Clobazam monotherapy in drug naı̈ve adult patients with epilepsy

AbstractPurpose: Evaluation of the efficacy and side effects profile of Clobazam in a 24-week open-labelled trial involving 26 cases of drug naı̈ve adult patients with epilepsy.Methods: The study was an open labelled unicentre trial in which only drug naı̈ve cases with epilepsy were included. A total of 26 cases were recruited. One case was dropped because he did not complete the desired follow up. Seizure type and frequency were recorded and follow up was done at 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 weeks after initiation of therapy. The change in seizure severity, the dose of Clobazam required and development of side effects were recorded.Results: The seizure types included GTCS (n=16), complex partial seizures (n=4), focal motor seizures with secondary generalisation (n=3) and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (n=2). Out of 25 patients, 16 (64%) became seizure free, while five (20%) had >50% reduction in their seizure frequency. Thus, these 21 patients (84%) were considered to be well controlled. The commonest side effect seen was sedation, which was noted in 4 of the 25 patients (16%). However, in none of these four patients sedation was significant enough to warrant stoppage of therapy. Weight gain, gait ataxia, loss of short-term memory and breakthrough seizures were noted in one patient each.Conclusions: The efficacy of Clobazam coupled with the lack of significant side effects noted in our study makes it merit consideration as monotherapy in adult patients with epilepsy

K-Ras and β-catenin mutations cooperate with Fgfr3 mutations in mice to promote tumorigenesis in the skin and lung, but not in the bladder

The human fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene is frequently mutated in superficial urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC). To test the functional significance of FGFR3 activating mutations as a ‘driver’ of UCC, we targeted the expression of mutated Fgfr3 to the murine urothelium using Cre-loxP recombination driven by the uroplakin II promoter. The introduction of the Fgfr3 mutations resulted in no obvious effect on tumorigenesis up to 18 months of age. Furthermore, even when the Fgfr3 mutations were introduced together with K-Ras or β-catenin (Ctnnb1) activating mutations, no urothelial dysplasia or UCC was observed. Interestingly, however, owing to a sporadic ectopic Cre recombinase expression in the skin and lung of these mice, Fgfr3 mutation caused papilloma and promoted lung tumorigenesis in cooperation with K-Ras and β-catenin activation, respectively. These results indicate that activation of FGFR3 can cooperate with other mutations to drive tumorigenesis in a context-dependent manner, and support the hypothesis that activation of FGFR3 signaling contributes to human cancer

Dynamics of a camphoric acid boat at the air–water interface

We report experiments on an agarose gel tablet loaded with camphoric acid (c-boat) spontaneously set into motion by surface tension gradients on the water surface. We observe three distinct modes of c-boat motion: harmonic mode where the c-boat speed oscillates sinusoidally in time, a steady mode where the c-boat maintains constant speed, and an intermittent mode where the c-boat maintains near-zero speed between sudden jumps in speed. Whereas all three modes have been separately reported before in different systems, controlled release of Camphoric Acid (CA) from the agarose gel matrix allowed the observation of all the three modes in the same system. These three modes are a result of a competition between the driving (surface tension gradients) and drag forces acting on the c-boat. Moreover we suggest that there exist two time scales corresponding to spreading of CA and boat motion and the mismatch of these two time scales give rise to the three modes in boat motion. We reproduced all the modes of motion by varying the air–water interfacial tension using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)

Effect of Groundwater Pumping on Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers

Many aquifers around the globe are located in coastal areas and are thus subjected to the seawater intrusion phenomenon. The growth of population in coastal areas and the conjugate increase in human, agricultural, and industrial activities have imposed an increasing demand for freshwater. This increase in water demand is often covered by extensive pumping of fresh groundwater, causing subsequent lowering of the water table (or piezometric head) and upsetting the dynamic balance between freshwater and saline water bodies. The classical result of such a development is seawater intrusion. This paper presents a review for the seawater intrusion phenomenon in coastal aquifers. The effect of pumping activities on the seawater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer of Egypt is investigated. It was concluded that any additional pumping should be located in the middle Delta and avoided in the eastern and western sides of the Delta

INTEGRATION OF AYURVEDA WITH BIOMEDICINE: A RESPONSE IDENTIFICATION CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY

Background: There is re-emergence of the integrative approach to facilitate affordable, safe and equitable health to all. Due to the active initiatives taken up by the Government of India and other stake holders the reach of Ayurveda has expanded along with wide spread consumer acceptance. The efforts to co-locate Ayurveda centers along with bio-medical facilities across India through programs like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM are limited to the extent of only physical proximity between biomedicine and Ayurveda and far away from the possibility of functional integration granulated to the level of clinical service delivery together. Objective: To document the perceptions of biomedical practitioners about Ayurveda and possible integration with the biomedicine.Methods: Survey through self administered questionnaire carried out at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi involving 300 doctors from various biomedical medical specialties. Out of them, 98 doctors did not respond where as 202 responses were received in the stipulated format, which were analyzed, and interpreted based on standard statistical methods.Results: From the analysis of 202 responses, it is evident that all the respondents were aware of basic principles and strengths of Ayurveda. They also opined that, integration is useful to strengthen the overall health care delivery in India. Further, they expressed that the communication barrier between practitioners of Ayurveda and Biomedicine, meagre research work with respect to safety and efficacy of Ayurvedic medicines and therapies, inadequate policy initiatives are the important obstacles in realizing functional integration between Ayurveda and Biomedicine.Conclusion: The survey reported good level of awareness of biomedical practitioners and their supportive attitude about the integration. Need for upgrading the skills of Ayurveda practitioners, safety and efficacy of the medicines, interdisciplinary research, information sharing and coordination between practitioners of Ayurveda and Biomedicine are identified as essential elements for successful integration

Prednost parenteralne primjene Mi-ADMS pred DMSA u snižavanju tjelesnog opterećenja živom (203Hg) u štakora

The efficiency of meso-2,3-dirnercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and the mono-isoamyl ester of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (Mi-ADMS) in decreasing 203Hg retention was evaluated in rats in relation to age and time of treatment. The experiments were performed on six-week- and seven- day-old Wistar rats, which received 203Hg by intraperitoneal administration. The chelators DMSA or Mi-ADMS were also administered intraperitoneally, twice, on two consecutive days, in doses of 0.25 mmol/kg body weight as early (0.5 and 24 h) or delayed treatment (24 and 48 h, or 48 and 72 h) after 203Hg administration. The retention of 203Hg was determined in the carcass, liver, kidneys and brain six days after administration using gamma scintillation counters (double crystal, well type). In all experimental conditions, regardless of the animals\u27 age and time of chelation therapy, Mi-ADMS was found to be superior to DMSA in reducing the body burden of 203Hg in whole body and organs. Mi-ADMS therefore seems to be a very promising chelator in the treatment of mercury poisoning.Procjenjivana je učinkovitost mezo-2,3-dimerkaptojantarne kiseline (DMSA) i monoizoamilnog estera mezo-2,3-dimerkaplojantarne kiseline (Mi-ADMS) u snižavanju opterećenja živom (203Hg) u štakora u odnosu na dob i vrijeme primjene. Pokusi su provedeni na šestotjednim ženkama i sedmodnevnim sisajućim bijelim štakorima Wistar iz uzgoja Instituta u Zagrebu, kojima je intraperi-tonejski davana 203Hg. Kelati DMSA i Mi-ADMS davani su, također intraperitonejski, dva dana zaredom u dozi od 0,25 mmol/kg tjelesne težine kao neposredna/rana primjena (El - 0,5 i 24 h) ili kao odgođena/kasna primjena (E2 - 24 i 48 h, E3 - 48 i 72 h) nakon davanja 203Hg. Retencija 203Hg mjerena je u karkasu (tijelo nakon odstranjenja probavila), u jetri, u bubrezima i u mozgu sest dana nakon primjene Hg u odgovarajućim gamascintilacijskim brojačima. U šestotjednih životinja i DMSA i Mi-ADMS primijenjeni kao rana terapija (El) snizili su retenciju 203Hg u karkasu i u organima u odnosu na vrijednosti u kontrolnih (netretiranih) životinja. Odgođena primjena (E2 i E3) jednog i drugog kelata snizila je retenciju 203Hg u karkasu i bubrezima, nije imala učinka na retenciju u jetri, a retenciju u mozgu snizio je samo Mi-ADMS. U sedmodnevne sisančadi oba kelata značajno su snizila tjelesnu retenciju 203Hg i nakon rane (El) i nakon kasne primjene (E2), a jedino DMSA u kasnijoj primjeni (E2) nije imao učinka na retenciju Hg u mozgu. U svim eksperimentalnim uvjetima neovisno o dobi životinja i vremenu kad je primijenjen kelat, terapija s Mi-ADMS bila je učinkovitija od DMSA u snižavanju tjelesnog opterećenja 203Hg u tijelu i u organima. To je glavni nalaz ovog istraživanja. Čini se da je Mi-ADMS kelat koji puno obećava u budućnosti kao lijek izbora u terapiji otrovanja živom

Identification of a non-redundant set of 202 in silico SSR markers and applicability of a select set in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The paucity of sequence information flanking the simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs identified especially in the transcript sequences has been limiting factor in the development of SSR markers for plant genome analysis as well as breeding applications. To overcome this and enhance the genic SSR marker repertoire in chickpea, the draft genome sequence of kabuli chickpea (CDC Frontier) and publicly available transcript sequences consisting of in silico identified SSR motifs were deployed in the present study. In this direction, the 300 bp sequence flanking the SSR motifs were retrieved by aligning 566 SSR containing transcripts of ICCV 2 available in public domain on the reference chickpea genome. A set of 202 novel genic SSRs were developed from a set of 507 primer pairs designed, based on in silico amplification of single locus and having no similarity to the publicly available SSR markers. Further, 40 genic SSRs equally distributed on chickpea genome were validated on a select set of 44 chickpea genotypes (including 41 Cicer arietinum and 3 Cicer reticulatum), out of which 25 were reported to be polymorphic. The polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 25 polymorphic genic SSRs ranged from 0.11 to 0.77 and number of alleles varied from 2 to 9. Clear demarcation among founder lines of multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population developed at ICRISAT and near-isogenic nature of JG 11 and JG11 + demonstrates the usefulness of these markers in chickpea diversity analysis and breeding studies. Further, genic polymorphic SSRs reported between parental lines of 16 different mapping populations along with the novel SSRs can be deployed for trait mapping and breeding applications in chickpea

Theoretical evaluation of energy from blast-induced vibration waves measured on ground and structure

Legislation of limiting blast-inducted vibration level measure near foundation of structure have imposed difficulty in quarrying operation. Confrontation towards excavation work rises to its peak when drilling and blasting activity is carried out in close proximity to structures. Considering the sustaining capacity of structures towards high magnitude blast-induced ground vibration, the paper analyzes characteristics and quantum of energy transmitted to structure at the place of measurement. Theoretical model developed to evaluate wave characteristic and quantum of energy contained in blast wave signatures has been used for analysis. Comparative analysis of wave characteristics and quantum of energy transmitted at different distances/heights of concern is detailed in the paper. The paper firstly makes a comparative analysis of characteristics and energy contained in peak magnitude and wave signatures measured on ground at different distances of measurement and thereafter, compares wave signatures monitored near foundation of structure and first floor of a two storied structure, located within 50 m from blasting site