Adjuvant urokinase: percutaneous drainage of post lower segment cesarean section intra-abdominal abscess

The mortality in abdominal abscess is high, however the outcome has improved due to advances in image guided percutaneous interventional techniques. The main indications for the catheter drainage include treatment or palliation of sepsis associated with an infected fluid collection, and alleviation of the symptoms that may be caused by fluid collections by virtue of their size, and site.  The single abscesses may be drained with ultrasound guidance only, whereas the multiple abscesses usually require computed tomography (CT) guidance and placement of multiple catheters.  Percutaneous drainage provides an effective and safe alternative to more invasive surgical drainage but the success rate is lower for abscesses that have septa and are multilocular. Several clinical and in vitro studies suggest urokinase may be useful in such cases. To the knowledge, however, there has been no case of post LSCS intra-abdominal abscess in which intracavitary urokinase was administered. Therefore, we report a case of post LSCS multiseptated intra-abdominal abscess occurring in a 21-year-female. Conventional percutaneous tube drainage failed, but the use of transcatheter intracavitary urokinase was successful.  Our results showed no significant change in hematologic studies and no bleeding complications. Intracavitary urokinase can be given safely during percutaneous drainage of an abscess, with no associated bleeding complications or changes in coagulation parameters

HPTLC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF β-SITOSTEROL FROM IN-VIVO AND IN-VITRO SAMPLES OF MERREMIA AEGYPTIA AND MERREMIA DISSECTA

Objective: A normal-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method has been developed and validated for estimation and quantitation of beta-sitosterol from the methanolic fraction of different plant parts of two medicinally important plants viz. Merremia aegyptia and Merremia dissecta. These plants have been reported to possess antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Methods: Chromatographic separation of beta-sitosterol from the methanolic extracts of plant parts of M. aegyptia and M. dissecta was performed on TLC aluminum plates pre-coated with silica gel 60F254 using a suitable mobile phase. The densitometric scanning was done after derivatization at ????-580 nm for ????-sitosterol. Result: Only M. dissecta leaf sample was reported to contain ????-sitosterol (4.6 ng/μl), whereas other samples such as seed, stem, and callus extracts of M. aegyptia and M. dissecta did not showed its presence. Conclusion: The developed HPTLC method is simple, rapid, and precise and can be used for routine analysis and quantification of ????-sitosterol and other useful plant bioactives that are phytopharmaceutically important

PANCHKARMA MANAGEMENT OF SPASTIC DIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN: A SINGLE CASE STUDY

Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder that affects a child’s movement, motor skill and muscle tone. The present case is of a patient having Spastic diplegic Cerebral Palsy which was successfully managed with Panchakarma treatment. A four year old boy complaint of global developmental delay with predominantly gross developmental delay, can’t feed himself, unable to sit without support, does not roll over, has age appropriate non-verbal communication was treated with Panchakarma procedures. The Ayurvedic diagnosis of the case was Shiro-Marmabhighatajsankochajanyavatavyadhi. We have formulated an Panchakarma therapy protocol to improve the condition of spastic diplegic CP patients. Result was observed in the form of GMFCS Level and significant changes in investigations

Comparative evaluation of postpartum IUCD versus interval IUCD at a tertiary care centre in Allahabad, India

Background: The use of Cu T in postpartum period can provide long term and effective contraception and this study compares PPIUCD versus interval IUCD.Methods: 300 women enrolled in the study were divided into two groups. Postpartum group-150; Postplacental or within 10 minutes/intracaesarean/within 48 hrs of delivery. Interval Group 150; after 6 weeks of delivery / postmenstrual. Cu T 380A was used in the study. Contraindication for PPIUCD were between 48 hrs and 6 wks postpartum, chorioaminionitis, PROM >18 hrs, unresolved PPH and puerperal sepsis. All were followed up for 6 months.Results: The continuation rate at 6 months was 81.81% in interval group and 88.23% in postpartum group. Complications occurred in 15.33% cases after PPIUCD and in 19.33% cases after interval IUCD. Expulsion rate was significantly higher in PPIUCD as compared to interval insertions (6.96% v/s 2.2%; p value <0.05). Removal rate of IUCD was almost similar in both the groups (4% in PPIUCD v/s 6.0% in interval).Conclusions: PPIUCD is an effective, safe, convenient, low cost and long term method of postpartum contraception irrespective of the mode of delivery

