Diagnostic accuracy of serum lipase and amylase as biomarkers for acute pancreatitis

Background: Currently, majority of clinicians ask for both amylase and lipase for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis but a large number of health care facilities in India still have facility for only amylase. Aim was to find which single marker to be used in for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.Methods: Patients seeking care at emergency department for acute abdominal pain during the period from July 2016 to June 2017 formed the study population. The serum lipase and amylase were taken from 1725 patients. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated.Results: Sixteen patients had amylase above 3-fold elevation, while there were 26 such patients in the lipase group. The sensitivity and specificity of amylase at 3-fold above normal limit were 62.8% and 99.2% while those of lipase were 96.1% and 99.1% respectively. Both amylase and lipase had high accuracy index in the area under the ROC curve (0.990 and 0.997 respectively).Conclusions: In this study, serum lipase had better diagnostic accuracy as compared to serum amylase. In resource-constrained settings with limited lab and radiological facilities, serum lipase should be preferred over serum amylase for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

Sex determination from hand dimensions for forensic identification

Background: Sex determination is an important and foremost criteria in establishing the identity of an individual. The issue of Sex discrimination can be very complicated in cases of intersex, bodies in advanced state of putrefaction, mutilated & fragmentary remains in which it is common to recover dismembered & peripheral parts of the body. It was realized that anthropometric measurements of the hand has been very useful tool in sexual identification.Objectives: This paper attempts to discriminate between male and female on the basis of hand dimensions, to investigate among the variables which can better predict sex, to derive sectioning point for discriminating sex and to reflect frequent hand index category among the sexes.Methods: The research study was based on 182 subjects (91 males & 91 females) within age 18-60 years, devoid of any deformity, fracture or surgical proceedings of either hand were randomly selected from Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Hand Length and Hand Breadth was obtained from each subject and results were analyzed using IBM SPSS computer software.Results: Hand length and hand breadth show statistically significant male – female differences at p<0.001. Hand Breadth was found as best predictor of sex in comparison with hand length. Frequency of hand index categories reveals that females have highest dolichocheir morphology of hand. Sectioning point analysis confirms that cut-off point of 43 and below is suggestive of male hand whereas above 43 were considered as female hand.Conclusions: This study has implications in mass disasters and in criminal cases where an isolated hand is recovered and needs forensic identification.

Understanding of Circular Processes and Its Impact on Indian Economy

This paper aims at identifying the main processes in the circular economy based on review of definitions given by different eminent researchers. These processes can be adopted and implemented by business entities and policy makers to achieve the desired effects. These effects may include not only environment but also economic and social. These processes may be practiced by businesses to achieve circularity and shift from the traditional linear business model to a circular one. Based on understanding of definitions of circular economy, it is necessary to provide a detailed note of processes in circular economy to conceptualize how stake holders can practice them in actual. This paper aims to identify and characterize the processes in circular economy and then conceptualize the anticipated impacts through using these processes in business models in different sectors in the economy

Study of association between C-reactive protein and albuminuria in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Inflammatory markers are excessively produced by adipocytes in T2DM due to obesity-induced dysregulation of adipocytes. Inflammation is recognised by elevated level of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein. It has been reported that patients with nephropathy and those with albuminuria have higher levels of inflammatory markers. Methods: Study design observational descriptive cross-sectional study. 150 subjects having age more than 30 years and less than 55 years diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included. HbA1c, FPG, creatinine, urea, CRP, and albuminuria were analysed. Results: A strong and statistically significant correlation was seen between serum CRP levels and albuminuria levels with a p value of 0.831 and a p value of 0.00. The study group was divided into two groups with normal CRP (n=40) and elevated CRP (n=110). Average values of all parameters showed a statistically significant increase in the group with abnormal CRP levels. In the ROC analysis, an area of .957 under the curve shows a very high predictive value of 15.5 mg/l of CRP for predicting albuminuria in patients of T2DM. Conclusions: From our results, we have been able to establish a strong association as well as a predictive relationship between the level of CRP and albuminuria in T2DM. We have shown that serum CRP levels at a cut-off of 15.5 mg/l are a predictor of clinically significant albuminuria. This makes serum CRP level an effective screening tool for albuminuria

