Bone mineral density and its correlation with Vitamin D status in healthy adults of Manipur – A cross-sectional study

The levels of vitamin D have an important effect on bone mass in young and old. Hypovitaminosis D adversely affects calcium metabolism, osteoblastic activity, matrix ossification, bone remodeling, and hence bone density. Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the status of serum 25(OH)D and BMD of healthy adult men in Manipur and also to find out the relationship of 25(OH)D level with BMD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Physiology in collaboration with the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal from October 2014 to September 2016. 100 Healthy adult males in Manipur in the age group 18-35years and ≥50years were included in the study after obtaining Ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board, RIMS, Imphal. The serum 25-OH vitamin D level was estimated by using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit (IDS immunodiagnostic systems, United Kingdom). The BMD of lumbar spine was determined using enCORE – based X-ray bone densitometer (Lunar Prodigy advance, GE Medical Systems, USA) which is based on DEXA scan. Results: The present study revealed that the majority of subjects with insufficiency of 25(OH)D had low bone mass, whereas all the subjects with 25(OH)D deficiency had BMD readings consistent with osteopenia or osteoporosis in both the age groups. This study also showed a positive correlation between BMD and 25(OH)D in most subjects, particularly in the groups with insufficiency or deficiency of 25(OH)D.Conclusion: In conclusion, the study shows a positive relationship between the serum 25 (OH) D concentrations and BMD. Keywords: Serum 25(OH)D; Bone mineral density (BMD); Enzyme immunoassay (EIA)

Evaluating serum C-reactive protein level in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – A cross-sectional study

Abstract Patients with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have ongoing systemic inflammation, which can be assessed by measuring serum  C- reactive protein. Objective: To explore whether CRP could be used as an independent predictor of disease outcome in COPD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 COPD patients attending Respiratory Medicine outpatient services in the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal from January 2015 to September 2016. Patients aged 18-67 were included in the study after obtaining Ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board, RIMS, Imphal. Computerized Spirometer Helios 401 was the instrument used to measure lung volumes and capacities. BeneSpheraTM CRP Latex Slide test kit was used to estimate serum c-reactive protein. Results and observation: The present study was conducted on fifty COPD patients in which serum CRP level showed positive correlation with COPD (p=0.002) but serum CRP level with spirometric parameters showed significant negative correlation;FEV1 (r=-0.451, p=0.001), FEV1/FVC (r=-0.617, p<0.001) and PEFR (r=-0.398, p=0.004). Conclusion: In our study, we found an association between serum CRP level and severity of COPD and Plasma CRP may be used as a marker of prognosis in COPD as the small increase is associated with poorer prognosis in COPD. Keywords: CRP; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); Imphal

Evaluating serum C-reactive protein level in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – A cross-sectional study

Abstract Patients with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have ongoing systemic inflammation, which can be assessed by measuring serum  C- reactive protein. Objective: To explore whether CRP could be used as an independent predictor of disease outcome in COPD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 COPD patients attending Respiratory Medicine outpatient services in the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal from January 2015 to September 2016. Patients aged 18-67 were included in the study after obtaining Ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board, RIMS, Imphal. Computerized Spirometer Helios 401 was the instrument used to measure lung volumes and capacities. BeneSpheraTM CRP Latex Slide test kit was used to estimate serum c-reactive protein. Results and observation: The present study was conducted on fifty COPD patients in which serum CRP level showed positive correlation with COPD (p=0.002) but serum CRP level with spirometric parameters showed significant negative correlation;FEV1 (r=-0.451, p=0.001), FEV1/FVC (r=-0.617, p<0.001) and PEFR (r=-0.398, p=0.004). Conclusion: In our study, we found an association between serum CRP level and severity of COPD and Plasma CRP may be used as a marker of prognosis in COPD as the small increase is associated with poorer prognosis in COPD. Keywords: CRP; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); Imphal

REV-ERBα mediates complement expression and diurnal regulation of microglial synaptic phagocytosis

The circadian clock regulates various aspects of brain health including microglial and astrocyte activation. Here, we report that deletion of the master clock protein BMAL1 in mice robustly increases expression of complement genes, includin

The CMBR ISW and HI 21-cm Cross-correlation Angular Power Spectrum

The late-time growth of large scale structures (LSS) is imprinted in the CMBR anisotropy through the Integrated Sachs Wolfe (ISW) effect. This is perceived to be a very important observational probe of dark energy. Future observations of redshifted 21-cm radiation from the cosmological neutral hydrogen (HI) distribution hold the potential of probing the LSS over a large redshift range. We have investigated the possibility of detecting the ISW through cross-correlations between the CMBR anisotropies and redshifted 21-cm observations. Assuming that the HI traces the dark matter, we find that the ISW-HI cross-correlation angular power spectrum at an angular multipole l is proportional to the dark matter power spectrum evaluated at the comoving wave number l/r, where r is the comoving distance to the redshift from which the HI signal originated. The amplitude of the cross-correlation signal depends on parameters related to the HI distribution and the growth of cosmological perturbations. However the cross-correlation is extremely weak as compared to the CMBR anisotropies and the predicted HI signal. As a consequence the cross-correlation signal is smaller than the cosmic variance, and a statistically significant detection is not very likely.Comment: 13 pages, 4 eps figures, submitte

Color-to-Grayscale: Does the Method Matter in Image Recognition?

