EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONING AND STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF HEMOVIGILANCE PROGRAM OF INDIA IN THE BLOOD BANKS OF SOUTHERN KERALA

 Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the functioning and status of implementation of hemovigilance program of India (HvPI) in the blood banks of southern Kerala.Methods: It was a survey approach to analyze the facilities, working nature, and status of implementation of hemovigilance program by the blood banks located in the three districts of southern Kerala. Both goevrnment and private sector blood banks were subjected to the survey. Standard pro forma was used to collect the data. Collected data were analyzed by percentages and ratios.Results: A total of 40 blood banks were covered in the study. All the blood banks were licensed for handling whole blood. 23 blood banks were licensed for handling blood components. 6 blood banks process 100% blood into components. Majority of blood banks have excellent demand for components. Packed red cells, platelet concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were the significant components among the prepared components. Majority of the blood banks under the survey had hospital transfusion committee (HTC). 25 blood banks replied as the HvPI is an excellent/good system. However, only 11 blood banks were enrolled in the HvPI. Training programs for the resident doctors and nurses regarding with adverse transfusion reaction and their reporting were not conducted by 17 blood banks.Conclusion: Except very few blood banks, all are need more awareness and training programs. Attention should be given in the area such as underreporting, poor implementation of hemovigilance, only serious reactions reporting, and avoiding minor reactions. Core factor is proper functioning of HTC and awareness programs about hemovigilance system

Lack of Wdr13 Gene in Mice Leads to Enhanced Pancreatic Beta Cell Proliferation, Hyperinsulinemia and Mild Obesity

WD-repeat proteins are very diverse, yet these are structurally related proteins that participate in a wide range of cellular functions. WDR13, a member of this family, is conserved from fishes to humans and localizes into the nucleus. To understand the in vivo function(s) of Wdr13 gene, we have created and characterized a mutant mouse strain lacking this gene. The mutant mice had higher serum insulin levels and increased pancreatic islet mass as a result of enhanced beta cell proliferation. While a known cell cycle inhibitor, p21, was downregulated in the mutant islets, over expression of WDR13 in the pancreatic beta cell line (MIN6) resulted in upregulation of p21, accompanied by retardation of cell proliferation. We suggest that WDR13 is a novel negative regulator of the pancreatic beta cell proliferation. Given the higher insulin levels and better glucose clearance in Wdr13 gene deficient mice, we propose that this protein may be a potential candidate drug target for ameliorating impaired glucose metabolism in diabetes

Incremental value of 68-gallium-prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with abnormal prostate-specific antigen and benign transrectal ultrasound biopsy

Introduction: Bladder outlet obstruction due to prostate enlargement is a common health problem in male and frequently investigated with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). TRUS-guided biopsy is critical to differentiate benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or prostate cancer (PCa) even though it has been associated with false negative with reported 3%–16% incidence of PCa in BPH specimens. Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT), a targeted molecular imaging for PCa, has showed promising results in recurrence and staging. We analyzed its role in patients with abnormal PSA and benign TRUS biopsy. Material and Methods: Of 558 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT performed from July 2014 to February 2017, we found six patients with abnormal PSA (range 8.2–24.2 ng/ml, median: 13.3 ng/ml) with benign 12 cores TRUS biopsy as indication. These cases were reanalyzed in detail. Spearman's rank test was used entire correlation using SPSS version 21. Results: 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT showed mild diffuse tracer uptake in prostate in all patients with no focality and maximum standard uptake value normalized to body weight (SUVmax) range was 3.2-5.8 (median: 3.9). Two patients with PSA 10 ng/ml, two showed metastatic disease in pelvic lymph node in both and in lung in one; hence, 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT changed these patients' management. Spearman's rank test showed no correlation with baseline PSA and SUVmaxof prostate (rs −0.0287, P = 0.9571) while strong positive correlation was seen with baseline PSA and 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan positivity for extraprostatic disease (rs = 0.828, P = 0.042). Conclusions: 68Ga-PSMA whole-body PET/CT can provide useful incremental information in patient with high PSA and negative TRUS biopsy and has a potential to guide management in this subgroup of PCa patients

Reactivities of some sugar phosphates towards permanganate in perchloric acid medium and mechanism of the oxidation processes

427-430The reactivities of some sugar phosphates towards permanganate have been examined in perchloric acid medium. The reactions are first order in [sugar phosphate] and [MnO] The rate increases with increase in [H+]. The reactivities follow the order: erythrose 4-phosphate > ribose 5-phosphate > fructose 1,6-diphosphate > glucose 6-phosphate > glucose 1-phosphate. The mechanism of the reactions is discussed

