Uric acid levels in chronic kidney disease- a hospital based cross-sectional study in RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand

Background: Uric acid is the final end product of purine metabolism and is excreted mainly by proximal tubules of the kidney. Raised uric acid levels may lead to proximal tubular injury, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and intra renal inflammation in patients with normal renal function. Uric acid has been deemed as an independent risk factor for progression of CKD. Aim was to study the uric acid levels in different stages of chronic kidney disease and its association with age, sex and other co-morbidities.Methods: 140 patients of chronic kidney disease admitted in RIMS, Ranchi were included in this study and their serum uric acid level were analyzed. Uric acid level more than 7 mg/dl was considered as hyperuricemia. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. Informed consent was taken from every patient included in the study.Results: Median age±SD was 55±13.47 years (IQR: 45,65; Range: 19-80). Mean±SD uric acid levels in stage 3 CKD was 4.4±1.9 mg/dl, stage 4 CKD was 6.5±4.1 mg/dl, stage 5 CKD was 8.8±3.1 mg/dl (p<0.05). Females were 31.4% and males were 69.6%. Male to female ratio was 2.2:1. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 50% in females and 66.6% in males.Conclusions: Hyperuricemia is common among CKD patients and more common among males. Uric acid levels increase with progressive decline in eGFR. Monitoring and follow-up of such patients by may lead to delay in onset and progression of complications of CKD

Etiopathogenesis of aplastic anemia in children: a case control study

Background: Aplastic anemia is not an infrequent clinical syndrome that we encounter. In about two thirds of cases of aplastic anemia it is not possible to identify any likely cause. Aim of the study was to study the role of organochlorine compounds, Parvovirus B19, Hepatitis viruses B and C and HIV I and II in causation of aplastic anemia in children.Methods: 25 children of bone marrow biopsy proved aplastic anemia and 25 age Matched controls were investigated for the presence of Parvovirus B19, Hepatitis viruses B and C, HIV I and II and for increased levels of organo-chlorines in blood and bone marrow. ELISA technique to detect antibodies against Parvovirus B19 (IgM), HCV (IgG), HbsAg, HIV I and II was used. Gas chromatography was used to measure blood levels of organo-chlorine compounds α, β, γ, δ HCH, p-p DDE.Results: out of 25 children of aplastic anemia 5 cases (20%) were IgM ELISA positive against Parvovirus B19, 6 cases (24%) were positive for IgG antibody against HCV and 1 case (4%) was Australia antigen positive. 14 cases (56%) showed increased levels (>mean±2SD) of organochlorine compounds α, β, γ, δ HCH, p-p DDE. None of the cases were positive for HIV I and II. None of the controls were positive for Parvovirus B19 (IgM) neither for HCV (IgG). Multiple factors (>1) were positive in 4 cases (16%). 5 cases (20%) didn’t have any positivity for studied factors. 22 cases (88%) of aplastic anemia children were >5 years of age. 21 cases (84%) belonged to rural areas. 11 cases (44%) presented in the month of March and April. Parvovirus B19 was more prevalent (80% cases) in the older age group of children (8-12years).Conclusions: Majority of virological agents contribute to non-severe aplastic anemia. Significant association was found between very severe and severe aplastic anemia with organochlorine compounds. However larger community based studies are needed to correlate this

IDENTIFICATION OF FOOD INSECURE ZONES USING REMOTE SENSING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES

The basic human need is to ensure adequate access to food without any combat, loss of productivity and cognitive impairment in the supply chain. When an individual is limited to proper procurement of food through various determinants there stems sustained hunger which is termed as ‘food insecurity’. The study portrays to identify the food insecure zones using indicators which are implemented methodically through remote sensing and artificial intelligence techniques. Madhya Pradesh being a semi arid region faces reduction in the agro ecosystem due to the climatic changes and rainfall impacts which are the key trends for demand of food and production thus resulting in risk of malnutrition and hunger. Tackling food shortage requires addressing both environmental and socio-demographic factors in order to minimize food insecurity. The spatial variation of rainfall over years along with significant land degradation affects the common cultivation pattern among the households. In this study, a neural network approach is employed to identify the zones that ensure less access to food using indicators which mainly focuses on child population below five years, hunger index measuring parameters like child stunted, child wasted, children undernourished, child mortality below five years along with supporting environmental factors such as land use/land cover, NDVI and rainfall prevailing in the study area. The result shows a bleak statistics of villages representing the hunger index score that are categorized into low, serious, alarming and extremely alarming estimating a count of 70, 73, 23 and 7 villages respectively in the entire study area

Point-of-Care Devices for Viral Detection: COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

