Inducing Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in C. elegans via Cavitation-Free Surface Acoustic Wave-Driven Ultrasonic Irradiation.

Mild traumatic brain injury is an all-too-common outcome from modern warfare and sport, and lacks a reproducible model for assessment of potential treatments and protection against it. Here we consider the use of surface acoustic wave (SAW) irradiation of C. elegans worms-without cavitation-as a potential, ethically reasonable animal-on-a-chip model for inducing traumatic brain injury in an animal, producing significant effects on memory and learning that could prove useful in a model that progress from youth to old age in but a few weeks. We show a significant effect by SAW on the ability of worms to learn post-exposure through associative learning chemotaxis. At higher SAW intensity, we find immediate, thorough, but temporary paralysis of the worms. We further explore the importance of homogeneous exposure of the worms to the SAW-driven ultrasound, an aspect poorly controlled in past efforts, if at all, and demonstrate the absence of cavitation through a change in fluids from a standard media for the worms to the exceedingly viscous polyvinyl alcohol. Likewise, we demonstrate that acoustic streaming, when present, is not directly responsible for paralysis nor learning disabilities induced in the worm, but is beneficial at low amplitudes to ensuring homogeneous ultrasound exposure

Prospecting for scarabid specific Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin cry8 gene in sugarcane ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India

In the present study, we report the occurrence of cry8 positive isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in selected white grub, Holotrichia serrata F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), endemic soils of sugarcane ecosystem and other places in Tamil Nadu. Out of the 66 soil samples collected and screened for white grub specific Bt, 74 isolates of the bacterium, all containing only spherical crystal toxin, were identified. PCR screening of these isolates with cry8 gene universal primer revealed six isolates to be positive. Further, the amplicon of a 370 bp band, amplified with another set of degenerate primer designed based on the conserved sequence of cry8 genes, was sequenced from four isolates. Multiple sequence alignment revealed the gene sequences to be the same for all the isolates. The present report of the availability of cry8 positive Bt isolates opens the avenue for controlling white grubs through transgenic research

The Lsm Proteins: Ring Architectures for RNA Capture

20 page(s

Is low amniotic fluid index an indicator of fetal distress and hence delivery?

Background: Amniotic fluid Index (AFI) is an indicator of fetal well-being. Low AFI is considered to be one of the indications for delivery as it may be associated with fetal distress and birth asphyxia. We sought to determine whether low AFI is an indicator of fetal compromise and an indication to deliver.Methods: This prospective, observational study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, KMC, Manipal University, India, between August 2013 and Aug 2014. A total of 150 subjects that had induced labor or direct caesarean section for various indications and also having low-normal (5-8) / low (<5) AFI, were recruited. Subjects with fetal anomalies were excluded. Outcome variables studied were, fetal distress in labor, thick meconium stained amniotic fluid, mode of delivery in induced labor, perinatal asphyxia, and respiratory distress syndrome.Results: Out of 150 subjects, 68 (45.4%) had low and 82 (54.6%) had low-normal AFI. Both the groups were matched for demographic characteristics and confounding factors for neonatal outcome. In low AFI group the incidence of Low APGAR (11.7%), perinatal asphyxia (11.7%) and RDS (16.1%) were significantly higher compared to those in low-normal group (3.6%, 1.2% and 2.4% respectively) p = 0.057, 0.006 and 0.002. There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to mode of delivery when labor was induced.Conclusions: Low AFI, especially when it is <5, is an indicator of fetal compromise and one may anticipate perinatal asphyxia and RDS. Hence it is prudent to contemplate delivery when the AFI is between 5 and 8

Chronic recurrent priapism: A high flow state secondary to an arteriovenous fistula of the corpus cavernosum

Priapism is clinically defined as an erect penis for more than 4h unrelated to sexual stimulation. There are two main types of priapism-high flow and low flow, based on the pathophysiology. In this case report we will mainly focus on high flow, non-ischemic priapism, which is the less common form. High flow priapism occurs secondary to congenital malformation or from the development of arteriovenous malformation from genital trauma. This case highlights the importance of differentiation and recognition of posttraumatic high flow priapism and unveils the role of selective internal pudendal artery angiography and embolization in its management

Treatment outcomes of patients with isoniazid resistant tuberculosis under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in Ahmedabad city: a retrospective study

