An Approach towards Measurement of Color Shifting in Misregistration Print Defect using Euclidean and Manhattan Distance Metrics

Misregistration print defect occurs during offset printing affects the visual appearance of printed image. Registration refers to the proper superimposition of colors whereas improper alignment or shifting of colors is resulted as blurred image. Generally registration marks is used in printed sheet to detect this kind of print problem manually. In the presented study a computer vision technique is applied to detect and quantify the problem. Euclidean distance and Manhattan distance measurement method is applied for quantification of color shifting. Therefore this presented study is a novel approach in printing industry which can be a substitute of the usual human perception based method. &nbsp

Analysis of SQL Injection Attack

SQL injection attacks are a serious security threat to Web applications. They allow attackers to obtain unrestricted access to the databases underlying the applications and to the potentially sensitive information these database contain. Various researchers and practitioners have proposed various methods to address the SQL injection problem. To address this problem, we present an extensive review of the various types of SQL injection attacks known to date. For each type of attack, we provide descriptions and examples of how attacks of that type could be performed. We also present a methodology to prevent SQL injection attacks. It concentrates on the SQL queries and SQL stored procedure where input parameters are injected by the attacker. After a rigorous input validation with our proposed SQL security model will ensure input validation

Nanotechnology in snake venom research—an overview

707-715Nanotechnology has revolutionized the paradigm of today’s upcoming biological sciences through its applications in the field of biomedical research. One such promising aspect is by interfacing this modern technology with snake venom research. Snake venom is a valuable resource of bioactive molecules, which has shown efficient and promising contributions in biomedical research. The potentiality of merging these two unique fields lies in the approach of interfacing active bioactive molecules derived from snake venoms, which would yield better therapeutic molecules for future applications in terms of drug delivery, enhanced stability, reduced toxicity, bioavailability and targeted drug delivery. Available literature on nanoconjugation of snake venom bioactive molecules have suggest that these molecules have better therapeutic advantage in several fields of biomedical research viz., arthritis, cancer, etc. Another perspective in snake venom research could be green synthesis or herbal based synthesis of nanoparticles, which has shown enhanced effect in snake venom neutralizing capacity. Therefore, in terms of snake venom therapeutic potential and development of snake venom antidote, nanotechnology is a prodigious tool to be taken into serious consideration by the researchers. In this review, a comprehensive overview has been given on bridging nanoparticles with active biomolecules derived from snake venoms/herbs, current scientific evidences and records in this field, present trends and developments in nanotechnology in venom research along with future prospects in this arena. This may open new domains in snake venom research using nanotechnology in the near future

Anxiety and stress at different stages of treatment in women undergoing In vitro fertilization–intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Aim: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the state anxiety (the present state of mind), trait anxiety (general anxiety), as well as perceived stress in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment at three stages: T1 (on the day of start of stimulation), T2 (on the day of embryo transfer), and T3 (10 days after embryo transfer). The data at T3 level were collected telephonically. Methodology: The present study was carried out on 137 women undergoing IVF intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle at four different clinics of four cities from October to April 2016. State-trait anxiety inventory (Spielberger) and perceived stress scale (Okun, et al.) were used as the tools. Statistical Analysis: The analysis was done at two levels; descriptive and inferential (analysis of variance [ANOVA], Student's t-test, Levene's test) using SPSS v16. Results: The state anxiety was higher at all the three levels than trait anxiety. The overt anxiety was highest at T3 level (mean = 45.77) followed by T1 level (mean = 44.23) and T2 level (mean = 43.04). Perceived stress was elevated at T1 level (mean = 17.93) followed by T3 level (mean = 17.28) and T2 level (mean = 16.72). The results of ANOVA showed a significant difference in anxiety among all the three levels (P = 0.036), but no significant difference was found for perceived stress (P = 0.169). t-test revealed that there was a significant difference between state and trait anxiety at T1, T2, and T3 levels (P = 0.01, P = 0.21, P = 0.00, respectively). A significant difference was only seen between the T1 and T2 levels in perceived stress (P = 0.052). In state anxiety, a significant difference was observed only between T2 and T3 levels (P = 0.23). Conclusion: It was observed that anxiety and stress are present in women throughout the treatment. The waiting period (T3) is the most anxious for them and their level of state anxiety is higher compared to their trait anxiety. Perceived stress is observed to be more on the day of start of stimulation followed by the waiting period

