Association of iron deficiency states and febrile seizures in children-a case control study

Background: Iron deficiency being a potentially modifiable and treatable cause of febrile seizures.  Objectives of Study was to identify Iron Deficient States or Anemia in children with febrile seizures as evidenced by low hemoglobin, altered RBC indices and altered Iron profile, and to determine the association of Iron deficiency states or anemia with febrile seizures.Methods: This was a Case control study done between July 2013 to June 2014, on 50 indoor cases of febrile seizures in the age group of 6-60 months and 50 age and sex matched controls (fever without seizure) in department of Paediatrics, Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackrey Medical College (HBTMC) and Dr R.N. Cooper Hospital, Mumbai. Detailed clinical history and examination findings were noted.  Cases and control were investigated with complete blood count, RBC indices, peripheral smear, S. Ferritin, S. Iron and TIBC. SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. P<0.05 was considered as significant.Results: 74% of cases and 66% of controls had low hemoglobin. MCV was low in 54% of cases and 34% of controls. RDW was raised in 46% of cases and 26% of controls. Iron deficiency anemia was prevalent among both cases and controls. Latent iron deficiency state suggested by low S. Iron and high TIBC in cases and control group was not significant in our study. However statistically significant lower Median S. Ferritin was noted in the febrile seizure group versus the controls (Cases-153.5, Control-173.0, p=0.0195) suggesting significant prevalence of prelatent iron deficiency state among cases.Conclusions: Prelatent iron deficient state in children are more prone for febrile seizures

Study of perinatal outcome of labour complicated with meconium stained liquor

Background: Meconium stained amniotic fluid occurs in 9 to 20% of deliveries. It has long been implicated as a factor influencing foetal wellbeing during the intrapartum and postpartum period. Many authors have suggested that the type and the time of passage of meconium are most significant factors affecting foetal outcome. This study was carried out to find out the effect of meconium stained liquor during labour and its perinatal outcome.Methods: This prospective cross sectional and comparative study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital over a period of 1 year. The study group comprised of 118 women having MSAF during labour and the comparative group of 118 women with clear amniotic fluid which were randomly selected. The demographic data, obstetrical history, intrapartum findings and Apgar score were documented on predesigned proforma. Data collected was analysed using student t-test, chi square test, Z test for comparison of proportions and coefficient of variation for comparison of consistency of distributions.Results: Out of 1192 cases studied 118 cases showed presence of meconium stained liquor (9.89%). Caesarean section was performed in 41.52% cases with meconium stained liquor versus 31.35% in clear liquor group. Apgar score at 1 minute was significantly lower in meconium stained liquor (p0.05).Conclusions: Meconium staining is a commonly observed phenomenon. labour complicated with thick meconium stained liquor should ideally be categorised in to high risk obstetrics and managed in tertiary care with consultant obstetrician, consultant neonatologist and NICU in order to improve the perinatal outcome

Narcotic Drug Detection and Identification through Synchronous Fluorescence Technique

Illegal production of potentially hazardous narcotics as well as various psychotropic drugs is being carried out in the neighbouring countries and international market which is causing narco-terrorism a global havoc. Compared with traditional/natural drugs the synthetic drugs are more smuggled nowadays. Because of the vulnerability of the borders to drug trafficking, India has increased surveillance at borders and coasts and thus has tackled the problem to some extent. Authors developing a Narcotic drug sensor (point sensor) for detection and identification of Narcotic drugs based on Laser Induced Fluorescence more specifically Synchronous Fluorescence Spectroscopy in an effort. Some narcotic samples viz. Caffeine, Quinine and Tramadol were considered for the study. The fluorescence spectrum was studied using our own laboratory-based sensor incorporating charge coupled device-based Spectrometer and Laser source (266 nm wavelength) and commercial system from ‘Horiba Scientific’ incorporating Photomultiplier tube and Xe lamp source

