Effects of Two Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting Beta-Agonist Combinations on Small-Airway Dysfunction in Mild Asthmatics Measured by Impulse Oscillometry

Background: We previously showed that the long-acting beta agonist (LABA) salmeterol as inhalation powder or metered-dose inhaler improves lung-function parameters assessed by impulse oscillometry (IOS) in 2- to 5-year-old children with reversible-airway disease within 15 minutes. Objective: We studied 12- to 45-year-olds with mild persistent asthma in order to compare the onset and extent of peripheral airway effects following the first dose and after 4 weeks dosing with two inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/LABA combinations: fluticasone propionate/salmeterol 115/21 and budesonide/formoterol 160/4.5. Methods: Thirty subjects with mild persistent asthma using only an as-needed short-acting beta-agonist (albuterol) who had at least a 40% change in integrated low-frequency reactance postalbuterol were selected and randomized to receive either fluticasone propionate/salmeterol or budesonide/formoterol (15 subjects each). We collected three to six IOS replicates at baseline, at 5, 20, 40, 60, 120, and 240 minutes postdose at randomization, and after 4 weeks of twice-daily dosing. Blinded investigators calculated IOS frequency-dependent resistance and reactance (R5–R20 and AX), indicative of small-airway dysfunction, and also estimated the peripheral airway resistance (Rp) and peripheral airway compliance (Cp), using a respiratory-impedance model. Results: At randomization visits, onset of action was detected as early as 5 minutes (t-test, P \u3c 0.05) after fluticasone propionate/salmeterol by Cp, and within 5 minutes after budesonide/formoterol by R5–R20, AX, Rp, and Cp. However, after 4 weeks of dosing, only Rp was significantly different (from 60 to 120 minutes) after fluticasone propionate/salmeterol, while R5–R20, AX, Rp, and Cp were not significantly different within 240 minutes after budesonide/formoterol. Conclusion: These two ICS/LABA combinations initially improved the peripheral airway function of 12- to 45-year-old asthmatics significantly in about 5 minutes or less, as measured by R5–R20, AX, Rp, and/or Cp. After regular dosing for 4 weeks, pre- to postdose differences in these parameters had diminished significantly due to improved predose status of peripheral airways. Single dosing with ICS/LABA combinations in mild persistent asthma improves small-airway function, and the effect is maintained over a 12-hour interval by regular use for 4 weeks

Design, development and statistical optimization of ginger peeling machine

The present research aims at developing a ginger peeling machine which can peel the outer skin of ginger with less mass loss. Machine and product parameters for the developed ginger peeler were optimized. Fresh gingers with moisture content 87.47% and pre-treated with 1%NaOH solution exhibited highest peeling efficiency (70.20%), followed by hot-water soaking and overnight soaking. At constant moisture content, reverse trend was observed for mass loss. Highest mass loss of about 4.13% was seen with hot water soaked samples, followed by overnight soaking and NaOH treatment. Gingers with 87.47% moisture content and with pre-treatment at 1% NaOH solution exhibited maximum peeling efficiency.Keywords: Ginger, Peeling machine, Peeling efficiency, Pre-treatment

Primary Tuberculosis of the Breast Manifested as Abscess: a Rare Case Report

Primary breast tuberculosis is a rare entity. We are reporting a case of primary breast tuberculosis, which presented as breast abscess. On histopathology, it was diagnosed as breast tuberculosis. Aspiration cytology was not done due breast abscess. Patient was put on anti-tubercular drugs. In follow up, after 3 months patient condition was improved. Key words: breast, abscess, tuberculosis, conservative treatment

Farming in the mountains of Nepal: crops, soil fertility, livelihoods and farm-forest linkages