Possible charge ordering and anomalous transport in graphene/graphene quantum dot heterostructure

[Abstract] Observations of superconductivity and charge density waves (CDW) in graphene have been elusive thus far due to weak electron–phonon coupling (EPC) interactions. Here, we report a unique observation of anomalous transport and multiple charge ordering phases at high temperatures (T1 ∼ 213K, T2 ∼ 325K) in a 0D−2D van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure comprising of single layer graphene (SLG) and functionalized (amine) graphene quantum dots (GQD). The presence of functionalized GQD contributed to charge transfer with shifting of the Dirac point ∼ 0.05 eV above the Fermi level (ab initio simulations) and carrier density n ∼ −0.3 × 1012 cm−2 confirming p-doping in SLG and two-fold increase in EPC interaction was achieved. Moreover, we elucidate the interplay between electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions to substantiate high temperature EPC driven charge ordering in the heterostructure through analyses of magnetotransport and weak anti-localization (WAL) ramework. Our results provide impetus to investigate strongly correlated phenomena such as CDW and superconducting phase transitions in novel graphene based heterostructures.R R would like to acknowledge funding by European Regional Development Fund-Project 'MSCAfellow2@MUNI' (No. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18070/0009846). I J G would like to thank for the support of the Operational Program Research, Development and Education Project 'MSCAfellow4@MUNI' (CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/20079/0017045) and the Spanish Ministry of Universities for Beatriz Galindo (BG22/000147) and Maria Zambrano funding (RSU.UDC.MZ09 [RSU.UDC.MZ11]) transferred by the European Union Next Generation EU. We acknowledge CzechNanoLab Research Infrastructure supported by MEYS CR (LM2023051) to carry out this research. The computational results presented have been achieved using the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC). The authors would like to acknowledge Sumit Mandal, Vidyasagar College, Calcutta University, Subhajit Saha from the Department of Renewable energy, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University, West Bengal, India and Jan Michalička, CEITEC Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czechia for helpful discussions during this work.Česká republika. Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy České republiky; LM202305

Tillage-based nutrient management practices for sustaining productivity and soil health in the soybean-wheat cropping system in Vertisols of the Indian semi-arid tropics

To achieve higher crop production in a soybean-wheat cropping system, comprehensive knowledge of soil fertility status and its variability is crucial. However, a significant gap exists between the potential and actual productivity of this system in the Vertisols of Indian semi-arid tropics. Therefore, 2 years of field research were conducted to investigate how different crop management practices affect soil fertility in this cropping system. The trial was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five crop management practices: CAO (conservation tillage + organic nutrient and weed management), CAC (conservation tillage + chemical nutrient and weed management), CTC (conventional tillage + chemical nutrient and weed management), OCT (conventional tillage + organic nutrient and weed management), and PoPs (package of practices). Results showed that CAO significantly (p &lt; 0.05) increased soil organic C (6.8 g kg−1), available N (129.5 mg kg−1), P (11.0 mg kg−1), K (232.6 mg kg−1), Fe (9.17 mg kg−1), and Mn (10.48 mg kg−1) at topsoil (0–15 cm) and deeper layers (15–60 cm). In contrast, CAC had significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher soil availability of Ca (5,072 mg kg−1) and Mg (901 mg kg−1) and Cu (0.84 mg kg−1). On the other side, PoPs resulted in the highest S (10.05 mg kg−1) and Zn (0.85 mg kg−1) availability in the topsoil. Our results evidently suggested S and Zn availability as key indicators of soil health sustenance in the present agroecosystem. Notably, CAC had significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher system productivity (4.62 t ha−1) than the other treatments, showing a 14.0, 6.3, and 18.2% increase over CAO, CTC, and OCT, respectively. Based on the results, it is recommended that CAC is a better option for achieving higher system productivity, while CAO is the best option for ensuring long-term sustainability of soil fertility. The findings of this study could be useful for farmers and agricultural researchers in designing efficient crop management practices to improve the productivity and sustainability of soybean-wheat cropping system in arid to semiarid ecology

Paneth cell dysfunction in radiation injury and radio-mitigation by human α-defensin 5

