Lipid profile in systemic lupus erythematosus: study from a tertiary teaching hospital of Eastern India

Background: Dyslipidemia is an independent modifiable risk factor for coronary artery disease. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have dyslipidemia and accelerated atherosclerosis; however, there is paucity of published data on the lipid profile in patients with SLE in Eastern India. This study was done to assess the prevalence and abnormality of lipid profile in patients with SLE admitted to a tertiary care teaching hospital in Eastern India.Methods: This was a hospital based prospective study evaluating SLE patients admitted to a tertiary care institution in Eastern India. 101 patients with SLE admitted consecutively and 100 age and sex matched controls were enrolled for study. Fasting total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured in plasma whereas very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) was calculated. Statistical analysis was done using the standard statistical techniques.Results: Out of 101 patients of SLE, 97 were female and 4 were of male gender. The age of the patients ranged from 15 to 47 years with a mean of 27.17 (±8.4) years. Dyslipidemia was found in 58(57.4%) patients. Hypercholesterolemia was found in 23 (22.7%), hypertriglyceridemia in 55 (54.4%), raised LDL-C in 24 (23.7%) cases. Raised TC, TG, and LDL-C was found in 18 (17.8%), and raised TC, TG, LDL-C and low HDL-C was found in 9 (8.9%) cases. There was significant increase in serum cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL-C while decrease in HDL-C in SLE patients than controls (p <0.001). Statistically no difference in lipid profile was found in between groups of SLE receiving steroid and without steroid.Conclusions: Abnormal lipid profiles are very common in patients with SLE, though the patients are very young. Control of dyslipidemia can favourably affect cardiovascular related morbidity and mortality. 

Photoinduced proton transfer in 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid

Spectral and photophysical properties of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3HNA) have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. In addition to its normal fluorescence, 3HNA exhibits a large Stokes-shifted emission that depends on its concentration, the nature of the solvent, pH, temperature and excitation wavelength. 3HNA seems to form different emitting species in different media. The large Stokes shift is attributed to species undergoing excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). Ab initio calculations using configuration interaction (single excitation) reveal a single minimum in the potential energy profile corresponding to the primary form in the ground state. While semi-empirical calculations with CI (AM1/PECI=8) predict a double well potential, single point density functional theoretic calculations (B3LYP/6-31G&#8727;&#8727;) confirm the absence of a barrier in the ground state for proton transfer. In the first excited singlet state, however, there are two minima corresponding to the primary and tautomeric forms at both ab initio CIS and AM1/PECI=8 levels, thus accounting for the dual emission in 3HNA. The theoretical methods also account for the observed pH dependence of the spectral characteristics qualitatively correctly

Exploiting the helical motif for enhanced nonlinear optical response: Hyperpolarizability of substituted m-phenylene oligomers

There is considerable interest in developing organic systems for use in nonlinear optical (NLO) applications.1 The design strategy first involves the identification of a molecular candidate with a large hyperpolarizability, usually based on electronic factors. While many structural types have been studied, the most thoroughly examined systems involve push-pull substituted molecules with extended conjugation. Unfortunately, a sizable macroscopic susceptibility is not always obtained because of nonoptimal packing in the solid state. In centrosymmetric structures, the second harmonic generation is identically zero. While the problem can be overcome through poling or encapsulation in rigid polymeric matrixes, long-term thermal, photo, and oxidative stabilities are not easy to achieve.2 We now consider an integrated approach in which electronic and molecular structures work in concert. Molecules with an intrinsic preference for adopting helical structures, but which also permit sufficient delocalization, are suggested as promising candidates for NLO applications

Comparative study of activities of a diverse set of antimycobacterial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium ulcerans

A library of compounds covering a broad chemical space was selected from a tuberculosis drug development program and was screened in a whole-cell assay against Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of the necrotizing skin disease Buruli ulcer. While a number of potent antitubercular agents were only weakly active or inactive against M. ulcerans, five compounds showed high activity (90% inhibitory concentration [IC90], ≤1 μM), making screening of focused antitubercular libraries a good starting point for lead generation against M. ulcerans