In national plans, policies, and earlier development programs, livelihoods of mountain people in the Nepal Himalayas were overlooked, rendering them more susceptible to climatic risk and disaster. The management of marginal mountain agricultural land is crucial for food security, improved living conditions, and environmental protection. For enhancing livelihoods and ecological benefits, mountain agriculture is vital, however, a consolidated review on mountain farming is limited in Nepal. We used "mountain" AND "Nepal" AND "farming" OR "agriculture" in the literature's title published between 1978 and 2021 on Google Scholar and did an in-depth review of papers on the four thematic areas: mountain crops, soil fertility, livelihoods, and farm-forestry linkages. We observed a variety of nutrient-rich mountain crops with a market potential as niche products, low and deteriorating soil fertility of agricultural lands, a weakening of the farm-forest links, and an increase in the diversity of mountain livelihood choices. Small landholdings, labor outmigration mainly men, feminization of mountain farming, and food insecurity are the greatest challenges to the growth of agriculture in mountainous regions. There are, however, ample opportunities to make mountain regions green through agroforestry and community forests, to improve livelihoods by introducing niche value chains for products, to explore payment for ecosystem services through downstream-upstream linkages, and to recognize their traditional knowledge and practices through citizen science research and development

Evaluation of soybean (Glycine max) germplasm for some important morphological traits using multivariate analysis

Based on the results obtained in present study, it is advocated that the genotypes namely MACS 1201, SL 788 and MASU 449 were identified as the best genotypes for grain yield. The cluster VII (CSB 08-09) and VI (SL 778, Dsb 20, MACS 1311, RKS 61, BAUS 40) was most diverse to each other. Hence, crossing between these cluster would help to accumulate favorable and desirable alleles for further improvement in grain yield and its component in soybean

Ultrafast microwave-assisted synthesis of various zinc oxide nanostructures

365-372The conventional hydrothermal process for the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures has been a slow process and provides less control in terms of shape, size and nucleation time. Whereas, synthesis through microwave heating takes only a few minutes to produce high quality, ultra-pure zinc oxide nanostructures. In this study, we have presented a protocol to fabricate various ZnO nanostructures (vertically-aligned nanorods, vertically-aligned nanowalls, nano flowers and nanopillars) using a domestic microwave oven. Based upon the process study, variation in diameter and length of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods with growth time has been reported. Uniformly distributed ZnO  nanowalls  along with ZnO nanoflowers have been fabricated in less than 5 minutes. In addition to this, ZnO nanopillars have been fabricated for the first-time using evaporation and degradation phenomena in themicrowave oven. Furthermore,the ZnO nanorods have been found to exhibit a super hydrophobic behaviour, whereas the ZnO nanowalls, nanoflowers and nanopillars have shown a hydrophobic behaviour. The developed ZnO nanostructures may have been found their applications in the areas of optics, electronics, biomedical, solar cell, sensors and transistors etc

Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of trinucleotide repeat expansion in myotonic dystrophy patient-derived iPS and myogenic cells

International audienceCRISPR/Cas9 is an attractive platform to potentially correct dominant genetic diseases by gene editing with unprecedented precision. In the current proof-of-principle study, we explored the use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene-editing in myotonic dys-trophy type-1 (DM1), an autosomal-dominant muscle disorder, by excising the CTG-repeat expansion in the 3-untranslated-region (UTR) of the human myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene in DM1 patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (DM1-iPSC), DM1-iPSC-derived myogenic cells and DM1 patient-specific myoblasts. To eliminate the pathogenic gain-of-function mutant DMPK transcript , we designed a dual guide RNA based strategy that excises the CTG-repeat expansion with high efficiency , as confirmed by Southern blot and single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing. Correction efficiencies up to 90% could be attained in DM1-iPSC as confirmed at the clonal level, following ribonucle-oprotein (RNP) transfection of CRISPR/Cas9 components without the need for selective enrichment. Expanded CTG repeat excision resulted in the disappearance of ribonuclear foci, a quintessential cellular phenotype of DM1, in the corrected DM1-iPSC, DM1-iPSC-derived myogenic cells and DM1 myoblasts. Consequently, the normal intracellular localization of the muscleblind-like splicing regulator 1 (MBNL1) was restored, resulting in the normalization of splicing pattern of SERCA1. This study validates the use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing of repeat expansions