Reverse leakage mechanisms of liquid metal contacts onto II–VI group semiconductor (Ga/p-WSe

The reverse leakage current mechanisms of Schottky diodes prepared using liquid gallium on as-grown and cleaved tungsten diselenide surfaces were investigated by current-voltage method for the first time. The major leakage mechanism has been identified as tunneling current along with a small contribution of thermionic emission current. The leakage tunneling current is found to be predominant in uncleaved diode compared to that in cleaved one. This is related to the magnitude of interface state density and interfacial inhomogeneities. The inhomogeneous nature of the interface of the fabricated diodes is ascribed to be the reason behind its soft reverse characteristics

Bioinformatics tools for genomic and evolutionary analysis of infectious agents

Genome sequence analysis of infectious agents (IAs) reveals many secrets about their life processes and evolutionary history. Increasing the huge amount of genomic sequence data of various IAs in different biological sequence databases, which are being produced through different sequencing projects, is continuously motivating the genome researchers to unlock the mysteries related to the life of IAs. Furthermore, that information may be helpful for treating the serious illness problem caused by IAs. However, all the genome analysis work requires a good knowledge of bioinformatics tools that may be useful for genome researchers to extract the meaningful and accurate information from the genome sequence data of IAs. In this article, the most recent bioinformatics tools for the genomic and evolutionary analysis of infectious agents have been discussed and compared in detail which will help the genome researchers to select the most appropriate tool for genomic and evolutionary analysis of IAs

Li+ co-doping induced phase transition as an efficient strategy to enhance upconversion of La2Zr2O7:Er,Yb nanoparticles

The structural phase transition of materials is one of the most active research areas of solid state and materials chemistry in which atomic rearrangements tune fundamental pysochemical properties during the transition. In most cases, such transition requires high temperature, high pressure, or chemical doping. However, phase transition of complex metal oxides such as La2Zr2O7 has not been studied to enhance the upconversion (UC) and downconversion luminescence of their rare-earth doped nanoparticles (NPs) to meet the demand of their broad applications in solar cells, bioimaging, water purification, etc. In this work, we have successfully co-doped Li+ into La2Zr2O7:Er,Yb NPs to achieve phase transition from ideal ordered pyrochlore (OP) to disordered fluorite (DF) structure. We have confirmed this phase transition to endow UC enhancement from these NPs under 980 nm excitation. Specifically, the UC enhancement of the green and red emissions are 14- and 18-fold, respectively. Meanwhile, DFT calculations indicated that the position of Li atoms with respect to Er doping plays a decisive role in dictating the relative stability of DF and OP structures. To sum, it is expected that the idea provided in this work by realizing and understanding doping induced phase transition to enhance down/upconversion luminescence of NPs can be extended to other metal oxide systems

Multiple strain infection of Mycobacterium leprae in a family having 4 patients: A study employing short tandem repeats.

BackgroundLeprosy is a slow, chronic disorder caused by Mycobacterium leprae. India has achieved elimination of leprosy in December 2005 but new cases are being detected and continue to occur in some endemic pockets. The possible ways of transmission of leprosy is not fully understood and is believed that leprosy is transmitted from person to person in long term contact. Studying the transmission dynamics is further complicated by inability to grow M. leprae in culture medium and lack of animal models. More than one family members were found to be affected by leprosy in some highly endemic pockets. This study reported the transmission pattern of leprosy in a family having 4 patients.Methodology/principal findingsWe investigated the transmission of leprosy in a single family having 4 patients using microsatellite typing. DNA was isolated from slit skin smear samples taken from the patients and the isolated DNA were amplified using microsatellite loci TA11CA3. The amplified products were sequenced using Sanger's sequencing methods and the copy number variation in the microsatellite loci between strains were elucidated by multiple sequence alignment. The result showed that all the 4 members of the family acquired infection from 3 different strains of M. leprae from 3 different sources. The elder and middle daughters were infected by same types of strains having the repeat unit TA13CA3 and could have acquired the infection from social contacts of leprosy cases while the father and younger daughter were infected by strains with the repeat unit TA12CA3 and TA11CA3 and could have acquired infection from social contacts.Conclusions/significanceThe study suggested that three family members viz, elder daughter, father and younger daughter could be infected by M. leprae from 3 different sources and the history of the disease and genetic analysis showed that the middle daughter acquired infection from her elder sister in due course of contact. This study implies that the transmission of leprosy not only occurred amongst the house hold members but also has been transmitted from social and neighborhood contacts in long term association with the them