Response of OH airglow emissions to the mesospheric gravity waves and its comparisons with full wave model simulation at a low latitude Indian station

Quasi-monochromatic gravity-wave-induced oscillations, monitored using the mesospheric OH airglow emission over Kolhapur (16.8° N, 74.2° E), India, during January to April 2010 and January to December 2011, have been characterized using the Krassovsky method. The nocturnal variability reveals prominent wave signatures with periods ranging from 5.2 to 10.8 h as the dominant nocturnal wave with embedded short-period waves having wave periods of 1.5–4.4 h. The results show that the magnitude of the Krassovsky parameter, viz. |η|, ranged from 2.1 to 10.2 h for principal or long nocturnal waves (5.2–10.8 h observed periods), and from 1.5 to 5.4 h for the short waves (1.5–4.4 h observed periods) during the years of 2010 and 2011, respectively. The phase (i.e., Φ) values of the Krassovsky parameters exhibited larger variability and varied from −8.1 to −167°. The deduced mean vertical wavelengths are found to be approximately −60.2 ± 20 and −42.8 ± 35 km for long- and short-period waves for the year 2010. Similarly, for 2011 the mean vertical wavelengths are found to be approximately −77.6 ± 30 and −59.2 ± 30 km for long and short wave periods, respectively, indicating that the observations over Kolhapur were dominated by upward-propagating waves. We use a full-wave model to simulate the response of OH emission to the wave motion and compare the results with observed values

Calls to a teratogen information service regarding potential exposures in pregnancy and breastfeeding

BACKGROUND: MotherToBaby Utah is a teratogen information service that provides support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and healthcare providers regarding risks of exposures to medications, infections, herbals, homeopathic and dietary medications, chemicals and other substances. Calls are anonymous and free of charge. This study was undertaken to examine the volume and classification of calls regarding exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding. METHODS: Data were extracted from calls requesting information about medication use and other exposures to pregnant and breastfeeding women, between January 1 2009 and December 31 2012. Descriptive statistics were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 27,299 calls regarding 46,031 exposures were identified in this study population. The majority of calls were made by the exposed individual (82.1 %); 13.0 % were made by a healthcare provider and 4.9 % were made by a family member or acquaintance. The majority of calls concerned pregnancy (65.8 %) versus breastfeeding (34.2 %). Exposure during the current pregnancy was the subject of 88.6 % of calls. For calls where trimester information was available, the percentage of calls for first, second and third trimesters were 44.1, 32.5 and 23.4 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found analgesics, cold medications, herbals, homeopathic, and dietary medications were of the topic of concern for the majority of the calls regarding exposure during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding. Teratogen information services gather and provide important educational resources for both patients and healthcare providers. As the majority of calls concern nonprescription drugs and vaccines, these data provide insight into a lack of education on these subjects that should be addressed during prenatal care

Features of mammalian microRNA promoters emerge from polymerase II chromatin immunoprecipitation data

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA regulators of protein coding genes. miRNAs play a very important role in diverse biological processes and various diseases. Many algorithms are able to predict miRNA genes and their targets, but their transcription regulation is still under investigation. It is generally believed that intragenic miRNAs (located in introns or exons of protein coding genes) are co-transcribed with their host genes and most intergenic miRNAs transcribed from their own RNA polymerase II (Pol II) promoter. However, the length of the primary transcripts and promoter organization is currently unknown. Methodology: We performed Pol II chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-chip using a custom array surrounding regions of known miRNA genes. To identify the true core transcription start sites of the miRNA genes we developed a new tool (CPPP). We showed that miRNA genes can be transcribed from promoters located several kilobases away and that their promoters share the same general features as those of protein coding genes. Finally, we found evidence that as many as 26% of the intragenic miRNAs may be transcribed from their own unique promoters. Conclusion: miRNA promoters have similar features to those of protein coding genes, but miRNA transcript organization is more complex. © 2009 Corcoran et al

Primary cardiac sarcoma presenting as acute left-sided heart failure

Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare malignant tumors of the heart. Clinical features depend on the site of tumor and vary from symptoms of congestive heart failure to thromboembolism and arrhythmias. Echocardiography is helpful but definitive diagnosis is established by histopathology. Surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment, and the role of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is unclear. We report a case of primary cardiac sarcoma which presented with signs and symptoms of acute left-sided heart failure

Physicians' preference values for hepatitis C health states and antiviral therapy: A survey

BACKGROUND: Physicians' perspectives regarding hepatitis C shape their approach to patient management. We used utility analysis to evaluate physicians' perceptions of hepatitis C-related health states (HS) and their threshold to recommend treatment. METHODS: A written questionnaire was administered to practicing physicians. They were asked to rate hepatitis C health states on a visual analog scale ranging from 0% (death) to 100% (health without hepatitis C). Physicians then judged quality of life associated with the side effects of antiviral therapy for hepatitis C and indicated the sustained virological response rate that they would require to recommend treatment. RESULTS: One hundred and thirteen physicians from five states were included. Median utility ratings for hepatitis C health states declined significantly with increasing severity of symptoms: HS1-No Symptoms, No Cirrhosis (88%; 12% reduction from good health), HS2-Mild Symptoms, No Cirrhosis (66%), HS3-Moderate Symptoms, No Cirrhosis (49%), HS4-Mild Symptoms, Cirrhosis (40%), HS5-Severe Symptoms, Cirrhosis (18%) [p < 0.001]. The median rating for life with side effects of antiviral therapy was 47%, suggesting a 53% reduction from good health. That was similar to the utility value for HS3-Moderate Symptoms, No Cirrhosis. The median threshold value for recommending treatment was a sustained response rate of 60%. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Physicians' utility ratings for hepatitis C health states were inversely related to the severity of disease manifestations described. 2) Physicians viewed side effects of therapy unfavorably and indicated that on average, they would require a 60% sustained response rate before recommending treatment, which far exceeds the efficacy of current antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in the majority of patients

