Geochemical and isotopic signatures for the identification of seawater intrusion in an alluvial aquifer

Seawater intrusion is one of the alarming processes that reduces the water quality and imperils the supply of freshwater in coastal aquifers. The region, north of the Chennai city, India is one such site affected by seawater intrusion. The objective of this study is to identify the extent of seawater intruded area by major geochemical and isotopic signatures. A total of 102 groundwater samples were collected and analysed for major and minor ions. Groundwater samples with electrical conductivity (EC) greater than 5000 μS/cm and a river mouth sample were analyzed for Oxygen-18 (δ 18O) and Deuterium (δ 2H) isotopes to study their importance in monitoring seawater intrusion. The molar ratio of geochemical indicators and isotopic signatures suggests an intrusion up to a distance of 13 km from the sea as on March 2012 and up to 14.7 km during May 2012

IN VITRO AND IN SILICO APPROACHES ON THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA METHANOLIC STEM EXTRACT

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of methanolic stem fraction of Tinospora cordifolia against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by in vitro and in silico approaches. Methods: In agar disc diffusion method, the inhibitory zone produced by various concentrations of the fraction showed a dose-dependent inhibition pattern. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were calculated by broth dilution method. The total DNA present in the fraction treated bacterial cultures was estimated and compared with control DNA. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures of the gas chromatography– mass spectrometry (GC–MS) identified compounds were generated using ChemSketch tool. The docking studies were performed for analyzing the receptor and ligand interactions. Results: The higher zone revealed the maximum inhibition of the growth of bacteria that were ranged from 2 mm to 6 mm for E. coli and 1.5 mm to 6.3±0.29 mm for S. aureus. MIC values showed that 30 μg/ml of the fraction was found as the effective dose. The DNA content isolated from the treated culture of both the strains was comparatively lesser than that of the untreated control culture. The GC–MS data analysis depicted the presence 15 major components in the fraction and the sharp peaks were obtained at time intervals 17.50, 20.27, 30.06, etc. Conclusion: Thus, methanolic stem fraction of T. cordifolia possesses promising therapeutic activity against the urinary tract infection pathogens such as E. coli and S. aureus and a further exploration in the isolation and characterization such as plant-derived phytoconstituents would open up new ventures in the field of antibacterial drug discovery

Ayurvedic management of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (Sthanavidradhi): A case study

Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis (IGM) is described as an uncommon, benign inflammatory breast disease of unknown etiology. Although its exact prevalence is unknown, IGM is considered to be very rare. Here, we report the case of a 36-year-old female who came to our hospital with complaints of pain and lump in the right breast since 2 months. We diagnosed the case as Sthana Vidradhi and vathakaphasamana chikithsa was administered. The wound was managed with vranaropakalepa and kashaya. After treatment, the wound was healed. Pain and tenderness were reduced and the lump was disappeared after two months of medication. The medication continued and complete recovery was noted after 6 months of treatment. The patient was monitored for six months after the complete cure.&nbsp

Complementary roles of interventional radiology and therapeutic endoscopy in gastroenterology

Acute upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, enteral feeding, cecostomy tubes and luminal strictures are some of the common reasons for gastroenterology service. While surgery was initially considered the main treatment modality, the advent of both therapeutic endoscopy and interventional radiology have resulted in the paradigm shift in the management of these conditions. In this paper, we discuss the patient’s work up, indications, and complementary roles of endoscopic and angiographic management in the settings of gastrointestinal bleeding, enteral feeding, cecostomy tube placement and luminal strictures. These conditions often require multidisciplinary approaches involving a team of interventional radiologists, gastroenterologists and surgeons. Further, the authors also aim to describe how the fields of interventional radiology and gastrointestinal endoscopy are overlapping and complementary in the management of these complex conditions

The four leading arms of the Magellanic Cloud system

The Magellanic Cloud System (MCS) interacts via tidal and drag forces with the Milky Way galaxy. Using the Parkes Galactic All-Sky Survey (GASS) of atomic hydrogen we explore the role of drag on the evolution of the so-called Leading Arm (LA). We present a new image recognition algorithm that allows us to differentiate features within a 3-D data cube (longitude, latitude, radial velocity) and to parameterize individual coherent structures. We compiled an HI object catalog of LA objects within an area of 70 degr x 85 degr (1.6 sr) of the LA region. This catalog comprises information of location, column density, line width, shape and asymmetries of the individual LA objects above the 4-sigma threshold of Delta T_b simeq 200 mK. We present evidence of a fourth arm segment (LA4). For all LA objects we find an inverse correlation of velocities v_GSR in Galactic Standard of Rest frame with Magellanic longitude. High-mass objects tend to have higher radial velocities than low-mass ones. About 1/4 of all LA objects can be characterized as head-tail (HT) structures. Using image recognition with objective criteria, it is feasible to isolate most of LA emission from the diffuse Milky Way HI gas. Some blended gas components (we estimate 5%) escape detection, but we find a total gas content of the LA that is about 50% higher than previously assumed. These methods allow the deceleration of the LA clouds to be traced towards the Milky Way disk by drag forces. The derived velocity gradient strongly supports the assumption that the whole LA originates entirely in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). LA4 is observed opposite to LA1, and we propose that both arms are related, spanning about 52kpc in space. HT structures trace drag forces even at tens of kpc altitudes above the Milky Way disk.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication Astronomy & Astrophysics 201

