Study of extreme point rainfall over flash flood prone regions of the Himalayan foot hills of north India

In north India flash flood normally occur in the foothill and sub-montane regions of the Himalayas during the monsoon months due to incidence of heavy fall of rain

Anaesthetic considerations of adults with Morquio's syndrome - a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The anaesthetic management of patients with Morquio syndrome is complicated by a number of factors including odontoid hypoplasia, atlantoaxial instability, thoracic kyphosis, and deposition of mucopolysaccharides in the soft tissue of the oropharnyx.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Herein we describe the anaesthetic considerations and management of a 26 year old adult with Morquio syndrome, who presented for an elective hip replacement.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This report details an awake fiberoptic intubation in an adult with Morquio syndrome. We recommend that this approach be considered in patients with Morquio syndrome undergoing general anaesthesia.</p

H5N1 Vaccine-Specific B Cell Responses in Ferrets Primed with Live Attenuated Seasonal Influenza Vaccines

Live attenuated influenza H5N1 vaccines have been produced and evaluated in mice and ferrets that were never exposed to influenza A virus infection (Suguitan et al., Plos Medicine, e360:1541, 2006). However, the preexisting influenza heterosubtypic immunity on live attenuated H5N1 vaccine induced immune response has not been evaluated.Primary and recall B cell responses to live attenuated H5N1 vaccine viruses were examined using a sensitive antigen-specific B cell ELISpot assay to investigate the effect of preexisting heterosubtypic influenza immunity on the development of H5N1-specific B cell immune responses in ferrets. Live attenuated H5N1 A/Hong Kong/213/03 and A/Vietnam/1203/04 vaccine viruses induced measurable H5-specific IgM and IgG secreting B cells after intranasal vaccination. However, H5-specific IgG secreting cells were detected significantly earlier and at a greater frequency after H5N1 inoculation in ferrets previously primed with trivalent live attenuated influenza (H1N1, H3N2 and B) vaccine. Priming studies further revealed that the more rapid B cell responses to H5 resulted from cross-reactive B cell immunity to the hemagglutinin H1 protein. Moreover, vaccination with the H1N1 vaccine virus was able to induce protective responses capable of limiting replication of the H5N1 vaccine virus to a level comparable with prior vaccination with the H5N1 vaccine virus without affecting H5N1 vaccine virus induced antibody response. vaccine and the heterosubtypic immunity may be beneficial for pandemic preparedness

Genome wide analysis of gene expression changes in skin from patients with type 2 diabetes

Non-healing chronic ulcers are a serious complication of diabetes and are a major healthcare problem. While a host of treatments have been explored to heal or prevent these ulcers from forming, these treatments have not been found to be consistently effective in clinical trials. An understanding of the changes in gene expression in the skin of diabetic patients may provide insight into the processes and mechanisms that precede the formation of non-healing ulcers. In this study, we investigated genome wide changes in gene expression in skin between patients with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic patients using next generation sequencing. We compared the gene expression in skin samples taken from 27 patients (13 with type 2 diabetes and 14 non-diabetic). This information may be useful in identifying the causal factors and potential therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of diabetic related diseases

Sulfur Nanoparticles Synthesis and Characterization from H2S Gas, Using Novel Biodegradable Iron Chelates in W/O Microemulsion

Sulfur nanoparticles were synthesized from hazardous H2S gas using novel biodegradable iron chelates in w/o microemulsion system. Fe3+–malic acid chelate (0.05 M aqueous solution) was studied in w/o microemulsion containing cyclohexane, Triton X-100 andn-hexanol as oil phase, surfactant, co-surfactant, respectively, for catalytic oxidation of H2S gas at ambient conditions of temperature, pressure, and neutral pH. The structural features of sulfur nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), diffused reflectance infra-red Fourier transform technique, and BET surface area measurements. XRD analysis indicates the presence of α-sulfur. TEM analysis shows that the morphology of sulfur nanoparticles synthesized in w/o microemulsion system is nearly uniform in size (average particle size 10 nm) and narrow particle size distribution (in range of 5–15 nm) as compared to that in aqueous surfactant systems. The EDS analysis indicated high purity of sulfur (>99%). Moreover, sulfur nanoparticles synthesized in w/o microemulsion system exhibit higher antimicrobial activity (against bacteria, yeast, and fungi) than that of colloidal sulfur