IntroductionThe mechanism underlying radiation-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis is undefined. This study examined the effect of radiation on the intestinal Paneth cell α-defensin expression and its impact on microbiota composition and mucosal tissue injury and evaluated the radio-mitigative effect of human α-defensin 5 (HD5).MethodsAdult mice were subjected to total body irradiation, and Paneth cell α-defensin expression was evaluated by measuring α-defensin mRNA by RT-PCR and α-defensin peptide levels by mass spectrometry. Vascular-to-luminal flux of FITC-inulin was measured to evaluate intestinal mucosal permeability and endotoxemia by measuring plasma lipopolysaccharide. HD5 was administered in a liquid diet 24 hours before or after irradiation. Gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Intestinal epithelial junctions were analyzed by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and mucosal inflammatory response by cytokine expression. Systemic inflammation was evaluated by measuring plasma cytokine levels.ResultsIonizing radiation reduced the Paneth cell α-defensin expression and depleted α-defensin peptides in the intestinal lumen. α-Defensin down-regulation was associated with the time-dependent alteration of gut microbiota composition, increased gut permeability, and endotoxemia. Administration of human α-defensin 5 (HD5) in the diet 24 hours before irradiation (prophylactic) significantly blocked radiation-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, disruption of intestinal epithelial tight junction and adherens junction, mucosal barrier dysfunction, and mucosal inflammatory response. HD5, administered 24 hours after irradiation (treatment), reversed radiation-induced microbiota dysbiosis, tight junction and adherens junction disruption, and barrier dysfunction. Furthermore, HD5 treatment also prevents and reverses radiation-induced endotoxemia and systemic inflammation.ConclusionThese data demonstrate that radiation induces Paneth cell dysfunction in the intestine, and HD5 feeding prevents and mitigates radiation-induced intestinal mucosal injury, endotoxemia, and systemic inflammation

Functional Characterization of EngAMS, a P-Loop GTPase of Mycobacterium smegmatis

Bacterial P-loop GTPases belong to a family of proteins that selectively hydrolyze a small molecule guanosine tri-phosphate (GTP) to guanosine di-phosphate (GDP) and inorganic phosphate, and regulate several essential cellular activities such as cell division, chromosomal segregation and ribosomal assembly. A comparative genome sequence analysis of different mycobacterial species indicates the presence of multiple P-loop GTPases that exhibit highly conserved motifs. However, an exact function of most of these GTPases in mycobacteria remains elusive. In the present study we characterized the function of a P-loop GTPase in mycobacteria by employing an EngA homologue from Mycobacterium smegmatis, encoded by an open reading frame, designated as MSMEG_3738. Amino acid sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis suggest that MSMEG_3738 (termed as EngAMS) is highly conserved in mycobacteria. Homology modeling of EngAMS reveals a cloverleaf structure comprising of α/β fold typical to EngA family of GTPases. Recombinant EngAMS purified from E. coli exhibits a GTP hydrolysis activity which is inhibited by the presence of GDP. Interestingly, the EngAMS protein is co-eluted with 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA during purification and exhibits association with 30S, 50S and 70S ribosomal subunits. Further studies demonstrate that GTP is essential for interaction of EngAMS with 50S subunit of ribosome and specifically C-terminal domains of EngAMS are required to facilitate this interaction. Moreover, EngAMS devoid of N-terminal region interacts well with 50S even in the absence of GTP, indicating a regulatory role of the N-terminal domain in EngAMS-50S interaction

Genomic characterization and epidemiology of an emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in Delhi, India

Delhi, the national capital of India, experienced multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks in 2020 and reached population seropositivity of >50% by 2021. During April 2021, the city became overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases and fatalities, as a new variant, B.1.617.2 (Delta), replaced B.1.1.7 (Alpha). A Bayesian model explains the growth advantage of Delta through a combination of increased transmissibility and reduced sensitivity to immune responses generated against earlier variants (median estimates: 1.5-fold greater transmissibility and 20% reduction in sensitivity). Seropositivity of an employee and family cohort increased from 42% to 87.5% between March and July 2021, with 27% reinfections, as judged by increased antibody concentration after a previous decline. The likely high transmissibility and partial evasion of immunity by the Delta variant contributed to an overwhelming surge in Delhi