NO₂-induced synthesis of nitrato-iron(III) porphyrin with diverse coordination mode and the formation of isoporphyrin

Two nitrato-iron(III) porphyrinates [Fe(4-Me-TPP)(NO3)] 1 and [Fe(4-OMe-TPP)(NO3)] 2 are reported. Interestingly, [Fe(4-Me-TPP)(NO3)] 1 has nitrate ion coordinated as monodentate (by single oxygen atom), while [Fe(4-OMe-TPP)(NO3)] 2 has nitrate coordination through bidentate mode. Compound 1 was found serendipitously in the reaction of [Fe(4-Me-TPP)Cl] with nitrous acid, which was performed for the synthesis of nitro-iron(III) porphyrin, [Fe(4-Me-TPP)NO2]. The compound 2 was synthesized by passing NO2 gas through a solution of [Fe(4-OMe-TPP)]2O. Upon passing NO2 gas through a solution of a μ-oxo-dimer, [Fe(4-Me-TPP)]2O also produces 1. It is interesting that in more electron-rich porphyrin 2, binding of the nitrate in a symmetrical bidentate way while in less electron-rich porphyrin 1, binding of the anion is unidentate by a terminal oxygen atom. However, it is expected that the energy difference between the monodentate and bidentate coordination mode is very small and the interchange between these coordination is possible. Upon passing NO2 gas through a solution of μ -oxo-dimeric iron(III) porphyrin, the nitrato-iron(III) porphyrin forms first, that later gets oxidized to π-cation radical to yield hydroxy-isoporphyrin in the presence of trace amount of water. These nitrato-iron(III) porphyrinates in moist air slowly converted back to their respective μ -oxo-dimeric iron(III) porphyrins

Risk factors for malaria deaths in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India: evidence for further action

BACKGROUND: In 2006, a cluster of malaria deaths in the highly endemic Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India, led to assignment of additional resources. Malaria deaths decreased, but continued to occur. A study was conducted to identify the risk factors for residual malaria deaths. METHODS: Malaria death was defined as a death from fever with microscopically confirmed Plasmodium falciparum among residents of Jalpaiguri during 2007–2008. For each case, three age-, sex- and locality-matched controls were recruited among microscopically confirmed falciparum malaria patients cured during the same period. Clinical and treatment information was abstracted from records. Information about knowledge about malaria, presence of bed nets and DDT spraying was collected through interviews of the close relatives of study subjects. Odds ratio (OR) were calculated using multivariate methods. RESULTS: 51 malaria deaths were matched with 153 controls, which did not differ by age (median: 35 versus 36 years) and proportion of males (63% versus 63%). On multiple logistic regression analysis, compared with survivors, malaria deaths were more likely to have been admitted with already existing complications [OR = 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6–10)], treated at a private facility (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 1.2–12), received treatment after 48 hours of fever onset (OR = 14, 95% CI = 2.9–64), received chloroquine (OR = 13.3, 95% CI = 3.7–47). Households of the deceased were also more likely to miss bed nets (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 1.9–24) and DDT spraying (OR = 9.2, 95% CI = 2.8–31). CONCLUSION: Elimination of malaria deaths will require education of providers for prompt referral before complications, engagement of the private sector, community awareness for early treatment as well as scaled-up use of bed nets use and DDT. Use of newer generation anti-malarials must to be generalized

Incidence, management, and reporting of severe and fatal Plasmodium falciparum malaria in secondary and tertiary health facilities of Alipurduar, India in 2009

Background & objectives: The proportion of malaria cases that are complicated and fatal are not well describedin India. Alipurduar sub-division of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal is highly endemic for malaria. We constructeda retrospective cohort of severe malaria patients admitted in the secondary and tertiary care facilities in Alipurduarto determine the incidence, assess the management, and evaluate the reporting of severe and fatal malaria.Methods: We reviewed routine surveillance data and the case records of all the malaria patients admitted in allsecondary and tertiary care facilities, both public and private. We defined severe malaria cases as Plasmodiumfalciparum infection with clinical signs and symptoms of organ involvement in a resident of Alipurduar admittedduring January to December 2009. We compared clinical and demographic characteristics of severe malariacases that died with those who survived. We also reviewed human resources and laboratory facilities availablefor the treatment of severe malaria in these health facilities.Results: During 2009, 6191 cases of P. falciparum in Alipurduar were reported to the malaria surveillancesystem. We identified 336 (5.4%) cases of severe malaria among which 33 (9.8%) patients died. Four malariadeaths were also recorded from primary health centres. Only 17 of the 37 (46%) total deaths recorded werereported to the routine surveillance system. Most severe cases were males (65%), aged >15 years (72%), andnearly half were admitted to secondary care hospitals (48%). In multivariate analysis, the risk factors associatedwith death included increased delay fever onset and hospitalization, treatment in a secondary level hospital,younger age, and multi-organ involvement. The secondary level public hospital had too few physicians andnurses for supporting severe malaria patients as well as inadequate laboratory facilities for monitoring suchpatients.Conclusions: Severe and fatal malaria continue to burden Alipurduar and record keeping in health facilities waspoor. Many malaria deaths were not routinely reported even in the public sector. Improved surveillance andincreased human and laboratory resources are needed to reduce malaria mortalit

Recombination of Protons Accelerated by a High Intensity High Contrast Laser

Short pulse, high contrast, intense laser pulses incident onto a solid target are not known to generate fast neutral atoms. Experiments carried out to study the recombination of accelerated protons show a 200 times higher neutralization than expected. Fast neutral atoms can contribute to 80% of the fast particles at 10 keV, falling rapidly for higher energy. Conventional charge transfer and electron-ion recombination in a high density plasma plume near the target is unable to explain the neutralization. We present a model based on the copropagation of electrons and ions wherein recombination far away from the target surface accounts for the experimental measurements. A novel experimental verification of the model is also presented. This study provides insights into the closely linked dynamics of ions and electrons by which neutral atom formation is enhanced