Comparison of dosimetric data of bone marrow between standard IMRT and bone marrow sparing IMRT in carcinoma cervix

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the dosimetric comparison of bone marrow between standard IMRT(SD-IMRT) and bone marrow sparing IMRT (BMS-IMRT) among carcinoma cervix patients who underwent radical or adjuvant chemoradiation in a tertiary cancer center. Materials and methods: Forty eligible patients of histo-pathologically proven carcinoma cervix were enrolled in the study that was randomized on a 1:1 basis between SD-IMRT and BMS-IMRT from July 2018 to October 2019. The whole pelvis, bilateral femoral heads, and upper 1/3rd femur were contoured using the whole bone technique as a surrogate marker for the bone marrow. In both arms, V10, V20, and V40, bone marrow was noted along with mean, maximum, minimum dose, and total volume. DVH for the bone marrow in both arms was compared using the unpaired student t-test. Results: We found no significant difference in the mean of various parameters in SD-IMRT arm vs. BMS IMRT arm — for the bone marrow: V10 (89 ± 4.3% vs. 86.7 ± 3.7%), V20 (73.2 ± 5.3% vs. 73.1 ± 4.5%), V40 (23.9 ± 5.4% vs. 26.6 ± 7.4%) and, similarly, for mean dose (28.1 ± 3.5% vs. 28.1 ± 1.8%), maximum dose (53.4 ± 0.58% vs. 53.2 ± 0.58%), minimum dose (0.33 ± 0.18% vs. 0.38 ± 0.38%), total volume (961 ± 110 cc vs. 901 ± 152 cc). Conclusion: This study shows no statistically significant difference in dosimetry between the two groups, which suggests that SD-IMRT spares the bone marrow adequately. Therefore, the need for BMS-IMRT using the present contouring technique does not give any added advantage over SD-IMRT. However, large sample size, other novel contouring technique, and multivariate analysis are needed to reach a definite conclusion

Effect of age on dental plaque deposition and its control by ultrasonic scaling, dental hygiene chew, and chlorhexidine (0.2%w/v) in dogs

Background and Aim: Periodontitis is the most prevalent inflammatory dental disease caused by a lack of oral hygiene measures in domestic animals. The periodontal disease complex arises as a result of bacterial biofilm deposition termed as plaque on the tooth surface. Lack of cleaning measures either mechanical or chemical credit for the condition. The present study was conducted to screen the animals for the presence of plaque deposition, gingivitis, along with various control measures for the same. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two dogs of different age groups were evaluated for the presence of plaque and gingivitis by scoring method to estimate the extent of severity. Scaling of the tooth surface was done by ultrasonic scaling machine to remove the plaques, and the animals were divided into four treatment groups to study the effects of dental hygiene chew and chlorhexidine for control of plaque. Results: Present study revealed 71.87% and 34.37% of the screened animals were having plaque deposition and varied degrees of gingivitis respectively. A positive coefficient of correlation (r) of 0.89 (p<0.05) between advancing age and plaque deposition and 0.85 (p<0.05) between age and level of gingivitis was obtained. Two groups receiving dental chew and 0.2% w/v chlorhexidine showed lower plaque deposits, and the fourth treatment group receiving both dental chew and chlorhexidine showed 100% animals remained free from fresh plaque deposits. Conclusion: The present study showed a strong positive relationship between age and plaque deposition and gingivitis. The study also showed that oral hygiene measures such as use of dental hygiene chew and chlorhexidine application can reduce plaque deposition and periodontitis in domesticated canines

Immunophenotypic Profile of Multiple Myeloma: A Tertiary Care Centre Experience

Background Immunophenotyping and enumeration of plasma cells (PCs) by flow cytometry are deemed to be prognostically significant. However, PCs enumeration by flow cytometry is challenging owing to discrepancy with morphology and PCs loss during sample processing. Enumeration and differentiation of abnormal plasma cells (APCs) and normal plasma cells (NPCs) is difficult because abnormal antigen expression can be seen in subsets of NPCs. This is particularly true when a limited panel of antibodies are relied upon