An integrated network visualization framework towards metabolic engineering applications

Background Over the last years, several methods for the phenotype simulation of microorganisms, under specified genetic and environmental conditions have been proposed, in the context of Metabolic Engineering (ME). These methods provided insight on the functioning of microbial metabolism and played a key role in the design of genetic modifications that can lead to strains of industrial interest. On the other hand, in the context of Systems Biology research, biological network visualization has reinforced its role as a core tool in understanding biological processes. However, it has been scarcely used to foster ME related methods, in spite of the acknowledged potential. Results In this work, an open-source software that aims to fill the gap between ME and metabolic network visualization is proposed, in the form of a plugin to the OptFlux ME platform. The framework is based on an abstract layer, where the network is represented as a bipartite graph containing minimal information about the underlying entities and their desired relative placement. The framework provides input/output support for networks specified in standard formats, such as XGMML, SBGN or SBML, providing a connection to genome-scale metabolic models. An user-interface makes it possible to edit, manipulate and query nodes in the network, providing tools to visualize diverse effects, including visual filters and aspect changing (e.g. colors, shapes and sizes). These tools are particularly interesting for ME, since they allow overlaying phenotype simulation results or elementary flux modes over the networks. Conclusions The framework and its source code are freely available, together with documentation and other resources, being illustrated with well documented case studies.This work is partially funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project ref. COMPETE FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015079 and the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013. The work of PV is funded by PhD grant ref. SFRH/BDE/51442/2011

Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS): A Potential Arthroscopic Tool for Quantitative Assessment of Articular Cartilage

Conventional ultrasound examination of the articular cartilage performed externally on the body surface around the joint has limited accuracy due to the inadequacy in frequency used. In contrast to this, minimally invasive arthroscopy-based ultrasound with adequately high frequency may be a better alternative to assess the cartilage. Up to date, no special ultrasound transducer for imaging the cartilage in arthroscopic use has been designed. In this study, we introduced the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for this purpose. An IVUS system with a catheter-based probe (Ø ≈ 1mm) was used to measure the thickness and surface acoustical reflection of the bovine patellar articular cartilage in vitro before and after degeneration induced by enzyme treatments. Similar measurement was performed using another high frequency ultrasound system (Vevo) with a probe of much larger size and the results were compared between the two systems. The thickness measured using IVUS was highly correlated (r = 0.985, p < 0.001) with that obtained by Vevo. Thickness and surface reflection amplitude measured using IVUS on the enzymatically digested articular cartilage showed changes similar to those obtained by Vevo, which were expectedly consistent with previous investigations. IVUS can be potentially used for the quantitative assessment of articular cartilage, with its ready-to-use arthroscopic feature

Traditional zootherapeutic studies in India: a review

The present study aims to review the zootherapeutic practices of the different ethnic communities of India. This work is also an attempt to present a list of animals' use for medicinal purposes by different communities of India. Data were gathered from 15 published research papers of various authors on zootherapeutic studies in India from 2000 to 2007. Approximately 109 animals and their 270 uses are reported in traditional medicine in different parts of India. Of these, the highest numbers of animal species (42, 38.5%) with 50 (18.5%) uses have been reported for the treatment of Respiratory system related problems. Rheumatic and other pains are treated with 32 species (29.4%) in 34 (12.9%) uses. Gastric problems are reported to be treated with 22 (20.2%) species in 26 (9.9%) uses. The mammals constitute the highest number of animals used for medicinal purposes. 44 (40%) mammals, 24 (22%) invertebrates, 18 (17%) birds, 12 (11%) reptiles, nine (8%) fishes and two (2%) amphibians have been reported for medicinal purposes. Of the total 109 animal species reported, 76(70%) are included in IUCN red data list and 36 (33%) animal species are listed in CITES appendix I, II, and III. This work will be helpful in biodiversity conservation in India and also give a clue to investigate bio-active compound in these animal raw materials

Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, enhances the antidepressant activity of amitriptyline but not desipramine, in the forced swim test in mice

The cholinergic theory of depression highlights the involvement of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the neurobiology of mood disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor which exhibits cholinomimetic properties, alone and in combination with scopolamine in the forced swim test in mice. Moreover, we assessed the ability of sildenafil to modify the antidepressant activity of two tricyclic antidepressants with distinct cholinolytic activity, amitriptyline and desipramine. Swim sessions were conducted by placing mice in glass cylinders filled with water for 6 min and the duration of behavioral immobility during the last 4 min of the test was evaluated. Locomotor activity was measured with photoresistor actimeters. To evaluate the potential pharmacokinetic interaction between amitriptyline and sildenafil, brain and serum concentrations of amitriptyline were determined by HPLC. Sildenafil (1.25–20 mg/kg) as well as scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg) and its combination with sildenafil (1.25 mg/kg) did not affect the total immobility time duration. However, joint administration of scopolamine with sildenafil at doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/kg significantly reduced immobility time as compared to control group. Moreover, co-administration of scopolamine with sildenafil at the highest dose (5 mg/kg) significantly decreased immobility time as compared to scopolamine-treated group. Sildenafil (1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg) significantly enhanced the antidepressant activity of amitriptyline (5 mg/kg). No changes in anti-immobility action of desipramine (20 mg/kg) in combination with sildenafil (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg) were observed. Sildenafil did not affect amitriptyline level in both brain and serum. In conclusion, the present study suggests that sildenafil may enhance the activity of antidepressant drugs which exhibit cholinolytic activity