PRESCRIPTION PATTERN ANALYSIS OF NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the prescription pattern of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and to identify the commonly used NSAIDs and their drug-related problems (DRPs). Methods: A prospective and cross-sectional study on prescription pattern analysis of NSAIDs was conducted for the period of 6 months. Results: Prescriptions of 150 patients containing at least one NSAIDs were analyzed. About 56% of the prescription were prescribed for males and 44% prescription were female. NSAIDs were more prescribed for below 60-year age group (47%) but were most frequently used by 61–70-year age group (21%). Subjects were regularly prescribed with acetaminophen (95%) and diclofenac (22%). Among all the prescriptions, (19%) of the prescriptions contained NSAIDs in the form of fixed dose combinations (FDCs). About 37% of prescriptions had other analgesic coprescribed along with NSAIDs amid which tramadol was in majority (22%). Prescription was also coprescribed with antibiotic (90%) and gastroprotective agents (GPAs) (97%) that consisted of pantoprazole belonging to the class of proton pump inhibitors which was the persistently prescribed GPA (86%). Due to coprescription, (3%) suspected drug-drug interactions (DDIs) were observed. Conclusion: The goal of studying prescribing patterns was to monitor, assess, and, if required, advise changes in medical practitioners’ prescribing behavior to offer quality medical treatment and reasonable drug use. The prescribing pattern was rational and in accordance with national list of essential medicine (NLEM-2015) but was not in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) model list of essential medicines

A GIS based Screening Tool for Locating and Ranking of Suitable Stormwater Harvesting Sites in Urban Areas

There is the need to re-configure current urban water systems to achieve the objective of sustainable water sensitive cities. Stormwater represents a valuable alternative urban water source to reduce pressure on fresh water resources, and to mitigate the environmental impact of urban stormwater runoff. The selection of suitable urban stormwater harvesting sites is generally based on the judgement of water planners, who are faced with the challenge of considering multiple technical and socio-economic factors that influence the site suitability. To address this challenge, the present study developed a robust GIS based screening methodology for identifying potentially suitable stormwater harvesting sites in urban areas as a first pass for then more detailed investigation. The study initially evaluated suitability based on the match between harvestable runoff and demand through a concept of accumulated catchments. Drainage outlets of these accumulated catchments were considered as potential stormwater harvesting sites. These sites were screened and ranked under screening parameters namely demand, ratio of runoff to demand and weighted demand distance. The methodology described in this paper was successfully applied to a case study in Melbourne, Australia in collaboration with the local water utility. The methodology was found to be effective in supporting the selection of priority sites for stormwater harvesting schemes, as it provided the basis to identify, short-list and rank sites for further detailed investigation. The rapid identification of suitable sites for stormwater harvesting can assist planners in prioritising schemes in areas that will have the most impact on reducing potable water demand. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Action Based Object Tracking in Video Sequences

In this paper, we propose a valuable route for visual object tracker which catches a bounding box to zone of premium physically in the video frames by recognizing the activity got the hang of utilizing the convolution neural systems. The proposed convolution neural network used to control tracking actions is done with various training video sequences and fine-tuned during the actual tracking of the object. Pretrain of the video is done using deep reinforcement learning (RL) along with the supervised learning. Mostly named information from the RL can be utilized for semi supervised learning and assessing through object tracking benchmark dataset, the proposed tracker is confirmed to accomplish a good performance. The proposed method, which operates in real time on without graphics processing unit, outperforms the state of real time trackers with proper accuracy with performance 10%

Antitumor lectin Sclerotium rolfsii (SRL) induces apoptosis in human colon cancer cells by activation of multiple signaling pathways; A microarray analysis

