Evaluation of three Polymerase chain reaction tests targeting morphological transforming region II, UL-83 gene and glycoprotein O gene for the detection of Human Cytomegalovirus genome in clinical specimens of immunocompromised patients in Chennai, India

BACKGROUND: Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) continues to be an important cause of morbidity and occasional mortality in immunocompromised patients. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most sensitive and commonly used method for the assessment of HCMV infection in the immunocompromised patients at risk from severe associated clinical manifestations. However, there is little consistency in the qualitative PCR used for different regions of HCMV genome. Therefore, the performance of three Qualitative PCR tests to detect HCMV genome in clinical specimens from immunocompromised patients was evaluated. With pp65 antigenemia assay as the "gold standard", nested PCR for morphological transforming region II (mtr II) and glycoprotein O (gO) gene and uniplex PCR for UL 83 gene were applied on 92 consecutive clinical specimens obtained from 74 immunocompromised patients with clinically suspected HCMV disease. Virus isolation was attempted on 12 clinical specimens from six pp65 antigenemia positive patients. Based on the pp 65 antigenemia results as "gold standard", the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for each PCR was calculated. RESULTS: The PCR targeting mtr II region showed a higher sensitivity (100%) and negative predictive value (100%) than the other two PCRs in detecting HCMV DNA from clinical specimens obtained from different immunocompromised patient population of Chennai region, India. CONCLUSION: The results suggests that the optimal method of detection of HCMV DNA could be achieved by PCR using primer sequences targeting mtr II region of genome of HCMV in Chennai region, India

Isolated ovarian tuberculosis mimicking ovarian carcinoma: Case report and literature review

Although genitourinary tuberculosis is common, reports of isolated ovarian tuberculosis are rare. However, its presentation can mimick that of an ovarian tumour, leading to diagnostic difficulties. A woman of 17 years presented with chronic pelvic pain, weight loss, a right ovarian mass on ultrasound, and a significantly elevated CA-125 level. A diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma was made, and laparotomy was performed with resection of the right ovary. Postoperative histological examination, however, revealed classic tuberculoid appearances, with no signs of malignancy. Antituberculosis treatment was commenced, with full resolution of her symptoms and a decrease in CA-125 level. Isolated ovarian tuberculosis is most common in young women living in endemic zones. CA-125 can be raised in both conditions, and imaging is rarely conclusive. Intraoperative frozen section of tissue specimens can be helpful if available. Early diagnosis of ovarian tuberculosis is vital as untreated disease can lead to infertility.Keywords: Genitourinary tuberculosis; Ovarian tuberculosis; Ovarian carcinom

kHz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0614+09

We report on a comprehensive analysis of the kilohertz (above 300 Hz) quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) detected from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U0614+09 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). With a much larger data set than previously analyzed (all archival data from February 1996 up to October 2007), we first investigate the reality of the 1330 Hz QPO reported by van Straaten et al. (2000). This QPO would be of particular interest since it has the highest frequency reported for any source. A thorough analysis of the same observation fails to confirm the detection. On the other hand, over our extended data set, the highest QPO frequency we measure for the upper kHz QPO is at about 1224 Hz; a value which is fully consistent with the maximum values observed in similar systems. Second, we demonstrate that the frequency dependence of the quality factor and amplitude of the lower and upper kHz QPOs follow the systematic trends seen in similar systems (Barret et al., 2006). In particular, 4U0614+09 shows a drop of the quality factor of the lower kHz QPO above 700 Hz. If this is due to an approach to the innermost stable circular orbit, it implies a neutron star mass of about 1.9 solar masses. Finally, when analyzing the data over fixed durations, we have found a gap in the frequency distribution of the upper QPO, associated with a local minimum of its amplitude. A similar gap is not present in the distribution of the lower QPO frequencies, suggesting some cautions when interpreting frequency ratio distributions, based on the occurrence of the lower QPO only.Comment: 10 pages, 6 color figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

A WSN approach to unmanned aerial surveillance of traffic anomalies: Some challenges and potential solutions

Stationary CCTV cameras are often used to help monitor car movements and detect any anomalies - e.g., accidents, cars going faster than the allowed speed, driving under the influence of alcohol, etc. The height of the cameras can limit their effectiveness and the types of image processing algorithm which can be used. With advancements in the development of inexpensive aerial flying objects and wireless devices, these two technologies can be coupled to support enhanced surveillance. The flying objects can carry multiple cameras and be sent well above the ground to capture and feed video/image information back to a ground station. In addition, because of the height the objects can achieve, they can capture videos and images which could lend themselves more suitably for the application of a variety of video and image processing algorithms to assist analysts in detecting any anomalies. In this paper, we examine some main challenges of using flying objects for surveillance purposes and propose some potential solutions to these challenges. By doing so, we attempt to provide the basis for developing a framework to build a viable system for improved surveillance based on low-cost equipment. © 2013 IEEE.t.published_or_final_versio

Fate of liposomes in presence of phospholipase C and D: from atomic to supramolecular lipid arrangement