Mining Predicted Essential Genes of Brugia malayi for Nematode Drug Targets

We report results from the first genome-wide application of a rational drug target selection methodology to a metazoan pathogen genome, the completed draft sequence of Brugia malayi, a parasitic nematode responsible for human lymphatic filariasis. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, a related filarial disease. Drug treatments for filariasis have not changed significantly in over 20 years, and with the risk of resistance rising, there is an urgent need for the development of new anti-filarial drug therapies. The recent publication of the draft genomic sequence for B. malayi enables a genome-wide search for new drug targets. However, there is no functional genomics data in B. malayi to guide the selection of potential drug targets. To circumvent this problem, we have utilized the free-living model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a surrogate for B. malayi. Sequence comparisons between the two genomes allow us to map C. elegans orthologs to B. malayi genes. Using these orthology mappings and by incorporating the extensive genomic and functional genomic data, including genome-wide RNAi screens, that already exist for C. elegans, we identify potentially essential genes in B. malayi. Further incorporation of human host genome sequence data and a custom algorithm for prioritization enables us to collect and rank nearly 600 drug target candidates. Previously identified potential drug targets cluster near the top of our prioritized list, lending credibility to our methodology. Over-represented Gene Ontology terms, predicted InterPro domains, and RNAi phenotypes of C. elegans orthologs associated with the potential target pool are identified. By virtue of the selection procedure, the potential B. malayi drug targets highlight components of key processes in nematode biology such as central metabolism, molting and regulation of gene expression

Effect of Roasting Method on Physico-Mechanical and Roasting Characteristics of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

Chickpea grains were roasted by traditional sand roasting (180, 200 and 220ºC) and microwave roasting (450 W, 600 W and 900 W) for 5, 10 and 15 min. The effects of roasting method and their parameters on physico-mechanical and roasting characteristics were determined. Roasting led to an increase in size, sphericity, angle of repose, porosity and puffing index of chickpea. Significant (p<0.05) reduction in fracture force and coefficient of friction was observed. True density decreased with roasting and the lowest value of 787.87 kg.m-3 was observed on sand roasting at 180°C for 15 min. The highest value of puffing index (179.87 %) and length/width ratio (155.04 %) was observed for sand roasting at 220ºC for 15 min and 5 min, respectively. The force required for rupture of chickpea reduced with roasting, and the lowest value (32.28 N) was observed during sand roasting at 220ºC for 10 min. The optimum roasting condition identified for sand and microwave roasting to obtain higher puffing index, lower hardness and rupture energy was observed to be 220 ºC for 10 min and 600 W for 15 min, respectively

Evaluation of vertical and sagittal position of maxillary first molar in various skeletal types.

Aim : To evaluate factors affecting the sagittal and vertical position of maxillary first permanent molar in Class I and Class II division 1 malocclusions . Method : The pre-treatment lateral cephalograms of sixty patients were divided into 2 study groups i.e. Group 1 (Class I subjects) – Angle’s Class I molar relation, with ANB =0-40 with normal overjet and Group 2 (Class II division 1 subjects) – Angle’s Class II molar relation, ANB > 40 with overjet > 4mm. Linear & angular measurements e.g.  Cranial base length, Maxillary length , Maxillary location, Upper anterior face height, Posterior face height, Sagittal and Vertical position of maxillary first molar, Palatal plane angle , Mandibular plane angle,  Interjaw angle and Cant of occlusal plane were made on tracings. Statistical analyses included calculation of linear correlation coefficients and student’s t-test to correlate these parameters. Results and Conclusion: The sagittal & vertical position of maxillary first molar remained same in Angle’s Class I and Class II division 1 malocclusion. In Angle’s Class I malocclusion, maxillary first molar was located more forward with increased maxillary length and its height increased with increase in upper anterior face height and posterior face height. In Angle’s Class II division 1 malocclusion, maxillary first molar was located more forward with increase in maxillary length as well as posterior face height while it was located more posteriorly with a steeper cant of occlusal plane and maxillary first molar height increased with increase in maxillary length as well as posterior face height and decreased with steeper cant of occlusal plane