Structural and regulatory diversity shape HLA-C protein expression levels

Expression of HLA-C varies widely across individuals in an allele-specific manner. This variation in expression can influence efficacy of the immune response, as shown for infectious and autoimmune diseases. MicroRNA binding partially influences differential HLA-C expression, but the additional contributing factors have remained undetermined. Here we use functional and structural analyses to demonstrate that HLA-C expression is modulated not just at the RNA level, but also at the protein level. Specifically, we show that variation in exons 2 and 3, which encode the α1/α2 domains, drives differential expression of HLA-C allomorphs at the cell surface by influencing the structure of the peptide-binding cleft and the diversity of peptides bound by the HLA-C molecules. Together with a phylogenetic analysis, these results highlight the diversity and long-term balancing selection of regulatory factors that modulate HLA-C expression

Variations in Multiple Birth Rates and Impact on Perinatal Outcomes in Europe

Objective Infants from multiple pregnancies have higher rates of preterm birth, stillbirth and neonatal death and differences in multiple birth rates (MBR) exist between countries. We aimed to describe differences in MBR in Europe and to investigate the impact of these differences on adverse perinatal outcomes at a population level. Methods We used national aggregate birth data on multiple pregnancies, maternal age, gestational age (GA), stillbirth and neonatal death collected in the Euro-Peristat project (29 countries in 2010, N = 5 074 643 births). We also used European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) data on assisted conception and single embryo transfer (SET). The impact of MBR on outcomes was studied using meta-analysis techniques with random-effects models to derive pooled risk ratios (pRR) overall and for four groups of country defined by their MBR. We computed population attributable risks (PAR) for these groups. Results In 2010, the average MBR was 16.8 per 1000 women giving birth, ranging from 9.1 (Romania) to 26.5 (Cyprus). Compared to singletons, multiples had a nine-fold increased risk (pRR 9.4, 95% Cl 9.1–9.8) of preterm birth (<37 weeks GA), an almost 12-fold increased risk (pRR 11.7, 95% CI 11.0–12.4) of very preterm birth (<32 weeks GA). Pooled RR were 2.4 (95% Cl 1.5–3.6) for fetal mortality at or after 28 weeks GA and 7.0 (95% Cl 6.1–8.0) for neonatal mortality. PAR of neonatal death and very preterm birth were higher in countries with high MBR compared to low MBR (17.1% (95% CI 13.8–20.2) versus 9.8% (95% Cl 9.6–11.0) for neonatal death and 29.6% (96% CI 28.5–30.6) versus 17.5% (95% CI 15.7–18.3) for very preterm births, respectively). Conclusions Wide variations in MBR and their impact on population outcomes imply that efforts by countries to reduce MBR could improve perinatal outcomes, enabling better long-term child health

Treatment and outcomes of an Australian cohort of outpatients with bipolar 1 or schizoaffective disorder over twenty-four months : implications for clinical practice

Background The Bipolar Comprehensive Outcomes Study (BCOS) is a 2-year, prospective, non-interventional, observational study designed to explore the clinical and functional outcomes associated with &lsquo;real-world&rsquo; treatment of participants with bipolar I or schizoaffective disorder. All participants received treatment as usual. There was no study medication.Methods Participants prescribed either conventional mood stabilizers (CMS; n&thinsp;=&thinsp;155) alone, or olanzapine with, or without, CMS (olanzapine&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;CMS; n&thinsp;=&thinsp;84) were assessed every 3&thinsp;months using several measures, including the Young Mania Rating Scale, 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impressions Scale &ndash; Bipolar Version, and the EuroQol Instrument. This paper reports 24-month longitudinal clinical, pharmacological, functional, and socioeconomic data.Results On average, participants were 42 (range 18 to 79) years of age, 58%; were female, and 73%; had a diagnosis of bipolar I. Polypharmacy was the usual approach to pharmacological treatment; participants took a median of 5 different psychotropic medications over the course of the study, and spent a median proportion of time of 100%; of the study on mood stabilizers, 90%; on antipsychotics, 9%; on antidepressants, and 5%; on benzodiazepines/hypnotics. By 24&thinsp;months, the majority of participants had achieved both symptomatic and syndromal remission of both mania and depression. Symptomatic relapse rates were similar for both the CMS alone (65%;) and the olanzapine&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;CMS (61%;) cohorts.Conclusions Participants with bipolar I or schizoaffective disorder in this study were receiving complex medication treatments that were often discordant with recommendations made in contemporary major treatment guidelines. The majority of study participants demonstrated some clinical and functional improvements, but not all achieved remission of symptoms or syndrome.<br /

