Causes of congenital corneal opacities and their management in a tertiary care center.

PURPOSE: To evaluate causes and management of congenital corneal opacities (CCO) diagnosed in a tertiary care eye center and to compare the data with a previous study at the same institution. METHODS: Computerized medical records in all patients with congenital corneal opacities diagnosed in the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital (Philadelphia, PA) between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2015, were retrospectively reviewed. Children aged 12 years and younger at the first visit were included in the study. Patients\u27 demographics, ocular diagnosis, laterality, associated ocular abnormalities, other ocular surgery performed prior or subsequent to the first visit, and their treatment were extracted from the medical records. RESULTS: A total of 77 eyes in 56 patients were examined. The mean age at presentation was 32.8 ± 44.2 months, with the mean follow-up period of 26.7 ± 30.1 months. The most frequent diagnosis was Peters anomaly (53.2%), followed by limbal dermoid (13.0%), aniridia with glaucoma and microphthalmos (6.5%), sclerocornea and congenital glaucoma (5.2%), idiopathic (3.9%), Axenfeld-Rieger anomaly and Hurler syndrome (2.6%), and microcornea (1.3%). Primary keratoplasty was performed in 26 eyes, with the outcome rate in the clear cornea of 76.0% during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: Peters anomaly is the most common cause of congenital corneal opacities encountered at our institution. Penetrating keratoplasty is the most frequent choice of corneal surgery to treat congenital corneal opacities. Additional interventions during penetrating keratoplasty were moderately positively correlated with graft failure. This study also shows the rates of some etiologies of that changed over the recent decades in our tertiary care Cornea Service. Although Peters anomaly remains the most common presenting reason for congenital corneal opacities, its rate appears to be increasing over the recent decade. Congenital corneal opacities due to birth trauma, which is one of the preventable causes, were observed in a previous study in our clinic; however, no new cases were noted in this study

Oxidative stress specifically downregulates survivin to promote breast tumour formation.

BackgroundBreast cancer, a heterogeneous disease has been broadly classified into oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) or oestrogen receptor negative (ER-) tumour types. Each of these tumours is dependent on specific signalling pathways for their progression. While high levels of survivin, an anti-apoptotic protein, increases aggressive behaviour in ER- breast tumours, oxidative stress (OS) promotes the progression of ER+ breast tumours. Mechanisms and molecular targets by which OS promotes tumourigenesis remain poorly understood.ResultsDETA-NONOate, a nitric oxide (NO)-donor induces OS in breast cancer cell lines by early re-localisation and downregulation of cellular survivin. Using in vivo models of HMLE(HRAS) xenografts and E2-induced breast tumours in ACI rats, we demonstrate that high OS downregulates survivin during initiation of tumourigenesis. Overexpression of survivin in HMLE(HRAS) cells led to a significant delay in tumour initiation and tumour volume in nude mice. This inverse relationship between survivin and OS was also observed in ER+ human breast tumours. We also demonstrate an upregulation of NADPH oxidase-1 (NOX1) and its activating protein p67, which are novel markers of OS in E2-induced tumours in ACI rats and as well as in ER+ human breast tumours.ConclusionOur data, therefore, suggest that downregulation of survivin could be an important early event by which OS initiates breast tumour formation

Liquid state bioconversion of palm oil mill effluent for cellulase production: statistical optimization of process conditions

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum was used for liquid state bioconversion of POME for cellulase production. Statistical optimization was carried out to evaluate the physico-chemical parameters (factors) for maximum cellulase production by 2-level fractional factorial design with six central points. The polynomial regression model was developed using the experimental data including the effects of linear, quadratic and interaction of the factors. The factors involved were substrate (POME) and co-substrate (wheat flour) concentrations, temperature, pH, inoculum and agitation. Statistical analysis showed that the optimum conditions were: temperature of 300C, substrate concentration of 2%, wheat flour concentration of 3%, pH of 4, inoculum of 3% and agitation of 200 rpm. Under these conditions, the model predicted the enzyme production to be about 14 FPU/ml. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the design showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.99, thus ensuring a high satisfactory adjustment of the quadratic model with the experimental data

Effect of Neemta 2100 toxicity on acetylcholinesterase and serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase enzymes in serum of fish, Oreochromis mossambicus

Acetylcholinesterase and serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase enzymes have been used as marker monitoring the effect of neem seed based pesticide Neemta 2100 on the fish, Oreochromis mossambicus. Fishes exposed to sublethal concentrations of Neemta 2100 for acute periods of 24 and 48 hours were sacrificed to determine enzyme activities in serum affected due to toxicity. Laboratory studies of in vivo exposure of this pesticide showed synergistic inhibitory effect during acute period of toxicity. Acetylcholinesterase was noticed as 6.25 µm substrate hydrolyzed/mg protein/hour and serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase was noticed as 36.71 µm substrate hydrolyzed/mg protein/hour in control fish serum. Significant decrease in GOT level in Neemta 2100 treated fishes after short term exposure indicated its severe toxicity to fish