Experimentation in biology of plant abiotic stress responses

During the course of growth under natural field conditions, crop plants are exposed to a number of different abiotic stresses (such as water stress, temperature stress, salt stress, flooding stress, chemical stress and oxidative stress). These stresses exert adverse effects on metabolism, growth and yield of the crops. The intensity of the abiotic stresses is on the rise, implying that various possible solutions for mitigating the damage caused by such stresses must be combined for future increase in crop production. At the level of plant genetics, there are indications that it may be possible to improve plants against such stress factors. However, the practical success in this regard depends on how well we understand the biochemistry. physiology and molecular biology of the plant abiotic stress responses. The cellular response of plants to abiotic stresses is of complex nature involving simultaneous interplay of several mechanisms. Although there is a great deal of progress in cataloguing the biochemical reactions that are associated with plant abiotic stress responses, precise understanding of the defense reactions leading to acquisition of stress tolerance remains a challenge. A number of different experimental systems including lower and higher plants as well as microbes have been analyzed for examining the plant abiotic stress responses. The molecular analysis of the stress response has been carried out at the level of stress proteins, stress genes, stress promoters, trans-acting factors that bind to stress promoters and signal transduction components involved in mediation of stress responses. The functional relevance of the stress - associated genes is being tested in different trans-systems including yeast as well as higher plant species. In this article, we discuss selective features of experimentation in biology of plant abiotic stress responses

Digit ratio (2D:4D) – A forensic marker for sexual dimorphism in North Indian population

Background: In the analysis of mutilated remains encountered in case of war or in case of natural or unnatural calamities, the assessment of sex is foremost vital element when rendering identity profile of an individual. 2D:4D digit ratio (2D = index finger, 4D = the ring finger) has been proposed as sexually dimorphic phenotypic trait. The paucity of literature on the issue of sexual dimorphism from digit ratio (2D:4D) has prompted the author to conduct the research work. Aim: The purpose of the study is to determine sexual dimorphism from digit ratio (2D:4D) in North Indian population. Materials and methods: 300 participants (141 males & 159 females) of North Indian population specifically from Kumaon region of Uttarakhand were recruited for the research study. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 60 years. Index finger length (2D), ring finger length (4D), 2D:4D digit ratio (2D/4D) and sectioning point were estimated for both the right and left hands. SPSS statistical software was used for data interpretation. Results: Males have significantly longer index and ring finger length than females. Sex differences in the length of ring finger are larger than index finger. Again Males show significantly lower mean 2D:4D digit ratio (0.968) as compared to females (1.014). With respect to handedness sex differences were found slightly higher for right hand than left hand. The study suggests that ratio below and equal to 0.99 is suggestive of male sex for both hands, while a ratio of more than 0.99 is suggestive female sex for both the hands. This cut-off accurately determines 93% males and 90% females for right hand and 87% males and 84% females for left hand. The study shows precisely very large sex effect with d values = −1.81(right hand), thus 2D:4D proves to be appropriate for sex determination in medicolegal investigations. Conclusion: This research study proves beneficial for identity authentication, for criminal investigation and a powerful forensic tool for medico – legal cases. This will help in the advancement of technology which will prove beneficial for the welfare of indigenous population of India. Also the data so collected can be useful as forensic anthropology population data

Diagnostic accuracy of serum lipase and amylase as biomarkers for acute pancreatitis

Background: Currently, majority of clinicians ask for both amylase and lipase for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis but a large number of health care facilities in India still have facility for only amylase. Aim was to find which single marker to be used in for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.Methods: Patients seeking care at emergency department for acute abdominal pain during the period from July 2016 to June 2017 formed the study population. The serum lipase and amylase were taken from 1725 patients. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated.Results: Sixteen patients had amylase above 3-fold elevation, while there were 26 such patients in the lipase group. The sensitivity and specificity of amylase at 3-fold above normal limit were 62.8% and 99.2% while those of lipase were 96.1% and 99.1% respectively. Both amylase and lipase had high accuracy index in the area under the ROC curve (0.990 and 0.997 respectively).Conclusions: In this study, serum lipase had better diagnostic accuracy as compared to serum amylase. In resource-constrained settings with limited lab and radiological facilities, serum lipase should be preferred over serum amylase for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