Shaped liquid drops generate MeV temperature electron beams with millijoule class laser

MeV temperature electrons are typically generated at laser intensities of 1018 W cm−2. Their generation at non-relativistic intensities (~1016 W cm−2) with high repetition rate lasers is cardinal for the realization of compact, ultra-fast electron sources. Here we report a technique of dynamic target structuring of micro-droplets using a 1 kHz, 25 fs, millijoule class laser, that uses two collinear laser pulses; the first to create a concave surface in the liquid drop and the second, to dynamically-drive electrostatic plasma waves that accelerate electrons to MeV energies. The acceleration mechanism, identified as two plasmon decay instability, is shown to generate two beams of electrons with hot electron temperature components of 200 keV and 1 MeV, respectively, at an intensity of 4 × 1016 Wcm−2, only. The electron beams are demonstrated to be ideal for single shot high resolution (tens of μm) electron radiography

Shaped liquid drops generate MeV temperature electron beams with millijoule class laser

MeV temperature electrons are typically generated at laser intensities of 1018 W cm−2. Their generation at non-relativistic intensities (~1016 W cm−2) with high repetition rate lasers is cardinal for the realization of compact, ultra-fast electron sources. Here we report a technique of dynamic target structuring of micro-droplets using a 1 kHz, 25 fs, millijoule class laser, that uses two collinear laser pulses; the first to create a concave surface in the liquid drop and the second, to dynamically-drive electrostatic plasma waves that accelerate electrons to MeV energies. The acceleration mechanism, identified as two plasmon decay instability, is shown to generate two beams of electrons with hot electron temperature components of 200 keV and 1 MeV, respectively, at an intensity of 4 × 1016 Wcm−2, only. The electron beams are demonstrated to be ideal for single shot high resolution (tens of μm) electron radiography

Feasibility of supervised self-testing using an oral fluid-based HIV rapid testing method:a cross-sectional, mixed method study among pregnant women in rural India

Introduction: HIV self-testing can increase coverage of essential HIV services. This study aimed to establish the acceptability, concordance and feasibility of supervised HIV self-testing among pregnant women in rural India. Methods: A cross-sectional, mixed methods study was conducted among 202 consenting pregnant women in a rural Indian hospital between August 2014 and January 2015. Participants were provided with instructions on how to self-test using OraQuick® HIV antibody test, and subsequently asked to self-test under supervision of a community health worker. Test results were confirmed at a government-run integrated counselling and testing centre. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on patient demographics and the ease, acceptability and difficulties of self-testing. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 35 participants to understand their experiences. Results: In total, 202 participants performed the non-invasive, oral fluid-based, rapid test under supervision for HIV screening. Acceptance rate was 100%. Motivators for self-testing included: ease of testing (43.4%), quick results (27.3%) and non-invasive procedure (23.2%). Sensitivity and specificity were 100% for 201 tests, and one test was invalid. Concordance of test result interpretation between community health workers and participants was 98.5% with a Cohen’s Kappa (k) value of k=0.566 with p<0.001 for inter-rater agreement. Although 92.6% participants reported that the instructions for the test were easy to understand, 18.7% required the assistance of a supervisor to self-test. Major themes that emerged from the qualitative interviews indicated the importance of the following factors in influencing acceptability of self-testing: clarity and accessibility of test instructions; time-efficiency and convenience of testing; non-invasiveness of the test; and fear of incorrect results. Overall, 96.5% of the participants recommended that the OraQuick® test kits should become publicly available. Conclusions: Self-testing for HIV status using an oral fluid-based rapid test under the supervision of a community health worker was acceptable and feasible among pregnant women in rural India. Participants were supportive of making self-testing publicly available. Policy guidelines and implementation research are required to advance HIV self-testing for larger populations at scale

HIV-1 Inhibits Autophagy in Bystander Macrophage/Monocytic Cells through Src-Akt and STAT3

Autophagy is a homeostatic mechanism of lysosomal degradation. Defective autophagy has been linked to various disorders such as impaired control of pathogens and neurodegeneration. Autophagy is regulated by a complex array of signaling pathways that act upstream of autophagy proteins. Little is known about the role of altered regulatory signaling in disorders associated with defective autophagy. In particular, it is not known if pathogens inhibit autophagy by modulation of upstream regulatory pathways. Cells infected with HIV-1 blocked rapamycin-induced autophagy and CD40-induced autophagic killing of Toxoplasma gondii in bystander (non-HIV-1 infected) macrophage/monocytic cells. Blockade of autophagy was dependent on Src-Akt and STAT3 triggered by HIV-1 Tat and IL-10. Neutralization of the upstream receptors VEGFR, β-integrin or CXCR4, as well as of HIV-1 Tat or IL-10 restored autophagy in macrophage/monocytic cells exposed to HIV-1-infected cells. Defective autophagic killing of T. gondii was detected in monocyte-derived macrophages from a subset of HIV-1+ patients. This defect was also reverted by neutralization of Tat or IL-10. These studies revealed that a pathogen can impair autophagy in non-infected cells by activating counter-regulatory pathways. The fact that pharmacologic manipulation of cell signaling restored autophagy in cells exposed to HIV-1-infected cells raises the possibility of therapeutic manipulation of cell signaling to restore autophagy in HIV-1 infection

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe