654 research outputs found
Oral contrast radiography evaluation in adhesive intestinal obstruction
Background: Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is a common cause for admission in the surgery casualty. Non-operative management is initially recommended unless there is suspicion of complication, but its optimal duration is controversial. The aims of this study were to evaluate the usefulness of radiographic small bowel examination with contrast medium to predict the need for surgery in ASBO and to decrease late-surgery morbidity.Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in a tertiary apex institute in Kerala, India enrolling 50 patients with clinical and radiological features of adhesive SBO. The past surgical history, as well as clinical picture, blood tests and radiological findings in these patients were studied. Fifty millilitres of 5% barium suspension were given via naso-gastric tube, and plain abdominal radiographs were taken at 6 and 24 hours afterwards. The primary variable assessed was the presence/absence of contrast in right colon. Surgical intervention was decided upon, based on the treating surgeon's discretion.Results: In 36 patients, barium contrast appeared in the right colon. In the remaining 14 patients, no evidence of barium contrast in the right colon was seen, and 8 of them underwent surgery, while the other 6 were treated conservatively. There was a statistical significant relationship (p<0.01) between the presence of contrast medium in the right colon and being treated conservatively. There was also a statistically significant (p<0.05) relationship between index case being one for malignancy and undergoing laparotomy for ASBO in the study.Conclusions: Early oral administration of a radiological contrast medium in patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction can effectively predict the need for a surgical procedure. It can shorten not only hospital stay, but also the potential morbidity of late surgery, secondary to a prolonged and unsuccessful non-operative treatment
Isolation, identification and culture of the marine rotifer Colurella adriatica Ehrenberg, 1831 (Family: Lepadellidae) from Andaman & Nicobar Islands: A promising live feed for larval rearing of high value shellfishes and finfishes
An extremely small rotifer was isolated from the micro zooplankton
samples collected during February, 2014 from Havelock islands of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The species was identified as Colurella
adriatica Ehrenberg, 1831 (Family: Lapadellidae). Its lorica length under
culture period ranged from 47.530 to 98.868 μm and width from
34.308 to 56.277 μm. The size of the eggs, neonates and adults are
also documented. Comparison of size of C. adriatica with Brachionus
plicatilis (L type) and B. rotundiformis (S and SS type) revealed that
C. adriatica is smaller in length and width than the SS-type rotifer which
is currently used as a first feed in marine tropical fish larval rearing.
However, the larvae of many marine food fishes including groupers and
high value marine ornamental fishes are unable to consume the SS-type
rotifers as a first feed due to their extremely small mouth gape. The
culture of C. adriatica was carried out using Nannochloropsis oculata
Diet-I), N. oculata and yeast (0.01g/litre) (Diet-II), Yeast (0.01g/litre)
alone (Diet-III). Average population density of C. adriatica with these
diets reached a maximum of 1000 nos. of individuals /ml on 10th day
of culture on feeding with Diet-I; 950 nos. /ml on 14th day (Diet-II) and
650 nos. /ml on 15th day of culture (Diet-III). Diet I &II and Diet II &III
did not show any significant difference (P>0.05) whereas, Diet I and III
showed significant difference (P<0.01). Preliminary studies of
C. adriatica as a feed to the larvae of Stenopus hispidus, Lysmata
amboinensis and Pomacentrus caeruleus showed better survival than
larvae fed with B. routundiformis during first phase of larval rearing
Evaluation of hypolipidemic effect of Tinospora cordifolia in cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats
Background: There is always a need for developing novel drugs with higher efficacy and fewer side effects. Though statins are generally well-tolerated drugs for hyperlipidemia with high efficacy they are not free from adverse effects. Herbal drugs are well known for their cost-effectiveness and minimal side effects. Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) is one such plant with known hypolipidemic activity and wide availability in India. Hence this study is an attempt to verify and evaluate the extent of efficacy of T. cordifolia as a hypolipidemic agent. The objective of the study is to compare the hypolipidemic activity of aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia with that of Rosuvastatin in cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats.Methods: Hyperlipidemia was induced in male albino rats of wistar strain in the first 30 days of feeding period and continued in the next 30 days of treatment period. Aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia (2.5 and 5g/kg, per oral) was administered as test drug in the treatment period. Rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg, per oral) was used as the standard drug. Serum lipid profile, atherogenic index and body weights were estimated for all rats on the day before the start of the feeding period and on day 0, 15 and 30 of the treatment period. The results were analyzed statistically using student’s unpaired and paired t-test wherever applicable.Results: Serum lipid levels showed significant reduction (p <0.001) in TC,TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C with significant elevation (p <0.001) of HDL-C in both the rosuvastatin and test groups, but the percentage reduction in lipid levels, percentage elevation of HDL-C and percentage protection from atherosclerosis was higher in rosuvastatin group than in test groups.Conclusions: T.cordifolia has a definite hypolipidemic potential. Although its effectiveness is lesser than rosuvastatin its beneficial role as hypolipidemic agent may be tested in clinical studies
Evaluation of hypolipidemic effect of Tinospora cordifolia in cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats
Background: There is always a need for developing novel drugs with higher efficacy and fewer side effects. Though statins are generally well-tolerated drugs for hyperlipidemia with high efficacy they are not free from adverse effects. Herbal drugs are well known for their cost-effectiveness and minimal side effects. Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) is one such plant with known hypolipidemic activity and wide availability in India. Hence this study is an attempt to verify and evaluate the extent of efficacy of T. cordifolia as a hypolipidemic agent. The objective of the study is to compare the hypolipidemic activity of aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia with that of Rosuvastatin in cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats.Methods: Hyperlipidemia was induced in male albino rats of wistar strain in the first 30 days of feeding period and continued in the next 30 days of treatment period. Aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia (2.5 and 5g/kg, per oral) was administered as test drug in the treatment period. Rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg, per oral) was used as the standard drug. Serum lipid profile, atherogenic index and body weights were estimated for all rats on the day before the start of the feeding period and on day 0, 15 and 30 of the treatment period. The results were analyzed statistically using student’s unpaired and paired t-test wherever applicable.Results: Serum lipid levels showed significant reduction (p <0.001) in TC,TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C with significant elevation (p <0.001) of HDL-C in both the rosuvastatin and test groups, but the percentage reduction in lipid levels, percentage elevation of HDL-C and percentage protection from atherosclerosis was higher in rosuvastatin group than in test groups.Conclusions: T.cordifolia has a definite hypolipidemic potential. Although its effectiveness is lesser than rosuvastatin its beneficial role as hypolipidemic agent may be tested in clinical studies
Marine ornamental fishes and their breeding: CMFRI initiatives
The marine ornamental fish trade is a sunrise industry in
aquaculture and has become a growing industry worldwide. As a
result the trade of marine ornamentals has been expanding in
recent years and has grown into a multimillion dollar enterprise
mainly due to the emergence of modern aquarium gadgets and
technologies for setting and maintenance of miniature reef aquaria.
Since the marine ornamental trade is operated throughout the
tropics, the global marine ornamental trade is estimated at US$ 200-
330 million. Since India is endowed with a vast resource potential
of marine ornamentals distributed in the coral seas and rocky
coasts with patchy coral formations and the increasing the demand
in the domestic trade, it appears very much lucrative for India to
venture into this industry
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theory applied to living cells
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory is an accurate model for strong adhesion
energies of soft slightly deformable material. Little is known about the
validity of this theory on complex systems such as living cells. We have
addressed this problem using a depletion controlled cell adhesion and measured
the force necessary to separate the cells with a micropipette technique. We
show that the cytoskeleton can provide the cells with a 3D structure that is
sufficiently elastic and has a sufficiently low deformability for JKR theory to
be valid. When the cytoskeleton is disrupted, JKR theory is no longer
applicable
Marine Microalgae: Culture and their Industrial Applications
Microalgae such as Chaetoceros gracilis, C. calcitrans, Chlorella salina, C. marina,
Chromulina pleoides, Dunaliella tertiolecta, Isochrysis galbana, Nannochloropsis oculata,
Pavlova lutheri, Skeletonema costatum, Tetraselmis chuii, Thalassiosira sp., are microscopic
unicellular phytoplankton having size less than 10 μ, and have widely used in the aquaculture
industry. The selection of these live feed organisms are based on many factors such as
nutritional requirements of the cultured larvae, size of the mouth gape of larvae, development
of the digestive tract of the cultured larvae, nutritional value and availability of the live feed
and suitability for mass scale production. Though much efforts are been taken world-wide
to supplement live feed totally or partially with artificial feeds, various studies pointed out
that supply of suitable live feed organisms fortified with vitamins and fats are essential for
the successful completion of the larval stages
Chromosome assignment of two cloned DNA probes hybridizing predominantly to human sex chromosomes
In situ hybridization experiments were carried out with two clones, YACG 35 and 2.8, which had been selected from two genomic libraries strongly enriched for the human Y chromosome. Besides the human Y chromosome, both sequences strongly hybridized to the human X chromosome, with few minor binding sites on autosomes. In particular, on the X chromosome DNA from clone YACG 35 hybridized to the centromeric region and the distal part of the short arm (Xp2.2). On the Y chromosome, the sequence was assigned to one site situated in the border region between Yq1.1 and Yq1.2. DNA from clone 2.8 also hybridized to the centromeric region of the X and the distal part of the short arm (Xq2.2). On the Y, however, two binding sites were observed (Yp1.1 and Yq1.2). The findings indicate that sex chromosomal sequences may be localized in homologous regions (as suggested from meiotic pairing) but also at ectopic sites
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