Biological evaluation of a novel nitroimidazooxazole derivative, IIIM-MCD-019 against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its in vivo efficacy

Dysphagia, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies, weight loss and dehydration, represents a risk factor for aspiration pneumonia. Although clinical studies have reported the occurrence of dysphagia in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), type 3 (SCA3), type 6 (SCA6) and type 7 (SCA7), there are neither detailed clinical records concerning the kind of ingestive malfunctions which contribute to dysphagia nor systematic pathoanatomical studies of brainstem regions involved in the ingestive process. In the present study we performed a systematic post mortem study on thick serial tissue sections through the ingestion-related brainstem nuclei of 12 dysphagic patients who suffered from clinically diagnosed and genetically confirmed spinocerebellar ataxias assigned to the CAG-repeat or polyglutamine diseases (two SCA2, seven SCA3, one SCA6 and two SCA7 patients) and evaluated their medical records. Upon pathoanatomical examination in all of the SCA2, SCA3, SCA6 and SCA7 patients, a widespread neurodegeneration of the brainstem nuclei involved in the ingestive process was found. The clinical records revealed that all of the SCA patients were diagnosed with progressive dysphagia and showed dysfunctions detrimental to the preparatory phase of the ingestive process, as well as the lingual, pharyngeal and oesophageal phases of swallowing. The vast majority of the SCA patients suffered from aspiration pneumonia, which was the most frequent cause of death in our sample. The findings of the present study suggest (i) that dysphagia in SCA2, SCA3, SCA6 and SCA7 patients may be associated with widespread neurodegeneration of ingestion-related brainstem nuclei; (ii) that dysphagic SCA2, SCA3, SCA6 and SCA7 patients may suffer from dysfunctions detrimental to all phases of the ingestive process; and (iii) that rehabilitative swallow therapy which takes specific functional consequences of the underlying brainstem lesions into account might be helpful in preventing aspiration pneumonia, weight loss and dehydration in SCA2, SCA3, SCA6 and SCA7 patients

Big Data Analytics for Wireless and Wired Network Design: A Survey

Currently, the world is witnessing a mounting avalanche of data due to the increasing number of mobile network subscribers, Internet websites, and online services. This trend is continuing to develop in a quick and diverse manner in the form of big data. Big data analytics can process large amounts of raw data and extract useful, smaller-sized information, which can be used by different parties to make reliable decisions. In this paper, we conduct a survey on the role that big data analytics can play in the design of data communication networks. Integrating the latest advances that employ big data analytics with the networks’ control/traffic layers might be the best way to build robust data communication networks with refined performance and intelligent features. First, the survey starts with the introduction of the big data basic concepts, framework, and characteristics. Second, we illustrate the main network design cycle employing big data analytics. This cycle represents the umbrella concept that unifies the surveyed topics. Third, there is a detailed review of the current academic and industrial efforts toward network design using big data analytics. Forth, we identify the challenges confronting the utilization of big data analytics in network design. Finally, we highlight several future research directions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey that addresses the use of big data analytics techniques for the design of a broad range of networks

Range extension of the Macroglossum pyrrhosticta Butler, 1875, in Northwestern India (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

<During a faunistic survey of Lepidoptera in Sasni (27.7063º N, 78.0823º E; 181 m), Uttar Pradesh, a specimen of Macroglossum pyrrhosticta Butler, 1875, was collected and thus the species reported for the first time from the Gangetic Plains Biogeographic Zone of India, as well as North-West India as a whole. Details of the known larval host plants of M. pyrrhosticta are also provided, together with a checklist of the Indian species of genus Macroglossum Scopoli, 1777.This is an open access article, available to all readers online, published under a creative commons licensing (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The attached file is the submitted version of the article

Increased conjunctival expression of PAR-2 in seasonal allergic conjunctivitis: a role for abnormal conjunctival epithelial permeability in disease pathogenesis?

Purpose: aeroallergen exposure to the conjunctival epithelium in seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) may induce a cellular stress response that disrupts the barrier properties of the conjunctival epithelium resulting in allergic disease. Whether such changes occur in SAC is not known. Epithelial permeability is known to be increased when protease activated receptor 2 (PAR-2) is activated. We evaluated the expression of PAR-2 in patients with SAC in season (SACS) and compared them to control non-atopic subjects or those with out of season allergic conjunctivitis (OSAC).Methods: 6 SACS, 8 normal and 4 OSAC specimens were examined immunohistochemically for PAR-2 and quantified in a masked fashion for the percentage of epithelia stained for each marker using Image-J software. Conjunctival epithelial heights were measured in all groups to confirm the presence of allergic eye disease.Results: mean percentage staining of PAR-2 was significantly greater in SACS when compared to normals (73.4+15.4 % Vs 32.8 +30.0 %,P= 0.038) or in OSAC (73.4+15.4 % Vs 1.4+2.2 %, P=0.01). Mean conjunctival epithelial heights were significantly raised in SACS (63.8+9.0 µm) vs controls (44.7+11.2 µm) (P=0.003,unpaired-t-test).Conclusions: conjunctival epithelial PAR-2 is significantly up-regulated in SAC. This supports the view that disruption of the barrier properties of the conjunctival epithelium is an important event in the pathogenesis of SAC. <br/

Endothelial keratoplasty: is Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty the Holy Grail of lamellar surgery? No

Posterior lamellar surgery has transformed the management of corneal endothelial disease due to faster visual rehabilitation, minimal refractive change, and maintenance of the ocular structural integrity compared full thickness keratoplasty. Although Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) appears to offer an anatomical repair for endothelial pathology, replacing only endothelium and Descemet’s membrane without any posterior stroma,1 it has yet to supersede Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) and its variations; ultrathin Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (UT-DSAEK),2,3 thin manual Descemet stripping keratoplasty (TMDSEK),4 and pre-Descemet’s endothelial keratoplasty (PDEK)5 as the mainstay the treatment of Fuchs endothelial dystrophy or bullous keratopathy. The main reason for this is that DMEK is technically more challenging, requiring prolonged surgical time, associated with a steeper learning curve and possibly more potential complications.6,7<br/