Understanding the origins of lipid membrane bilayer rearrangement in response to external stimuli is an essential component of cell biology and the bottom-up design of liposomes for biomedical applications. The enzymes phospholipase C and D (PLC and PLD) both cleave the phosphorus–oxygen bonds of phosphate esters in phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids. The atomic position of this hydrolysis reaction has huge implications for the stability of PC-containing self-assembled structures, such as the cell wall and lipid-based vesicle drug delivery vectors. While PLC converts PC to diacylglycerol (DAG), the interaction of PC with PLD produces phosphatidic acid (PA). Here we present a combination of small-angle scattering data and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, providing insights into the effects of atomic-scale reorganization on the supramolecular assembly of PC membrane bilayers upon enzyme-mediated incorporation of DAG or PA. We observed that PC liposomes completely disintegrate in the presence of PLC, as conversion of PC to DAG progresses. At lower concentrations, DAG molecules within fluid PC bilayers form hydrogen bonds with backbone carbonyl oxygens in neighboring PC molecules and burrow into the hydrophobic region. This leads initially to membrane thinning followed by a swelling of the lamellar phase with increased DAG. At higher DAG concentrations, localized membrane tension causes a change in lipid phase from lamellar to the hexagonal and micellar cubic phases. Molecular dynamics simulations show that this destabilization is also caused in part by the decreased ability of DAG-containing PC membranes to coordinate sodium ions. Conversely, PLD-treated PC liposomes remain stable up to extremely high conversions to PA. Here, the negatively charged PA headgroup attracts significant amounts of sodium ions from the bulk solution to the membrane surface, leading to a swelling of the coordinated water layer. These findings are a vital step toward a fundamental understanding of the degradation behavior of PC lipid membranes in the presence of these clinically relevant enzymes, and toward the rational design of diagnostic and drug delivery technologies for phospholipase-dysregulation-based diseases

Deletion of the GABAA α2-subunit does not alter self dministration of cocaine or reinstatement of cocaine seeking

Rationale GABAA receptors containing α2-subunits are highly represented in brain areas that are involved in motivation and reward, and have been associated with addiction to several drugs, including cocaine. We have shown previously that a deletion of the α2-subunit results in an absence of sensitisation to cocaine. Objective We investigated the reinforcing properties of cocaine in GABAA α2-subunit knockout (KO) mice using an intravenous self-administration procedure. Methods α2-subunit wildtype (WT), heterozygous (HT) and KO mice were trained to lever press for a 30 % condensed milk solution. After implantation with a jugular catheter, mice were trained to lever press for cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion) during ten daily sessions. Responding was extinguished and the mice tested for cue- and cocaine-primed reinstatement. Separate groups of mice were trained to respond for decreasing doses of cocaine (0.25, 0.125, 0.06 and 0.03 mg/kg). Results No differences were found in acquisition of lever pressing for milk. All genotypes acquired self-administration of cocaine and did not differ in rates of self-administration, dose dependency or reinstatement. However, whilst WT and HT mice showed a dose-dependent increase in lever pressing during the cue presentation, KO mice did not. Conclusions Despite a reported absence of sensitisation, motivation to obtain cocaine remains unchanged in KO and HT mice. Reinstatement of cocaine seeking by cocaine and cocaine-paired cues is also unaffected. We postulate that whilst not directly involved in reward perception, the α2-subunit may be involved in modulating the “energising” aspect of cocaine’s effects on reward-seeking

Cryptosporidium Priming Is More Effective than Vaccine for Protection against Cryptosporidiosis in a Murine Protein Malnutrition Model

Cryptosporidium is a major cause of severe diarrhea, especially in malnourished children. Using a murine model of C. parvum oocyst challenge that recapitulates clinical features of severe cryptosporidiosis during malnutrition, we interrogated the effect of protein malnutrition (PM) on primary and secondary responses to C. parvum challenge, and tested the differential ability of mucosal priming strategies to overcome the PM-induced susceptibility. We determined that while PM fundamentally alters systemic and mucosal primary immune responses to Cryptosporidium, priming with C. parvum (106 oocysts) provides robust protective immunity against re-challenge despite ongoing PM. C. parvum priming restores mucosal Th1-type effectors (CD3+CD8+CD103+ T-cells) and cytokines (IFNγ, and IL12p40) that otherwise decrease with ongoing PM. Vaccination strategies with Cryptosporidium antigens expressed in the S. Typhi vector 908htr, however, do not enhance Th1-type responses to C. parvum challenge during PM, even though vaccination strongly boosts immunity in challenged fully nourished hosts. Remote non-specific exposures to the attenuated S. Typhi vector alone or the TLR9 agonist CpG ODN-1668 can partially attenuate C. parvum severity during PM, but neither as effectively as viable C. parvum priming. We conclude that although PM interferes with basal and vaccine-boosted immune responses to C. parvum, sustained reductions in disease severity are possible through mucosal activators of host defenses, and specifically C. parvum priming can elicit impressively robust Th1-type protective immunity despite ongoing protein malnutrition. These findings add insight into potential correlates of Cryptosporidium immunity and future vaccine strategies in malnourished children

Discovery of a black smoker vent field and vent fauna at the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

The Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge (AMOR) represents one of the most slow-spreading ridge systems on Earth. Previous attempts to locate hydrothermal vent fields and unravel the nature of venting, as well as the provenance of vent fauna at this northern and insular termination of the global ridge system, have been unsuccessful. Here, we report the first discovery of a black smoker vent field at the AMOR. The field is located on the crest of an axial volcanic ridge (AVR) and is associated with an unusually large hydrothermal deposit, which documents that extensive venting and long-lived hydrothermal systems exist at ultraslow-spreading ridges, despite their strongly reduced volcanic activity. The vent field hosts a distinct vent fauna that differs from the fauna to the south along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The novel vent fauna seems to have developed by local specialization and by migration of fauna from cold seeps and the Pacific

Twenty Years of SUGRA

A brief review is given of the developments of mSUGRA and its extensions since the formulation of these models in 1982. Future directions and prospects are also discussed.Comment: Invited talk at the International Conference BEYOND-2003, Schloss Ringberg, Germany, June 10-14, 2003; 21 pages, Late