Sickle cell nephropathy with diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis: a case report

<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>Sickle cell nephropathy (SCN) is an important cause of mortality in patients with sickle cell disease. SCA with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is known in children and less common in adults, however diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis (DPLN) with SCN has rarely been reported in adults. It requires early diagnosis and aggressive management.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present here a 35 years old lady with sickle cell disease who presented with edema, dyspnoea on exertion, pyuria and had raised s. creatinine of 7 mg%. Her biopsy revealed SCN with DPLN. She is on maintenance hemodialysis after 2 months of diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>DPLN with SCN is a rare entity with poor prognosis, which may be overlooked and needs aggressive management.</p

Ahmedabad tolerance induction protocol and chronic renal allograft dysfunction: pathologic observations and clinical implications

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic Renal Allograft Dysfunction (CRAD) is responsible for a large number of graft failures. We have abrogated acute T-cell rejections using Ahmedabad Tolerance Induction Protocol (ATIP) with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) under non-myeloablative conditioning pre-transplant. However B-cell mediated rejections and CRAD continue to haunt us. We carried out retrospective analysis of renal allograft biopsies performed in the last 4 years to evaluate the effect of ATIP on CRAD.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Biopsies diagnosed as per modified Banff criteria belonged to 2 groups: ATIP under low dose immunosuppression of cyclosporine/Azathioprine/Mycofenolate mofetil+ Prednisolone, subjected to donor leucocyte transfusion, anti-T/B cell antibodies, low dose target specific irradiation, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporin followed by HSCT pre-transplant; controls who opted out of ATIP were transplanted under standard triple drug immunosuppression. Demographics of both groups were comparable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Incidence of chronic changes was higher in controls (17.5%) vs. 10.98% in ATIP over a mean follow up of 151.9 months in the former and 130.9 months in the latter. Proteinuria and hypertension were higher in controls (48.4%) vs. ATIP (32.7%) with chronic transplant glomerulopathy, focal global sclerosis in 67.7% in controls vs. 46.7% in ATIP, acute on chronic T/B cell rejection in 51.6% controls vs. 28.1% ATIP, with peritubular capillary C4d deposits in 19.4% controls vs. 1.9% ATIP biopsies. Acute on chronic calcineurin inhibitor toxicity was higher in ATIP (71.9%) vs. 48.4% in controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chronic immune injury was less with ATIP vs controls as compared to a higher incidence of chronic calcineurin inhibitor toxicity in the former.</p

Pilot and feasibility study of serum chemokines as markers to distinguish prostatic disease in men with low total serum PSA

BACKGROUND The incidence and prevalence of both benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) increase with the aging process. Our laboratory recently showed that the chemokines CXCL5 and CXCL12, which normally function as inflammatory mediators, are secreted at higher levels by aging prostate stromal fibroblasts and elicit proliferative responses from both prostate stromal fibroblast and epithelial cells. Because both CXCL5 and CXCL12 are secreted molecules, we hypothesized that their levels in patient serum might serve as biomarkers to distinguish between BPH and PCa. METHODS Serum CXCL5 and CXCL12 levels were determined using sandwich ELISAs for 51 men demonstrating low serum PSA values of ≤10 ng/ml who underwent diagnostic needle biopsy for the detection of PCa. The bivariate relationship of circulating chemokine levels, age, and disease status in the prostate was tested using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results Total serum CXCL12 levels were significantly higher for men who were biopsy positive compared to those who were biopsy negative for cancer and histological prostatitis ( P  = 0.050). Among men who were biopsy negative for PCa, total serum CXCL5 levels were inversely associated with prostate volume and were significantly higher in men with concomitant BPH and histological prostatitis compared to those without evidence of prostatic disease ( P  < 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The results of this pilot and feasibility study suggest that serum or plasma CXCL5 and CXCL12 levels may potentially distinguish between BPH and PCa among patients presenting with low serum PSA, and may be useful toward facilitating decisions to perform diagnostic needle biopsy in this patient population. Prostate 68: 442–452, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57914/1/20717_ftp.pd

