u-BeepBeep: Low Energy Acoustic Ranging on Mobile Devices

We present u-BeepBeep: a low energy acoustic ranging ser- vice for mobile phones. -BeepBeep combines the efficacy of the basic BeepBeep ranging mechanism with a light-weight cross-correlation mechanism based on sparse approximation

Sustainable Use of Waste Banana Peel (Musa × sapientum L.) Powder for Enhancement of Nutritional Properties of Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is a very popular confectionary product among children, made by combining cocoa (55%) with cocoa butter (7.5%) and sugar (42%) has high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and free-radical scavenging properties. Chocolates also have a high concentration of cocoa and flavanols contents which is very beneficial for human health. The nutritional value of the dark chocolate samples prepared was further enhanced by using unripe banana peel powder. The peel of banana fruit is a waste material, but it also has antioxidant, antibacterial, and antibiotic properties which encourages its use in industries like pharmaceuticals. So, after considering the nutritional value of unripe banana fruit peel, the powder of unripe banana peel was added to the dark chocolate in the concentration of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9% to increase the nutritional value of dark chocolate. The premix powder containing iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 was also added to the dark chocolate samples in the concentration of 2% in all the variants. The nutritional value of chocolate samples made by using unripe banana peel powder and premix increased significantly but the color of the product decreased significantly as the concentration of banana powder increased

The role of Coenzyme Q10 in statin-associated myopathy

Statins, or 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are cholesterol-lowering drugs which are frequently used in the primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. Current research and recommendations support and encourage more extensive use of these drugs.However, statin usage is limited by many factors, including a high incidence of statin-associated myalgia and myopathy. This review focuses on the use of Coenzyme Q in statin-associated myopathy

First molecular and serological evidence of Coxiella burnetti infection among sheep and goats of Jammu province of India

International audienceThe epidemiology and prevalence of Q fever in India is largely unknown. There are very few serologic and molecular reports of Q fever in India and these are old reports. The objective of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the presence of Coxiella burnetii infection in sheep and goat flocks of Jammu province of Jammu and Kashmir, India. A total of 148 milk (110 sheep and 38 goats) samples, 282 sera (170 sheep and 112 goats), and 152 vaginal swabs (123 sheep and 29 goats) were collected from farms with incidences of repeated abortion. The LSI Q fever ruminant serum/milk ELISA kit was used to identify anti-C. burnetii antibodies and nested PCR was employed to detect DNA in vaginal swabs. Overall, 42 (38.2%; 95% CI: 29.2-47.9) sheep and 9 (23.7%; 95% CI: 12.0-40.6) goat milk samples, and 21 (12.4%; 95% CI: 8.0-18.5) sheep and 11 (9.8%; 95% CI: 5.2-17.3) goat sera were ELISA positive. In addition, nine (7.3%; 95% CI: 3.6-13.8) vaginal swabs from sheep tested positive by nested PCR; however, C. burnetii could not be found in any of the vaginal swabs from goat. These results indicate that sheep seem to be a more important reservoir of C. burnetii than goats posing a risk for human infection in this area

Use of Sloppy Molecular Beacon Probes for Identification of Mycobacterial Species ▿ †

We report here the use of novel “sloppy” molecular beacon probes in homogeneous PCR screening assays in which thermal denaturation of the resulting probe-amplicon hybrids provides a characteristic set of amplicon melting temperature (Tm) values that identify which species is present in a sample. Sloppy molecular beacons possess relatively long probe sequences, enabling them to form hybrids with amplicons from many different species despite the presence of mismatched base pairs. By using four sloppy molecular beacons, each possessing a different probe sequence and each labeled with a differently colored fluorophore, four different Tm values can be determined simultaneously. We tested this technique with 27 different species of mycobacteria and found that each species generates a unique, highly reproducible signature that is unaffected by the initial bacterial DNA concentration. Utilizing this general paradigm, screening assays can be designed for the identification of a wide range of species

Collinsella aerofaciens linked with increased ethanol production and liver inflammation contribute to the pathophysiology of NAFLD

Summary: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging global health problem and a potential risk factor for metabolic diseases. The bidirectional interactions between liver and gut made dysbiotic gut microbiome one of the key risk factors for NAFLD. In this study, we reported an increased abundance of Collinsella aerofaciens in the gut of obese and NASH patients living in India. We isolated C. aerofaciens from the fecal samples of biopsy-proven NASH patients and observed that their genome is enriched with carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and pro-inflammatory functions and have the potency to increase ethanol level in blood. An animal study indicated that mice supplemented with C. aerofaciens had increased levels of circulatory ethanol, high levels of hepatic hydroxyproline, triglyceride, and inflammation in the liver. The present findings indicate that perturbation in the gut microbiome composition is a key risk factor for NAFLD

Nonmedical factors and health-related quality of life in CKD in India

Background and objectives Patient-reported outcomes have gained prominence in the management of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Measurement of health-related quality of life is being increasingly incorporated into medical decision making and health care delivery processes. Design, setting, participants, & measurements The Indian Chronic Kidney Disease Study is a prospective cohort of participants with mild to moderate CKD. Baseline health-related quality of life scores, determined by the standardized Kidney Disease Quality of Life 36 item instrument, are presented for the inception cohort (n=2919). Scores are presented on five subscales: mental component summary, physical component summary, burden, effect of kidney disease, and symptom and problems; each is scored 0–100. The associations of socioeconomic and clinical parameters with the five subscale scores and lower quality of life (defined as subscale score <1 SD of the sample mean) were examined. The main socioeconomic factors studied were sex, education, occupation, and income. The key medical factors studied were age, eGFR, diabetes, hypertension, and albuminuria. Results The mean (SD) subscale scores were physical component summary score, 43±9; mental component summary score, 48±10; burden, 61±33; effects, 87±13; and symptoms, 90±20. Among the socioeconomic variables, women, lower education, and lower income were negatively associated with reduced scores across all subscales. For instance, the respective β-coefficients (SD) for association with the physical component summary subscale were −2.6 (−3.4 to −1.8), −1.5 (−2.2 to −0.7), and −1.6 (−2.7 to −0.5). Medical factors had inconsistent or no association with subscale scores. The quality of life scores also displayed regional variations. Conclusions In this first of its kind analysis from India, predominantly socioeconomic factors were associated with quality of life scores in patients with CKD