Human Disease-Drug Network Based on Genomic Expression Profiles

BACKGROUND: Drug repositioning offers the possibility of faster development times and reduced risks in drug discovery. With the rapid development of high-throughput technologies and ever-increasing accumulation of whole genome-level datasets, an increasing number of diseases and drugs can be comprehensively characterized by the changes they induce in gene expression, protein, metabolites and phenotypes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed a systematic, large-scale analysis of genomic expression profiles of human diseases and drugs to create a disease-drug network. A network of 170,027 significant interactions was extracted from the approximately 24.5 million comparisons between approximately 7,000 publicly available transcriptomic profiles. The network includes 645 disease-disease, 5,008 disease-drug, and 164,374 drug-drug relationships. At least 60% of the disease-disease pairs were in the same disease area as determined by the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) disease classification tree. The remaining can drive a molecular level nosology by discovering relationships between seemingly unrelated diseases, such as a connection between bipolar disorder and hereditary spastic paraplegia, and a connection between actinic keratosis and cancer. Among the 5,008 disease-drug links, connections with negative scores suggest new indications for existing drugs, such as the use of some antimalaria drugs for Crohn's disease, and a variety of existing drugs for Huntington's disease; while the positive scoring connections can aid in drug side effect identification, such as tamoxifen's undesired carcinogenic property. From the approximately 37K drug-drug relationships, we discover relationships that aid in target and pathway deconvolution, such as 1) KCNMA1 as a potential molecular target of lobeline, and 2) both apoptotic DNA fragmentation and G2/M DNA damage checkpoint regulation as potential pathway targets of daunorubicin. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We have automatically generated thousands of disease and drug expression profiles using GEO datasets, and constructed a large scale disease-drug network for effective and efficient drug repositioning as well as drug target/pathway identification

Haemostatics in surgery and our experience in the enucleoresection of renal cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>30 patients, with T1 renal cell carcinomas (RCC) who underwent open enucleoresection of the tumour, were randomized to the use of a topical haemostatic agent (Floseal) or to an infrared-sapphire coagulator (ISC), to compare their efficacy in achieving haemostasis. Methods: Successful intra-operative haemostasis, intra- and post-operative bleeding, operative time, hospital discharge were evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Statistically higher rates of successful haemostasis and shorter time-to-haemostasis (8,1 vs 12,9 min) were observed in the FloSeal group (p < 0.001 both). Patients operative time was not different between Group 1 vs 2 (58.7 ± 12 vs 62.4 ± 15; p > 0.05). The average blood loss during surgery was less (60 +/- 25.5 mL) for the FloSeal group than for the ISC group (85 +/- 40.5 mL) (p < 0.05). Postoperative blood loss was 25 +/- 5 mL and 40 +/- 45 mL for Floseal and ISC respectively, (p < 0.05). Length of the postoperative hospital discharge was 2.5 +/- 1.2 days for FloSeal group and 3.5 +/- 1.3 for the Group 2 (p < 0.05). No major immediate or delayed complications were observed in either Groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The use of Floseal and ISC offer a safe and efficacy haemostasis in the enucleoresection of RCC. Moreover, our results show a less intra-operative and post-operative blood loss as well as a shorter time to haemostasis of Floseal in respect to ISC.</p