PREVALENCE OF COMMON HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES IN GUJARAT: AN ANALYSIS OF A LARGE POPULATION SCREENING PROGRAM

ABSTRACT Objectives: To determine prevalence and geographical distribution of ß-thalassemia trait and sickle cell trait in Gujarat Methods: The present study includes 3, 17,539 persons who were screened for hemoglobinopathies from September 2004 to November 2008. Blood samples were collected into EDTA and run in coulter AC.T diff 2 TM, electronic analyzer and analyzed on Bio-Rad Variant I HPLC System. Results: The prevalence of ß-thalassemia trait (BTM) and sickle cell trait (SCT) is 1.95% and 6.54% respectively. In tribal area, 1.74% has BTM and 11.37% has SCT trait while in non-tribal area, BTM is seen in 2.18% and 1.1% has SCT. Rathva (18.65%), Nayka (15.38%), Gamit (17.64%), Tadvi (16.95%), Bariya (16.5%), Adivasi (15.25%) and Chaudhary (15.63%) communities have higher prevalence of SCT. BTM is more prevalent in Bhanusali (8.1%), Bhakta (7.93%) and Luhana (6.5%) community. SCT is very common in schedule castes (8.1-10.52 %) and it is seen in many general castes. Conclusion: The prevalence of BTM is 1.95% while SCT is 6.54% in Gujarat. Sickle cell gene frequency is high in tribals (11.37 %) except in Banaskantha (5.12 %) and Sabarkantha (3.43%). Sickle cell is prevalent in all schedule castes and many general castes. ß-thalassemia gene frequency is higher in Sindhi (Bhanusali) and Bhakta communities and in Banaskantha district (4.45%)

Physicochemical Studies on the Interaction between Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Methylene Blue in Methanol-Water Mixed Solvent Media

The surface activity and the process of micellization of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with methylene blue (MB) in a methanol-water mixed solvent system were investigated by tensiometry and conductometry at 298.15 K. The measurements of surface tension and conductivity of SDS-MB complex were carried up to 0.3 volume fractions of methanol because the resulting complex appeared turbid above 0.3 volume fractions of methanol. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the SDS was determined from both tensiometry and conductometry. The CMC of SDS increased with the increasing volume fraction of methanol due to the inclusion of methanol in the micelles and decreased in the presence of methylene blue due to the reduction of electrostatic repulsion within the anionic moiety of SDS by the positive charge of the added dye. Different properties like surface excess concentration Γmax, minimum surface area Amin, Gibbs free energy of micellization ΔGmo, surface pressure (πCMC), efficiency of a surfactant (pC20), packing parameter P, and standard free energy interfacial adsorption ΔGadso of SDS in the absence/presence of MB were calculated. On the basis of ΔGmo values, it was noticed that the increasing volume fraction of methanol disfavors the micellization of SDS, while the presence of MB increased the efficiency of SDS making the micellization process more spontaneous

Use of Social Media by Local Public Health Agencies and Variation by Agency Characteristics

Objective: We examined the use of social media by local health departments (LHDs) and variation by important characteristics such as governance, size of population served, and presence of local board of health. Data: Data were drawn from the National Association of County and City Health Officials\u27 (NACCHO) 2010 Profile Study, administered to 2,656 LHDs. A module consisting of questions on social media was also administered to a nationally representative sample of 625 LHDs. Methods and Results: Our bivariate analysis included Chi-Square test as well as Somers-D test for the nominal variables and Kendal\u27s Tau-b for the ordinal variables. Our findings indicate that the two most commonly used social medias by LHDs are Facebook (27.9%) and Twitter (12.9%). Our bivariate analysis indicated that 30.9% locally governed LHDs used Facebook whereas 16.5% of state governed and 21.5% of LHDs with shared governance used this social media. A significantly greater proportion of LHDs with one or more local boards of health (30.3%) used Facebook than LHDs with no local board of health (20.1%). Moreover, 41% of LHDs with an epidemiologist on staff used Facebook compared with 22.4% of LHDs with no epidemiologist. Significant variation existed in the use of Facebook by the size of the population served by the LHDs. Having an epidemiologist mattered, as 27% of LHDs with an epidemiologist on staff used Twitter compared with 9% of LHDs with no epidemiologist. Significant variation existed in the use of Twitter by the size of the population served by LHDs. Over 35.9% of LHDs serving a population size of 500,000+ use Twitter whereas only 6.3% serving a population of less than 25,000, and 7.7% serving a population of 50,000-99,999 used Twitter. A higher proportion of locally governed LHDs used Twitter than state governed LHDs, 14% and 10% respectively. Public Health Implication: Social media use by health departments is an innovative platform of communication to the populations they serve. Conclusion: In 2010 (the latest data collected) a substantial proportion of LHDs used some forms of social media. We expect that the usage has increased in the past couple of years

An analysis of 30 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal disorder of pluripotential stem cells of the bone marrow. The purpose of the study was to obtain epidemiological data of MDS. Thirty cases of MDS presented from April 1998 to May 2006 are included in this study. Complete blood counts were performed in an automated cell counter. Bone marrow aspiration, trephine biopsy and chromosomal study were carried out. The dry film was stained using a Romanwasky stain and Perl′s stain. Fifteen cases were male and 15 cases were female. The mean age at presentation was 55 years (range 8-73 years). A majority of the patients presented with weakness (63.33%). Autoimmune manifestations in the form of joint pain were present in 13.33%. Patients were symptomatic for a prolonged period before diagnosis could be reached (average 358.8 days). A majority of the patients had MDS-refractory anemia (MDS-RA) or MDS-RA with excess blasts( MDS-RAEB-2) at presentation. Three patients had chromosomal abnormalities (27.27%). Eight patients (26.7%) were relatively young at presentation, less than 50 years of age. Three (10%) were children. A majority of the patients opted for symptomatic treatment only

Echinococcus in the Orbit: An Unusual Hideout

Isolated involvement of the orbit by hydatidosis is extremely rare. It is a parasitic infestation due to a tapeworm called Echinococcus Granulosus. It is an uncommon disease in head and neck region as it commonly manifests in the lungs and liver. When seen in head and neck, it has been found in the orbit, paranasal sinuses and salivary glands. Orbital hydatidosis per se forms only 1% of all types of hydatid disease. It is endemic in Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asian countries including India. In orbital hydatid disease, patients usually present with unilateral proptosis and diminution of vision. Proptosis is classically painless. Total surgical removal remains the mainstay of treatment. A 30-year-old female belonging to lower socio-economic status, presented with left eye proptosis since 2 years. There was a gradual increase in proptosis associated with diminution of vision over the last 4 months. This finally led to complete loss of vision in a period of two months. Computed tomography scan showed two soft homogenous non-enhancing cystic structures present in the orbit abutting the optic nerve without any intracranial extension; most likely differentials are a developmental cyst, hydatid cyst, epidermoid cyst, rhabdomyosarcoma or a nerve sheath tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging showed two T1 hypointense non-enhancing, T2 hyperintense soft cystic capsulated space-occupying lesions present in the extraconal compartment of orbit abutting the optic nerve, likely to be lymphangioma or a hydatid cyst. Surgery was planned and endoscopic orbital decompression was done. Sago grain-like granules were seen pouring out of the cysts. Cyst walls were completely removed in piecemeal and the specimen was sent for histopathology. Immediate intra-operative reduction of proptosis was seen. The final histopathological report was suggestive of hydatid cyst

Biocatalytic Synthesis of Flavor Ester “Pentyl Valerate” Using Candida rugosa Lipase Immobilized in Microemulsion Based Organogels: Effect of Parameters and Reusability

Pentyl valerate was synthesized biocatalytically using Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) immobilized in microemulsion based organogels (MBGs). The optimum conditions were found to be pH 7.0, temperature of 37°C, ratio of concentration of water to surfactant (Wo) of 60, and the surfactant sodium bis-2-(ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) for MBG preparation. Although kinetic studies revealed that the enzyme in free form had high affinity towards substrates (Km = 23.2 mM for pentanol and 76.92 mM for valeric acid) whereas, after immobilization, the Km values increased considerably (74.07 mM for pentanol and 83.3 mM for valeric acid) resulting in a slower reaction rate, the maximum conversion was much higher in case of immobilized enzyme (~99%) as compared to free enzyme (~19%). Simultaneous effects of important parameters were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) conjugated with Box-Behnken design (BBD) with five variables (process parameters), namely, enzyme concentration, initial water content (Wo), solvent used for MBG preparation, substrate ratio and time, and response as the final product formation, that is, pentyl valerate (%). The MBGs were reused for 10 consecutive cycles for ester synthesis. Efficacy of AOT/isooctane as dehydrating agent for extracting excess water from MBGs was found to exert a positive effect on the esterification reaction

α-Synuclein in α-helical conformation at air–water interface: implication of conformation and orientation changes during its accumulation/aggregation

a-Synuclein, a natively unstructured protein important in the neuropathology of Parkinson’s disease, was found to form a Langmuir monolayer in an a-helical conformation with its helical axis parallel to the air–water interface. This study sheds light on the role of vesicles in neuronal cells in the accumulation/aggregation of a-synuclein