The pandemic of COVID-19 and its widespread transmission have made us realize the importance of early, quick diagnostic tests for facilitating effective cure and management. The primary obstacles encountered were accurately distinguishing COVID-19 from other illnesses including the flu, common cold, etc. While the polymerase chain reaction technique is a robust technique for the determination of SARS-CoV-2 in patients of COVID-19, there arises a high demand for affordable, quick, user-friendly, and precise point-of-care (POC) diagnostic in therapeutic settings. The necessity for available tests with rapid outcomes spurred the advancement of POC tests that are characterized by speed, automation, and high precision and accuracy. Paper-based POC devices have gained increasing interest in recent years because of rapid, low-cost detection without requiring external instruments. At present, microfluidic paper-based analysis devices have garnered public attention and accelerated the development of such POCT for efficient multistep assays. In the current review, our focus will be on the fabrication of detection modules for SARS-CoV-2. Here, we have included a discussion on various strategies for the detection of viral moieties. The compilation of these strategies would offer comprehensive insight into the detection of the causative agent preparedness for future pandemics. We also provide a descriptive outline for paper-based diagnostic platforms, involving the determination mechanisms, as well as a commercial kit for COVID-19 as well as their outlook

Source Apportionment of Brown Carbon Absorption by Coupling Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy with Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

The impact of brown carbon (BrC) on climate has been widely acknowledged but remains uncertain, because either its contribution to absorption is being ignored in most climate models or the associated mixed emission sources and atmospheric lifetime are not accounted for. In this work, we propose positive matrix factorization as a framework to apportion the contributions of individual primary and secondary organic aerosol (OA) source components of BrC absorption, by combining long-term aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) data with concurrent ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy measurements. The former feature time-depend ent factor contributions to OA mass, and the latter consist of wavelength-dependent absorption coefficients. Using this approach for a full-year case study, we estimate for the first time the mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of major light-absorbing water soluble OA components in the atmosphere. We show that secondary biogenic OA contributes negligibly to absorption despite dominating the mass concentration in the summer. In contrast, primary and secondary wood burning emissions are highly absorbing up to 500 nm. The approach allowed us to constrain their MAE within a confined range consistent with previous laboratory work, which can be used in climate models to estimate the impact of BrC from these emissions on the overall absorption.The impact of brown carbon (BrC) on climate has been widely acknowledged but remains uncertain, because either its contribution to absorption is being ignored in most climate models or the associated mixed emission sources and atmospheric lifetime are not accounted for. In this work, we propose positive matrix factorization as a framework to apportion the contributions of individual primary and secondary organic aerosol (OA) source components of BrC absorption, by combining long-term aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) data with concurrent ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy measurements. The former feature time-depend ent factor contributions to OA mass, and the latter consist of wavelength-dependent absorption coefficients. Using this approach for a full-year case study, we estimate for the first time the mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of major light-absorbing water soluble OA components in the atmosphere. We show that secondary biogenic OA contributes negligibly to absorption despite dominating the mass concentration in the summer. In contrast, primary and secondary wood burning emissions are highly absorbing up to 500 nm. The approach allowed us to constrain their MAE within a confined range consistent with previous laboratory work, which can be used in climate models to estimate the impact of BrC from these emissions on the overall absorption.Peer reviewe

Enhancement of magnetostrictive properties of Galfenol thin films

The present study investigates the role of substrate temperatures on the structural, morphological, magnetic and magnetostrictive properties of DC sputtered FeGa thin films grown on Si substrates. These films were deposited at various substrate temperatures between 50 and 350 °C. The structural characterization of the films revealed columnar growth and the transformation of surface morphology from prismatic to spherical at high substrate temperatures. Both L12 and B2 phases of FeGa existed in the films, with the L12 phase dominating. The in-plane and out-of-plane vibration sample magnetometry measurements showed the evolution of magnetic anisotropy in these films. It was revealed from the magnetostriction measurements that the films deposited at 250 °C exhibited the maximum value of 59 ppm

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg-1 Herbs min-1. These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air

Characterization of Gas-Phase Organics Using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry : Cooking Emissions

Cooking processes produce gaseous and particle emissions that are potentially deleterious to human health. Using a highly controlled experimental setup involving a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), we investigate the emission factors and the detailed chemical composition of gas phase emissions from a broad variety of cooking styles and techniques. A total of 95 experiments were conducted to characterize nonmethane organic gas (NMOG) emissions from boiling, charbroiling, shallow frying, and deep frying of various vegetables and meats, as well as emissions from vegetable oils heated to different temperatures. Emissions from boiling vegetables are dominated by methanol. Significant amounts of dimethyl sulfide are emitted from cruciferous vegetables. Emissions from shallow frying, deep frying and charbroiling are dominated by aldehydes of differing relative composition depending on the oil used. We show that the emission factors of some aldehydes are particularly large which may result in considerable negative impacts on human health in indoor environments. The suitability of some of the aldehydes as tracers for the identification of cooking emissions in ambient air is discussed