Cloud Based Vehicle Parking System for Anonymous Place Using Internet of Things

The intention of our project is to create a smart parking system for smart cities and malls to find a parking space that is well suited to their respective aspects. That is, it can help in finding either the nearest spot or the best one. Thus the algorithm increases the efficiency of the cloud based system and hence develops a network architecture based on internet of things. We have also successfully implemented the proposed system in the real world

Genetic polymorphisms in CYP17 , CYP3A4 , CYP19A1 , SRD5A2 , IGF-1 , and IGFBP-3 and prostate cancer risk in African-American men: The Flint Men's Health Study

BACKGROUND Association studies have examined the significance of several candidate genes based on biological pathways relevant to prostate carcinogenesis, including both the androgen and insulin-like growth factor pathways. Clinical and epidemiologic evidence suggest that androgens, specifically testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are important not only in normal prostate growth but in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Similarly, the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway regulates both cellular proliferation and apoptosis. Therefore, genes involved in the biosynthesis, activation, metabolism and degradation of androgens and the stimulation of mitogenic and antiapoptotic activities of prostate epithelial cells represent important candidates for affecting the development and progression of prostate cancer. METHODS Using resources from the Flint Men's Health Study, a population-based case control study of African-American men aged 40–79, we evaluated the associations between selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CYP17 , CYP3A4 , CYP19A1 , SDR5A2 , IGF1 , and IGFBP3 genes and prostate cancer diagnosis in 473 men (131 prostate cancer cases and 342 disease-free controls). RESULTS We found a significant association between prostate cancer and selected CYP17 SNP genotypes, with the heterozygous genotype conferring decreased risk. Suggestive evidence for association between IGF1 SNPs and prostate cancer were also found. No significant associations were observed between SNPs in the other genes and prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that variation in or around CYP17 and/or IGF1 may be associated with prostate cancer development in the African-American population. Additional studies are needed to determine whether these polymorphisms are indeed associated with prostate cancer risk in African Americans. Prostate 68: 296–305, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57913/1/20696_ftp.pd

Standardization of a protocol to screen for salinity tolerance in groundnut

This article reports the results of two experiments carried out to standardize a protocol for the screening of salt-tolerant groundnut genotypes. The objectives were: (i) to identify an optimum NaCl treatment; (ii) to explore the potential tolerance mechanisms; and (iii) to assess the genotypic variation for salinity tolerance in groundnut. Results showed that 100-125 mM of NaCl was suitable to screen for salinity tolerance in groundnut. The material screened in this study was very limited by large differences could be observed for response to salinity, indicating a good scope for identifying genotypes with higher level of tolerance from larger screening of diverse sets of materials. Reduction in leaf size and stem/leaf ratio was observed in response to salinity. This indicates arrest of leaf expansions, which eventually limits the area available for photosynthesis. Further research is needed to determine the mechanisms of salinity tolerance in groundnut

Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women with a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

ABSTRACT Objective: Stress urinary incontinence may serve as a barrier to lifestyle modification among women at high risk for diabetes, but the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence among women with histories of gestational diabetes mellitus (hGDM) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of stress incontinence among women with hGDM and to examine its association with their current physical activity. Methods: We surveyed women with hGDM within the past 5 years who were currently enrolled in a managed care plan (n = 228). In a cross-sectional analysis, self-reported weekly or more frequent stress incontinence was the primary independent variable and measures of physical activity and body mass index (BMI) were the outcomes of interest. We constructed multivariable models that adjusted for participant characteristics associated with the measure of incontinence or outcomes in bivariate analyses. Results: Of the 228 women with hGDM, 49% reported weekly or more frequent incontinence during pregnancy, and 28% reported that incontinence affected their activities during pregnancy. Fifty percent reported weekly or more frequent incontinence after delivery, with 27% reporting interference of incontinence with activity. Less than a third of women reported optimal physical activity, and 42% were obese. After adjustment for characteristics associated with measures of activity and incontinence, there was minimal association between levels of activity and stress urinary incontinence; similarly, there was no association between BMI and measures of stress incontinence. Conclusions: Stress urinary incontinence is common among women with hGDM but does not appear to be associated with physical activity levels or BMI.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63394/1/jwh.2007.0616.pd

Phenotypic assessment of groundnut response to key abiotic stress

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