The rhizoferrin biosynthetic gene in the fungal pathogen Rhizopus delemar is a novel member of the NIS gene family

This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada award to MM (grant number 611181). C. Carroll thanks Simon Fraser University for a travel and research award.Iron is essential for growth and in low iron environments such as serum many bacteria and fungi secrete ferric iron-chelating molecules called siderophores. All fungi produce hydroxamate siderophores with the exception of Mucorales fungi, which secrete rhizoferrin, a polycarboxylate siderophore. Here we investigated the biosynthesis of rhizoferrin by the opportunistic human pathogen, Rhizopus delemar. We searched the genome of R. delemar 99–880 for a homologue of the bacterial NRPS-independent siderophore (NIS) protein, SfnaD that is involved in biosynthesis of staphyloferrin A in Staphylococcus aureus. A protein was identified in R. delemar with 22% identity and 37% similarity with SfnaD, containing an N-terminal IucA/IucC family domain, and a C-terminal conserved ferric iron reductase FhuF-like transporter domain. Expression of the putative fungal rhizoferrin synthetase (rfs) gene was repressed by iron. The rfs gene was cloned and expressed in E.coli and siderophore biosynthesis from citrate and diaminobutane was confirmed using high resolution LC–MS. Substrate specificity was investigated showing that Rfs produced AMP when oxaloacetic acid, tricarballylic acid, ornithine, hydroxylamine, diaminopentane and diaminopropane were employed as substrates. Based on the production of AMP and the presence of a mono-substituted rhizoferrin, we suggest that Rfs is a member of the superfamily of adenylating enzymes. We used site-directed mutagenesis to mutate selected conserved residues predicted to be in the Rfs active site. These studies revealed that H484 is essential for Rfs activity and L544 may play a role in amine recognition by the enzyme. This study on Rfs is the first characterization of a fungal NIS enzyme. Future work will determine if rhizoferrin biosynthesis is required for virulence in Mucorales fungi.PostprintPeer reviewe

Palliative care and Parkinson's disease : meeting summary and recommendations for clinical research

Introduction: Palliative care is an approach to caring for patients and families affected by serious illnesses that focuses on the relief of suffering through the management of medical symptoms, psychosocial issues, advance care planning and spiritual wellbeing. Over the past decade there has been an emerging clinical and research interest in the application of palliative care approaches to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and outpatient palliative care services are now offered by several movement disorders centers. Methods: An International Working Group Meeting on PD and Palliative Care supported by the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation was held in October 2015 to review the current state of the evidence and to make recommendations for clinical research and practice. Results: Topics included: 1) Defining palliative care for PD; 2) Lessons from palliative care for heart failure and other chronic illnesses; 3) Patient and caregiver Needs; 4) Needs assessment tools; 5) Intervention strategies; 6) Predicting prognosis and hospice referrals; 7) Choice of appropriate outcome measures; 8) Implementation, dissemination and education research; and 9) Need for research collaborations. We provide an overview of these discussions, summarize current evidence and practices, highlight gaps in our knowledge and make recommendations for future research. Conclusions: Palliative Care for PD is a rapidly growing area which holds great promise for improving outcomes for PD patients and their caregivers. While clinical research in this area can build from lessons learned in other diseases, there is a need for observational, methodological and interventional research to address the unique needs of PD patients and caregivers

Age-Stratified Profiles of Serum IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α Cytokines Among Kenyan Children with Schistosoma haematobium, Plasmodium falciparum, and Other Chronic Parasitic Co-Infections.

In a study of children having polyparasitic infections in a Schistosoma haematobium-endemic area, we examined the hypothesis that S. haematobium-positive children, compared with S. haematobium-negative children (anti-soluble worm antigen preparation [SWAP] negative and egg negative) have increased systemic production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and decreased down-regulatory IL-10. A total of 804 children, 2-19 years of age, were surveyed between July and December 2009 and tested for S. haematobium, Plasmodium falciparum, filariasis, and soil-transmitted helminth infections. Plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10 were compared for S. haematobium-positive and S. haematobium-negative children, adjusting for malaria, filaria, and hookworm co-infections, and for nutritional status, age group, sex, and geographic location. IL-10 was significantly elevated among children infected with S. haematobium, showing bimodal peaks in 7-8 and 13-14 years age groups. IL-10 was also higher among children who were acutely malnourished, whereas IL-10 levels were lower in the presence of S. haematobium-filaria co-infection. After adjustment for co-factors, IL-6 was significantly elevated among children of 5-6 years and among those with P. falciparum infection. Lower levels of IL-6 were found in malaria-hookworm co-infection. High levels of TNF-α were found in children aged 11-12 years regardless of infection status. In addition, village of residence was a strong predictor of IL-6 and IL-10 plasma levels. In adolescent children infected with S. haematobium, there is an associated elevation in circulating IL-10 that may reduce the risk of later morbidity. Although we did not find a direct link between S. haematobium infection and circulating pro-inflammatory IL-6 and TNF-α levels, future T-cell stimulation studies may provide more conclusive linkages between infection and cytokine responses in settings that are endemic for multiple parasites and multiple co-infections