Background: TF antigen specific Sclerotium rolfsii lectin (SRL) inhibits human colon epithelial cancer HT29 cell growth by induction of apoptosis through cell surface binding and has tumor suppressing effect in vivo as reported earlier. Here we report the purification, identification and characterization of SRL binding membrane proteins from HT29 cells. Methods and Findings: Membrane proteins from HT29 cells were isolated by phase separation and purified by affinity chromatography using SRL-Sepharose4B matrix. Affinity purified proteins were subjected to in-gel and in-solution trypsin digestion, analysed by ESI-Q-TOF LC-MS and spectrum mill software. Considering the specificity of SRL towards O-glycans, the presence of O-GalNAc sites in SRL interacting proteins were tested using NetOGlyc software. Western blotting was performed to validate the MS identified proteins. A major protein band around 25kDa following in-gel trypsin digestion was identified as Keratin 1 by MS. In-solution trypsin digestion followed by MS identified 25 SRL interacting proteins namely, keratins, heat shock proteins, tubulins, pyruvate kinase M1/M2, peroxiredoxin-1, ATP synthase subunit alpha, mitochondrial, retinal dehydrogenase 1, actin, annexin-A2, prohibitin, ADP/ATP translocase-2 and alpha enolase. NetOGlyc software analysis revealed 21 proteins positive for O-glycosylation sites including keratins alone containing 27 to 50 O-GalNAc sites. Keratin 1 identified and validated by western blotting as major SRL interacting protein showed 49 O-GalNAc sites. Conclusion: SRL binding membrane proteins from human colon epithelial cancer HT29 cells have been identified and characterized. Identified proteins contain O-GalNAc sites and are known to be involved in cell survival, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. The present study provides insights in studying the mechanism of SRL induced apoptosis and to explore lectin for its clinical implications. Key words: Sclerotium rolfsii lectin; HT29 cell membrane proteins; NetOGlyc version 4.0; Q-TOF-LC/MS; Spectrum Mill. Abbreviations: SRL: Sclerotium rolfsii lectin; LC/MS: Liquid chromatography/Mass spectrometry; ESI: Electro Spray Ionization; Q-TOF: Quadrupole- Time of Flight; PTM: Post Translational Modification; ACN: Acetonitrile; CBB: Coomassie Brilliant Blue; BSA: Bovine Serum Albumin

Influence of ACE inhibitors on the ECG of acute renal hypertension induced rats

The present study was designed to assess the influence of ACE inhibitors on the electrocardiograph of acute renal hypertensive rats. Acute Renal Hypertension (ARH) was induced in healthy Wistar male rats by clamping/occluding the left renal artery for 4 h. The ECG of the control (normotensive), sham-Operated, hypertensive and ARH Induced rats, treated with ramipril (2.5 mg/kg b.w. p.o) and captopril (4 mg/kg b.w. p.o.) were recorded using the computerized ECG recording system (NIVIQURE). The RR intervals in hypertensive rats were increased significantly when compared to control group. Ramipril increased the RR interval significantly (P < 0.001). However, captopril did not show statistically significant decrease in RR interval. The amplitude of the QRS complex in the hypertensive group was increased when compared to control group. There was a significant decrease in the amplitude of the QRS complex with ramipril and captopril (P < 0.001) treated ARH rats, when compared with hypertensive group. Blockade of the RAAS system is highly effective in preventing both hypertension and changes in the generation of impulse in the pacemaker and its conduction of the cardiac impulses, which is attributed by the deflections of ECG: P, QRS and T waves.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Purification and Characterization of a Mitogenic Lectin from Cephalosporium, a Pathogenic Fungus Causing Mycotic Keratitis

Ophthalmic mycoses caused by infectious fungi are being recognized as a serious concern since they lead to total blindness. Cephalosporium is one amongst several opportunistic fungal species implicated in ophthalmic infections leading to mycotic keratitis. A mitogenic lectin has been purified from the mycelia of fungus Cephalosporium, isolated from the corneal smears of a keratitis patient. Cephalosporium lectin (CSL) is a tetramer with subunit mass of 14 kDa, agglutinates human A, B, and O erythrocytes, and exhibits high affinity for mucin compared to fetuin and asialofetuin but does not bind to simple sugars indicating its complex sugar specificity. CSL showed strong binding to normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to elicit mitogenic activity. The sugar specificity of the lectin and its interaction with PBMCs to exhibit mitogenic effect indicate its possible role in adhesion and infection process of Cephalosporium