compare it with interval insertion.Methods: A prospective study was conducted enrolling 100 women as study group (PPIUCD) and 100 as control group (interval CuT insertion). All women were followed up for 6 months and clinical outcomes were measured in terms of safety, efficacy, effect on menstrual cycles and continuation rates. Chi square test was used to detect differences in the rate of clinical outcomes, and P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Spontaneous expulsions were more in study group, but the difference was not significant. Number of women having missing thread was significantly higher in study group. Total number of CuT removals and incidence of pelvic infection were significantly higher in controls. Number of women complaining of menorrhagia were more in control group and continuation rate at 6 months was higher in study group, but this difference was not statistically significant. No case of pregnancy or perforation occurred in either group.Conclusions: PPIUCD is an effective, safe, convenient, low cost and long term method of post-partum contraception

Construction of genetic linkage map of the medicinal and ornamental plant Catharanthus roseus

An integrated genetic linkage map of the medicinal and ornamental plant Catharanthus roseus, based on different types of molecular and morphological markers was constructed, using a F2 population of 144 plants. The map defines 14 linkage groups (LGs) and consists of 131 marker loci, including 125 molecular DNA markers (76 RAPD, 3 RAPD combinations; 7 ISSR; 2 EST-SSR from Medicago truncatula and 37 other PCR based DNA markers), selected from a total of 472 primers or primer pairs, and six morphological markers (stem pigmentation, leaf lamina pigmentation and shape, leaf petiole and pod size, and petal colour). The total map length is 1131.9 cM (centiMorgans), giving an average map length and distance between two markers equal to 80.9 cM and 8.6 cM, respectively. The morphological markers/genes were found linked with nearest molecular or morphological markers at distances varying from 0.7 to 11.4 cM. Linkage was observed between the morphological markers concerned with lamina shape and petiole size of leaf on LG1 and leaf, stem and petiole pigmentation and pod size on LG8. This is the first genetic linkage map of C. roseus

Nanoparticles in the environment: assessment using the causal diagram approach

Nanoparticles (NPs) cause concern for health and safety as their impact on the environment and humans is not known. Relatively few studies have investigated the toxicological and environmental effects of exposure to naturally occurring NPs (NNPs) and man-made or engineered NPs (ENPs) that are known to have a wide variety of effects once taken up into an organism

Mechanisms of Action of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Tissue Repair Regeneration and their Implications

Cell replacement therapy holds a promising future in the treatment of degenerative diseases related to neuronal, cardiac and bone tissues. In such kind of diseases, there is a progressive loss of specific types of cells. Currently the most upcoming and trusted cell candidate is Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) as these cells are easy to isolate from the tissue, easy to maintain and expand and no ethical concerns are linked. MSCs can be obtained from a number of sources like bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord, dental pulp, adipose tissues, etc. MSCs help in tissue repair and regeneration by various mechanisms of action like cell differentiation, immunomodulation, paracrine effect, etc. The future of regenerative medicine lies in tissue engineering and exploiting various properties to yield maximum output. In the current review article, we have targeted the repair and regeneration mechanisms of MSCs in neurodegenerative diseases, cardiac diseases and those related to bones. Yet there is a lot to understand, discover and then understand again about the molecular mechanisms of MSCs and then applying this knowledge in developing the therapy to get maximum repair and regeneration of concerned tissue and in turn the recovery of the patient

Clinical and epidemiological characterization of severe Plasmodium vivax malaria in Gujarat, India.

The mounting evidence supporting the capacity of Plasmodium vivax to cause severe disease has prompted the need for a better characterization of the resulting clinical complications. India is making progress with reducing malaria, but epidemics of severe vivax malaria in Gujarat, one of the main contributors to the vivax malaria burden in the country, have been reported recently and may be the result of a decrease in transmission and immune development. Over a period of one year, we enrolled severe malaria patients admitted at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, to investigate the morbidity of severe vivax malaria compared to severe falciparum malaria. Patients were submitted to standard thorough clinical and laboratory investigations and only PCR-confirmed infections were selected for the present study. Severevivax malaria (30 patients) was more frequent than severe falciparum malaria (8 patients) in our setting, and it predominantly affected adults (median age 32 years, interquartile range 22.5 years). This suggests a potential age shift in anti-malarial immunity, likely to result from the recent decrease in transmission across India. The clinical presentation of severe vivax patients was in line with previous reports, with jaundice as the most common complication. Our findings further support the need for epidemiological studies combining clinical characterization of severe vivax malaria and serological evaluation of exposure markers to monitor the impact of elimination programmes

PROTOCOL: The impact of agricultural mechanisation on women's economic empowerment: A mixed-methods systematic review

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The main objective of the review is to answer the following questions: What is the impact of mechanisation on agriculture? What is the impact of mechanisation on women's economic empowerment? The study will review the impact of mechanisation on labour demand and supply, land and labour productivity, farmers' incomes, health and women's empowerment. All literature will be considered, including nonintervention studies and studies not reporting gender-disaggregated results

PROTOCOL: Interventions promoting resilience through climate-smart agricultural practices for women farmers: A systematic review

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: the primary objective of this review is to synthesise evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to promote climate‐smart agriculture to enhance agricultural outcomes and resilience of women farmers in low‐and‐middle‐income countries (research question 1). The secondary objective is to examine evidence along the causal pathway from access to interventions to promote climate‐smart agriculture to empowering women so that they can use climate‐smart technology. And such outcomes include knowledge sharing, agency improvement, resource access and decision‐making (research question 2)

Salvation of a severely resorbed mandibular ridge with a neutral zone technique

The objective of any prosthodontic service is to restore the patient to normal function, contour, esthetics, speech, and health. An optimum denture stability is difficult to achieve in conventional complete dentures. This problem is more magnified in mandibular dentures. The design of prostheses to replace lost teeth and resorbed ridges is largely determined by the position and amount of morphological change in the denture-bearing area of the jaws. A neutral zone may be defined as the space where, during function, the forces of the lips and cheeks pressing inward neutralize the forces of the tongue pressing outward. The neutral zone concept implies acquired muscle control, especially by tongue, lips, and cheeks toward the denture stability. Advocates of the neutral zone concept agree that a lack of favorable leverage is observed when teeth are positioned directly over the ridge. By employing the neutral zone concept, the dislodging muscle energy can easily become a retentive and stabilizing force