Survey of the Beneficial Flowers Available in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India

The flora of an area is considered a vital part of the environment, regulating the prosperity of the biosphere and people's health. It is highly suggested that the proper utilization of plant resources in each part of a country has been useful in conserving the availability and productivity of the flora. The present investigation aimed to evaluate the survey of the beneficial flowers available in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India, from December 2019 to February 2020. The survey studies were divided into four different zones in Coimbatore District: Perur, Ganapathy, Thudiyalur, and Periyanaickenpalayam, respectively. The survey resulted in the collection of 40 plant species belonging to 38 genera, dispersed over 25 families of flowering plants / angiosperms. The dominant families were Apocynaceae and Oleaceae when compared to other families. This study reveals that species such as Calotropis gigantean, Chrysanthemum morifolium, Couroupita guianensis, Nerium oleander, Nyctanthes arbortristis, Nelumbo nucifera, and Tabernaemontana divaricata were used as ritual flowers. The beneficial flowers showed a maximum for ornamental flowers (43 percent), followed by ritual flowers (35 percent), medicinal flowers (15 percent), and cooking flowers (7 percent), respectively. The highest blooming of the flowers (14.89 percent) occurred in March, and the lowest in November and December. Flowers were documented as having economic value, with the highest rate in Rosa sp., and Jasminum sp., which were used as ornamental, medicinal, and cosmetic preparations as valuable resources. Scientific key information on taxonomy and technical approaches to beneficial flowers was analyzed. Flowers play a vital role in human life from birth to death and are used in all auspicious events in India, especially in daily prayers in temples and Indian households

Inhibition of mild steel corrosion in HCl solution using amino acid L-tryptophan

The corrosion inhibition characteristics of nitrogen containing amino acid L-tryptophan on mild steel in 0.1 M HCl solution was studied by weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. L-tryptophan significantly reduces the corrosion rates of mild steel; the maximum inhibition efficiency being 83% at 50 oC in presence of inhibition concentration of 500 ppm. The adsorption of inhibitors on mild steel surface obeyed Langmuir’s adsorption isotherm. The calculated thermodynamic parameters for adsorption reveal a strong interaction between the inhibitors and the mild steel surface. The results obtained by electrochemical studies are consistent with the results of the weight loss measurement. L-tryptophan acts more anodic than cathodic inhibitor

EVALUATING THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS OF HYPERTENSION THERAPY: A PHARMACOECONOMIC STUDY

Objective: The study objective is to evaluate among the different groups of antihypertensive for their cost-effectiveness and to provide information about the effective management of hypertensives both clinically and economically. Methods: This study involves 81 patients aged 18–80 years on antihypertensive treatment who were enrolled from December to May with daily dose calculation. It is performed to analyze cost-effectiveness in the management of clinical condition. Data collection form to be entered with age, sex, food habits, occupational status, clinical data, and drugs was used for treatment. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is calculated based on the incremental cost for per mmHg†reduction and cost for per patient†reaching target blood pressure (BP). Result: Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) show a significant average reduction of systolic BP (SBP) and beta-blockers (BBs) show an average reduction of diastolic BP (DBP). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are cost effective in SBP and calcium channel blockers are cost effective in maintaining DBP. Conclusion: ARBs, BBs, and ACEIs show the effective management of hypertensives both clinically and economically

Premenstrual syndrome, coping mechanisms and associated factors among female students of a health sciences campus in South India

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a set of distressing physical and psychological symptoms occurring cyclically during the luteal phase of each menstrual cycle that begin a few days before menstruation and resolves within a few days of the onset of menstruation. This study focuses on finding the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms among university students and also to assess the socio-demographic, dietary and lifestyle factors associated with premenstrual symptoms. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted were participants were asked to fill a premenstrual syndrome scale (PMSS) questionnaire based on which they were categorised as ‘positive PMS’ or ‘negative PMS’. Any coping mechanism applied were also reported. Results: A total of 202 participants were part of the study of which 137 (67.8%) of them had premenstrual symptoms and of which 49 (79%) of them had a familial history of PMS. Menstrual related factors like familial history of PMS, perceived menstrual pain intensity, quantity of menstrual bleed, Duration of symptoms in the premenstrual periods were found to be significantly associated with PMS. Mood swings, abdominal cramps and generalised aches and pains were predominant symptoms reported by the students. Taking rest, sleeping and listening to music were the commonly applied coping mechanisms to relieve the symptoms. Conclusions: The prevalence of PMS is on the higher side i.e. 68.3% compared to many studies around the world. The health seeking behaviour knowledge about PMS seems to be quite low among the students and thereby indicates the need to provide awareness and give emphasis on the management of premenstrual symptoms both pharmacologically (if required) and non-pharmacologically