In image recognition it is often assumed the method used to convert color images to grayscale has little impact on recognition performance. We compare thirteen different grayscale algorithms with four types of image descriptors and demonstrate that this assumption is wrong: not all color-to-grayscale algorithms work equally well, even when using descriptors that are robust to changes in illumination. These methods are tested using a modern descriptor-based image recognition framework, on face, object, and texture datasets, with relatively few training instances. We identify a simple method that generally works best for face and object recognition, and two that work well for recognizing textures

Co3O4 Nanocrystals on Graphene as a Synergistic Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Catalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions are at the heart of key renewable energy technologies including fuel cells and water splitting. Despite tremendous efforts, developing oxygen electrode catalysts with high activity at low costs remains a grand challenge. Here, we report a hybrid material of Co3O4 nanocrystals grown on reduced graphene oxide (GO) as a high-performance bi-functional catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). While Co3O4 or graphene oxide alone has little catalytic activity, their hybrid exhibits an unexpected, surprisingly high ORR activity that is further enhanced by nitrogen-doping of graphene. The Co3O4/N-doped graphene hybrid exhibits similar catalytic activity but superior stability to Pt in alkaline solutions. The same hybrid is also highly active for OER, making it a high performance non-precious metal based bi-catalyst for both ORR and OER. The unusual catalytic activity arises from synergetic chemical coupling effects between Co3O4 and graphene.Comment: published in Nature Material

Single-crystalline, wormlike hematite photoanodes for efficient solar water splitting

A hematite photoanode showing a stable, record-breaking performance of 4.32 mA/cm(2) photoelectrochemical water oxidation current at 1.23 V vs. RHE under simulated 1-sun (100 mW/cm(2)) irradiation is reported. This photocurrent corresponds to ca. 34% of the maximum theoretical limit expected for hematite with a band gap of 2.1 V. The photoanode produced stoichiometric hydrogen and oxygen gases in amounts close to the expected values from the photocurrent. The hematitle has a unique single-crystalline "wormlike" morphology produced by in-situ two-step annealing at 550 degrees C and 800 degrees C of beta-FeOOH nanorods grown directly on a transparent conducting oxide glass via an all-solution method. In addition, it is modified by platinum doping to improve the charge transfer characteristics of hematite and an oxygen-evolving co-catalyst on the surface.open2

Neuronal deletion of the circadian clock gene Bmal1 induces cell-autonomous dopaminergic neurodegeneration

Circadian rhythm dysfunction is a hallmark of Parkinson disease (PD), and diminished expression of the core clock gene Bmal1 has been described in patients with PD. BMAL1 is required for core circadian clock function but also serves nonrhythmic functions. Germline Bmal1 deletion can cause brain oxidative stress and synapse loss in mice, and it can exacerbate dopaminergic neurodegeneration in response to the toxin MPTP. Here we examined the effect of cell type-specific Bmal1 deletion on dopaminergic neuron viability in vivo. We observed that global, postnatal deletion of Bmal1 caused spontaneous loss of tyrosine hydroxylase+ (TH+) dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). This was not replicated by light-induced disruption of behavioral circadian rhythms and was not induced by astrocyte- or microglia-specific Bmal1 deletion. However, either pan-neuronal or TH neuron-specific Bmal1 deletion caused cell-autonomous loss of TH+ neurons in the SNpc. Bmal1 deletion did not change the percentage of TH neuron loss after α-synuclein fibril injection, though Bmal1-KO mice had fewer TH neurons at baseline. Transcriptomics analysis revealed dysregulation of pathways involved in oxidative phosphorylation and Parkinson disease. These findings demonstrate a cell-autonomous role for BMAL1 in regulating dopaminergic neuronal survival and may have important implications for neuroprotection in PD

Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Investigation of Water Oxidation with Hematite Electrodes

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was utilized to deposit uniform thin films of hematite (α-Fe2O3) on transparent conductive substrates for photocatalytic water oxidation studies. Comparison of the oxidation of water to the oxidation of a fast redox shuttle allowed for new insight in determining the rate limiting processes of water oxidation at hematite electrodes. It was found that an additional overpotential is needed to initiate water oxidation compared to the fast redox shuttle. A combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical and electrochemical measurements were employed to determine the cause of the additional overpotential. It was found that photogenerated holes initially oxidize the electrode surface under water oxidation conditions, which is attributed to the first step in water oxidation. A critical number of these surface intermediates need to be generated in order for the subsequent hole-transfer steps to proceed. At higher applied potentials, the behavior of the electrode is virtually identical while oxidizing either water or the fast redox shuttle; the slight discrepancy is attributed to a shift in potential associated with Fermi level pinning by the surface states in the absence of a redox shuttle. A water oxidation mechanism is proposed to interpret these results