Immune responses in kala-azar

Human infection with Leishmania results in diverse clinical and immunopathological situations. The capacity of the parasites to cause this wide range of disease manifestations depends upon their ability to evade the immune defense mechanisms by performing a well-tuned orchestra of hostparasite interactions inside the macrophages. While updated knowledge focus on the key role of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in protection, the survival strategies of the parasites leads to the suppression of CMI which can further be aggravated by the co-infections with HIV, tuberculosis etc. The present review describes the immune mechanisms in human leishmaniasis with a special attention to visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar, one of the most important epidemiological health problems in Indian subcontinent. Modulations of the both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses during asymptomatic infections, active disease and after successful chemotherapy are discussed. The components responsible for the regulation of the critical balance of Th1/Th2 type of responses are re-evaluated. Co-infection of HIV and visceral leishmaniasis and their interdependence has been addressed. Although the specific role of an elevated humoral response in kala-azar is yet to be established, attempts for its application in diagnosis, precisely for the development of field diagnostic techniques, are presented. Also discussed are attempts to utilize the immunogenic potentials of different leishmanial antigens in the development of anti-leishmanial vaccines

Characterization of treatment-naive HIV/HBV co-infected patients attending ART clinic of a tertiary healthcare centre in eastern India.

OBJECTIVE: The study was designed to assess the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection scenario among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients attending a tertiary healthcare unit in eastern India. Additionally, clinical and virological characterization of these viruses, prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation was also done for better understanding of the disease profile. METHODS: Pool of ART-naive HIV/HBV co-infected and HIV mono-infected patients, participating in two different studies, were included in this study. HBV DNA was detected by nested-PCR amplification followed by HBV genotype determination and HBV reverse transcriptase (RT) region amplification and direct sequencing for detecting drug resistance. RESULTS: The prevalence of HBsAg (11.3%) was higher compared to anti-HCV (1.9%) among the HIV infected ART-naive patients. Moreover, majority of the HBeAg positive HIV/HBV co-infected patients (87.7%) had HBV DNA ≥20,000 IU/ml with median HBV DNA significantly higher than that of HBeAg negative subjects (5.7 log10 IU/ml vs. 4.2 log10 IU/ml; p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis also showed that HBeAg-positive status was independently associated with higher HBV DNA level (p = <0.001). Notably, 60.9% of the HBeAg negative co-infected subjects had HBV DNA ≥2,000 IU/ml of which 37.0% had HBV DNA ≥20,000 IU/ml. Genotype HBV/D (68.2%) was the predominant genotype followed by HBV/A (24.3%) and HBV/C (7.5%). Anti-HBV drug resistant mutations were detected in two (3.8%) of the ART-naive patients. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HIV/HBV co-infection was relatively higher in our study subjects. HBeAg testing might provide clue for early treatment initiation. Furthermore, HBeAg negative patients are also associated with high HBV DNA levels and therefore require appropriate medical attention. Pre-treatment screening for anti-HBV drug resistant mutations is not necessary before ART initiation

Mutations in the Basal Core Promoter/PreCore and the Core regions of the HBV Genome.

<p>(A) The frequency of the major mutations found in the BCP/precore region of the HBV strains circulating among the treatment naive HIV infected cohort of eastern India are presented here. The frequency of the G1896A precore mutation was higher compared to the BCP double mutations in our settings with majority of the strains harboring the C1858T mutation. (B) The frequencies of the amino acid mutations found in the immune-active regions of the core gene are shown. The major mutations in the MHC class I restricted (amino acids 18–27, 88–96, 130–140, 141–151) and MHC class II-restricted (amino acids 1–20, 50–69, 81–105, 117–131, 141–165) T-cell epitopes of core antigen includes the V27I and T12S respectively.</p