Auxin dependent changes in peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activities accompanying cell differentiation in protonema of wild strain and auxin mutants of <i>Funaria hygrometrica</i>

1017-1021Transition from chloronema to caulonema state of moss protonema in Funaria hygrometrica is under the metabolic control of endogenous auxins and can further be enhanced by exogenous auxins in culture. The parallel increase in browning of the cell walls in caulonema cells seems to have a correlation with spatial distribution of peroxidase (PO) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities between cytoplasm and cell wall. Auxin-stimulated caulonema differentiation was accompanied with relative lowering of PO activity in the wall/particulate fraction. In contrast to very high PO activity in particulate fraction of moss protonema (as compared to the soluble fraction), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity showed more or less uniform distribution. PO and PPO activities in the wild type were compared with the activities in two auxin mutants. The observed increase in total PPO activity as a result of auxin treatment was in congruence with the morphogenetic responses of the respective strains

A Study to Assess Renal Function Tests Amongst Chronic Alcoholics at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: The WHO statistics show that 4.5% of the worldwide burden of disease and injury was due to alcohol. Globally, around 11.5% of drinkers usually have heavy episodic drinking situations. Apart from the estimated GFR, urinary albumin level can also be used to complement the classification of chronic kidney disease. Till now, only two prospective studies have found the association between alcohol consumption and both components of chronic kidney disease. The present study was conducted with the main aim to assess the renal function tests amongst chronic alcoholics.Materials and Methods: The present prospective study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, TeerthankerMahaveer Medical College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh (India) and a total of 50 alcoholics with the age range between 26 to 55 years were included in the study and were compared to 50 non-alcoholics and healthy controls. The qualitative urine analysis was done using DX urine reagent strips from the Piramal health care company. All the data was arranged in a tabulated form and analysed using SPSS software. Student t test was used for statistical analysis and p value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The present study consisted of 100 participants. Out of these 50 were controls and 50 were cases. The mean age amongst the cases was 37.32+/-3.45 years and the mean age amongst the controls were 38.33+/-2.1 years. The mean urea level amongst the cases and controls was 20.24 ± 9.73 mg/dl and 24.17 ± 7.25 mg/dl. There was a significant difference amongst the cases and controls. The mean creatinine amongst cases was 0.83 ± 0.15 mg/dl while that amongst the controls was 0.86 ± 0.12 mg/dl. Conclusion: There was significant decrease in potassium level amongst the alcoholics. The mean eGFR was higher amongst the alcoholics while very few of them had traces of proteinuria

To Study Serum Electrolyte Levels in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Institutional Based Study

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is a gastrointestinal condition that normally has an altered bowel habits in addition to abdominal discomfort without the presence of any detectable structural and biochemical alterations. Few studies have found that statistically significant betterment in abdominal pain is seen amongst the clinical trials with electrolyte supplements were provided. The present study was conducted with the aim to determine the serum electrolytes level amongst patients with irritable bowel syndrome.Materials and Methods: The present observational case-control study was performed in the Department including 108 subjects between the age group of 25–60 years of age amongst them 50% were cases and 50% were controls. Blood was made to clot and serum was separated at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes and estimated for the level of potassium,chloride and sodium using direct electrolyte analyser. All the data thus obtained was arranged in tabulated from and analysed using SPSS software. Student t test was used for statistical analysis and p value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Amongst males, there were 21 cases and 30 controls. There were 33 females amongst cases and 24 controls. The sodium level amongst the cases was 138.21 ± 3.14 mEq/L and amongst the controls were 139.31 ± 3.77 mEq/L. There was no significant difference amongst the cases and controls.Conclusion: The present study showed no significant difference in the electrolyte levels amongst the cases and controls. Studies need to be conducted with larger sample size to study the significance of dyselectrolytemia