Background: Drug resistance tuberculosis remains major public health problem worldwide. In India, the incidence of any isoniazid-resistant TB is 11.6% in new tuberculosis patients, while in previously treated patients, incidence is 25%. For isoniazid resistant cases management 6-9 months duration of H mono regimen containing rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol and levofloxacin is available under national tuberculosis elimination programme. We present a retrospective study on outcomes of patients of H mono regime in years 2019 and 2020 in Ahmedabad city.Methods: Retrospectively we collected data about age, sex, co-morbid conditions, resistance level (high/low level isoniazid resistance) and treatment outcome of patients put on H Mono regimen under programme from January 2019 to December 2020 in Ahmedabad city from Ni-kshay, an online web-based portal.Results: We have collected data of 251 patients (147 in 2019, 104 in 2020). Out of 251, 188 were males and 63 females. Out of 251, favourable outcome seen in 57.4% patients and unfavourable outcome seen in 42.6% patients. Favourable outcome was significantly higher among females compared to males.Conclusions: Management of drug resistance tuberculosis according to drug sensitivity helps in better patient outcome. Early diagnosis of drug resistance and its treatment, timely diagnosis of treatment failure and management, better patient compliance and patient education about disease help in decrease in the unfavourable outcome

Development and Validation of Stability Indicating Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for estimation of Donepezil HCl from bulk drug

Stability of Donepezil Hydrochloride(DONE) was investigated using stability indicating Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) utilizing C-18 column and mobile phase containing Acetonitrile:Water (pH 3.5)  in ratio of 40:60 at flow rate of 1 ml min-1. Peaks of donepezil and degradation products were well resolved at retention times &lt; 7 min. Stability was performed in 0.1N hydrochloric acid, 0.1N sodium hydroxide, 3 % hydrogen peroxide, neutral, photolytic and dry heat conditions. Fast hydrolysis was seen in alkaline condition as compared to oxidative and neutral conditions. Methods was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity and robustness LOQ and LOD. It was also found to be stability indicating, and therefore suitable for the routine analysis of Donepezil hydrochloride in the pharmaceutical formulation

The effect of 0.25% levobupivacaine and 0.25% ropivacaine in fascia iliaca block in elderly patients with fracture femur given before positioning for subarachnoid block

Background: Positioning of elderly patients with fracture femur for subarachnoid block (SAB) is a challenging task, both for the patient and anesthesiologist. Severe pain not only adds to the morbidity but also alters the success rate of SAB as appropriate positioning becomes difficult. Fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) is a simple, rapid, effective and safe method for achieving excellent pain relief. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of 0 .25% of levobupivacaine and 0.25% ropivacaine in FICB on reducing preoperative and postoperative pain and analgesic consumption in lower limb surgery.Methods: 60 elderly patients of ASA class I-III scheduled for elective fracture femur surgery were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups. Group L received 30ml 0.25% levobupivacaine in FICB while Group R received 0.25% ropivacaine in FICB 15min before SAB. Parameters recorded were blood pressure, heart rate, visual analogous scale (VAS), quality of positioning and time to first rescue analgesia. VAS was noted before and after performing FICB and at the time of positioning for subarachnoid block (SAB).Results: The VAS score at different time interval and time to first rescue analgesia were comparable (P >0.05). Quality of positioning was also similar in both the groups (P >0.05).Conclusions: The study demonstrates that levobupivacaine and ropivacaine produce comparable preoperative and postoperative analgesia when used for FICB

Paraoxonase 2 overexpression inhibits tumor development in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is most lethal malignancy among all gynecological cancer. Large bodies of evidences suggest that mitochondrial-derived ROS play a critical role in the development and progression of OC. Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) is a membrane-associated lactonase with anti-oxidant properties. PON2 deficiency aggravates mitochondrial ROS formation, systemic inflammation, and atherosclerosis. The role of PON2 in cancer development remains unknown. In this report, in human, we identified that PON2 expression is higher in early stages (but not in late stages) of OC when compared to normal tissue. Using a mouse xenograft model of OC, we demonstrate that overexpression of PON2 prevents tumor formation. Mechanistically, PON2 decreases OC cell proliferation by inhibiting insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) expression and signaling. Intriguingly, PON2 reduces c-Jun-mediated transcriptional activation of IGF-1 gene by decreasing mitochondrial superoxide generation. In addition, PON2 impairs insulin like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling in OC cells by altering cholesterol homeostasis, which resulted in reduced caveolin-1/IGF-1R interaction and IGF-1R phosphorylation. Taken together, we report for the first time that PON2 acts as a tumor suppressor in the early stage of OC by reducing IGF-1 production and its signaling, indicating PON2 activation might be a fruitful strategy to inhibit early stage ovarian tumor