Phosalone-Induced Changes in Regional Cholinesterase Activities in Rat Brain during Behavioral Tolerance

Organophosphate pesticides exert their toxic effects by cholinesteraseinhibition and the consequent prolongation of the undesirable effects ofaccumulation of acetylcholine. The signs of toxicity include tremors,convulsions, lachrymation, defecation etc. However, sustained cholinesterase inhibition through sustained administration of organophosphates would lead to the gradual disappearance of the initial signs of toxicity over time, termed behavioral tolerance. The present study was undertaken to examine the activity levels of cholinesterases in different regions of rat brain during the development of behavioral tolerance to the organophosphate phosalone. Male albino rats were given a daily oral dose of phosalone (41.35 mg, equivalent to ¼ of LD50) every day for 15 days and the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and pseudocholinesterase (PChE) were estimated at intervals at 1, 3, 9 and 15 days of treatment. All the cholinesterases were inhibited, and this inhibition was found to vary among different brain regions at different times. Greater inhibition of AChE and BuChE activities was observed at 9 days, while for PChE it was recorded at 3 days. Recovery trend to normalcy was observed earlier in PChE compared to AChE and BuChE. The signs and symptoms of pesticide toxicity were mainly cholinergic. Inhibition of cholinesterases was well correlated with the appearance and severity of signs and symptoms. Tremors and convulsions in particular were more after 9 days. After 9 days, decline followed by disappearance of majority of the signs and symptoms wasnoticed while reduction in cholinesterase activities still continued, indicatingthe development of behavioral tolerance to phosalone. Among the brainregions, striatum recorded a greater decrease in cholinesterase activity.Earlier recovery of pseudocholinesterase activity seems to be an interestingphenomenon in regulating homeostasis of cholinesterases and in thedevelopment of symptomatic tolerance of phosalone.Key words: Phosalone, Cholinesterases, Rat brain, Behavioraltolerance

STABILITY ENHANCEMENT OF PROTON PUMP INHIBITOR IN STOMACH: FORMULATION AND IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF STABILIZED PROTON PUMP INHIBITOR

Objective: The aim of the present study was to prepare a pantoprazole rosin complex tablet which would stabilize the drug in the mild acidic condition (pH 5) of the stomach during the fed state.Methods: The method of slow solvent evaporation and anti-solvent was used for the preparation of pantoprazole rosin complex.Results: The prepared pantoprazole rosin complex exhibited decreased solubility than that of pure drug. FTIR and DSC studies confirmed the formation of a complex between the pantoprazole sodium and rosin via weak ionic bonds. The in-vitro release studies of the pantoprazole rosin complex showed more than 80% release at the end of 90 minutes. Tablets were formulated using direct compression method and the prepared tablets were evaluated in-vitro. The tablets were found to be within official limits with respect to hardness, weight variation, drug content, friability etc.Conclusion: The tablet formulated with croscarmellose sodium as super disintegrant showed 97% drug release within 60 minutes. The optimized tablets were found to be stable in accelerated study conditions for a period of 1 month with respect to physical characteristics and drug content. If this process can be scaled up to manufacturing level, this technique has the potential to develop into an invaluable technology in future.Â

Rare earth (RE - Ce, Gd) modified Nd<inf>1-x</inf>RE<inf>x</inf>FeAsO<inf>0.7</inf>F<inf>0.3</inf> superconductor with enhanced magneto-transport properties

The influence of rare earth (RE – Ce, Gd) doping at the Nd site in the NdFeAsO0.7F0.3 superconductor wherein Ce and Gd have ionic radii in the order Ce &gt; Nd &gt; Gd is investigated.The authors P. M. Aswathy J. B. Anooja and Neson Varghese acknowledge the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for providing fellowship. The authors acknowledge CSIR 12th Five Year Plan Project, “Sustainable technologies for the Utilization of Rareearths (SURE),” (No. CSC0132) and Department of Science & Technology (DST) for financial support.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/RA/c5ra02499d#!divAbstract

An AI-based Intelligent System for Healthcare Analysis Using Ridge–Adaline Stochastic Gradient Descent Classifier

Recent technological advancements in information and communication technologies introduced smart ways of handling various aspects of life. Smart devices and applications are now an integral part of our daily life; however, the use of smart devices also introduced various physical and psychological health issues in modern societies. One of the most common health care issues prevalent among almost all age groups is diabetes mellitus. This work aims to propose an Artificial Intelligence (AI) – based intelligent system for earlier prediction of the disease using Ridge Adaline Stochastic Gradient Descent Classifier (RASGD). The proposed scheme RASGD improves the regularization of the classification model by using weight decay methods, namely Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator(LASSO) and Ridge Regression methods. To minimize the cost function of the classifier, the RASGD adopts an unconstrained optimization model. Further, to increase the convergence speed of the classifier, the Adaline Stochastic Gradient Descent classifier is integrated with Ridge Regression. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the intelligent system, the results of the proposed scheme have been compared with state-of-art machine learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machine and Logistic Regression methods. The RASGD intelligent system attains an accuracy of 92%, which is better than the other selected classifiers

Hippocampal Volume Reduction in Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome

Children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a genetic disorder characterized by diminished drive to breathe during sleep and impaired CO2 sensitivity, show brain structural and functional changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, with impaired responses in specific hippocampal regions, suggesting localized injury

Diagnostic features of tuberculous meningitis: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a common central nervous system infection in the Philippines; however it is difficult to diagnose as findings are non-specific. Hence we decided to determine if, among patients with chronic meningitis syndrome, the following are associated with the diagnosis: new-onset seizures; focal neurologic deficit; pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) on chest X-ray; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis with lymphocytic predominance; decreased CSF glucose; increased CSF protein.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Adult patients with suspected TBM were enrolled after informed consent was obtained. Baseline physical examination and diagnostic tests including CT scan of the head with contrast and CSF analysis for acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear, TB culture and cryptococcal antigen detection were done and results collected. Definite TBM was defined as positive AFB smear or positive TB culture or positive basal meningeal enhancement on CT contrast study. Logistic regression was done to determine which were associated with a diagnosis of TBM.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>91 patients were included. Using the gold standard criteria mentioned above, 44 had definite TBM; but if subsequent clinical course and response to anti-Koch's therapy are considered, 68 had a final diagnosis of TBM. After logistic regression was performed, only abnormal CSF (the combination of CSF pleocytosis with lymphocytic predominance, decreased CSF glucose, and increased CSF protein) was associated with the diagnosis of TBM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In patients with chronic meningitis syndrome, only abnormal CSF was associated with the diagnosis of TBM.</p

Seroprevalence of HIV in pregnant women in North India: a tertiary care hospital based study

Abstract Background Estimating the seroprevalence of HIV in a low risk population such as pregnant women provides essential information for an effective implementation of AIDS control programmes, and also for the monitoring of HIV spread within a country. Very few studies are available from north India showing the current trend in HIV prevalence in the antenatal population;which led us to carry outthis study at a tertiary care hospital in north India Methods Blood samples from pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi were collected after informed consent and pre-test counseling. The samples were tested for HIV antibodies as per the WHO guidelines, over a period of four years from January 2003 to December 2006. Results Of the 3529 pregnant women tested in four years, 0.88% (CI 0.5 – 1.24) women were found to be HIV seroreactive. Majority of the seroreactive pregnant women (41.9%) were in the age group of 20–24 years followed by the 30–34 yrs (25.8%) and 25–29 years (22.6%) age group. The mean age of the HIV positive women was 24.9 years (SD ± 1.49 yrs). The HIV seroprevalence rates showed an increasing trend from 0.7% (CI 0.14 – 2.04) in 2003–2004 to 0.9% (CI 0.49 – 1.5) in 2005–2006. This prevalence rate indicates concern, as Delhi and its adjoining states are otherwise considered as 'low prevalence states'. Conclusion Seroprevalence of HIV infection was found to be increasing in the last four years amongst pregnant women of North India. These findings are in contrast to the national projections.</p

Case Report: “Spina Ventosa” Tuberculous Dactylitis in a 2 Year Old Boy - A Very Rare Disease

Tuberculous infection of metacarpals, metatarsals and phalanges is known as tuberculous dactylitis. There is a spindle shaped expansion of the short tubular bones due to tuberculous granuloma. Hence it is also known as spina ventosa. In our case, a two year old boy with a swelling in the metacarpal was provisionally diagnosed as enchondromata while the possibility of spina ventosa was kept in mind. He was posted for excision of the metacarpal followed by bone grafting. Histopathological examination report confirmed it as spina ventosa

The views of older women towards mammographic screening: a qualitative and quantitative study

Purpose: Mammographic screening has improved breast cancer survival in the screened age group. This improved survival has not been seen in older women (>70 years) where screening uptake is low. This study explores the views, knowledge and attitudes of older women towards screening. Methods: Women (>70) were interviewed about breast screening. Interview findings informed the development of a questionnaire which was sent to 1000 women (>70) to quantify their views regarding screening. Results: Twenty-six women were interviewed and a questionnaire designed. The questionnaire response rate was 48.3% (479/992). Over half (52.9%, 241/456) of respondents were unaware they could request mammography by voluntary self-referral and were unaware of how to arrange this. Most (81.5% 383/470) had not attended breast screening since turning 70. Most (75.6%, 343/454) felt screening was beneficial and would attend if invited. Most, (90.1%, 412/457) felt screening should be offered to all women regardless of age or health. Conclusions: There is a lack of knowledge about screening in older women. The majority felt that invitation to screening should be extended to the older age group regardless of age or health. The current under-utilised system of voluntary self referral is not supported by older women

Janus Black Holes

In this paper Janus black holes in AdS3 are considered. These are static solutions of an Einstein-scalar system with broken translation symmetry along the horizon. These solutions are dual to interface conformal field theories at finite temperature. An approximate solution is first constructed using perturbation theory around a planar BTZ black hole. Numerical and exact solutions valid for all sets of parameters are then found and compared. Using the exact solution the thermodynamics of the system is analyzed. The entropy associated with the Janus black hole is calculated and it is found that the entropy of the black Janus is the sum of the undeformed black hole entropy and the entanglement entropy associated with the defect.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figures, reference adde