Changes in murine anorectum signaling across the life course

Background: Increasing age is associated with an increase in the incidence of chronic constipation and fecal impaction. The contribution of the natural aging process to these conditions is not fully understood. This study examined the effects of increasing age on the function of the murine anorectum.Methods: The effects of increasing age on cholinergic, nitrergic, and purinergic signaling pathways in the murine anorectum were examined using classical organ bath assays to examine tissue function and electrochemical sensing to determine age‐related changes in nitric oxide and acetylcholine release.Key Results: Nitrergic relaxation increased between 3 and 6 months, peaked at 12 months and declined in the 18 and 24 months groups. These changes were in part explained by an age‐related decrease in nitric oxide (NO) release. Cholinergic signaling was maintained with age by an increase in acetylcholine (ACh) release and a compensatory decrease in cholinesterase activity. Age‐related changes in purinergic relaxation were qualitatively similar to nitrergic relaxation although the relaxations were much smaller. Increasing age did not alter the response of the anorectum smooth muscle to exogenously applied ACh, ATP, sodium nitroprusside or KCl. Similarly, there was no change in basal tension developed by the anorectum.Conclusions and Inferences: The decrease in nitrergic signaling with increasing age may contribute to the age‐related fecal impaction and constipation previously described in this model by partially obstructing defecation

Broadband study of blazar 1ES 1959+650 during flaring state in 2016

Aim : The nearby TeV blazar 1ES 1959+650 (z=0.047) was reported to be in flaring state during June - July 2016 by Fermi-LAT, FACT, MAGIC and VERITAS collaborations. We studied the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in different states of the flare during MJD 57530 - 57589 using simultaneous multiwaveband data to understand the possible broadband emission scenario during the flare. Methods : The UV/optical and X-ray data from UVOT and XRT respectively on board Swift and high energy $\gamma$-ray data from Fermi-LAT are used to generate multiwaveband lightcurves as well as to obtain high flux states and quiescent state SEDs. The correlation and lag between different energy bands is quantified using discrete correlation function. The synchrotron self Compton (SSC) model was used to reproduce the observed SEDs during flaring and quiescent states of the source. Results : A decent correlation is seen between X-ray and high energy $\gamma$-ray fluxes. The spectral hardening with increase in the flux is seen in X-ray band. The powerlaw index vs flux plot in $\gamma$-ray band indicates the different emission regions for 0.1 - 3 GeV and 3-300 GeV energy photons. Two zone SSC model satisfactorily fits the observed broadband SEDs. The inner zone is mainly responsible for producing synchrotron peak and high energy $\gamma$-ray part of the SED in all states. The second zone is mainly required to produce less variable optical/UV and low energy $\gamma$-ray emission. Conclusions : Conventional single zone SSC model does not satisfactorily explain broadband emission during observation period considered. There is an indication of two emission zones in the jet which are responsible for producing broadband emission from optical to high energy $\gamma$-rays.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, Accepted in A&

Leptonic decay of Heavy-light Mesons in a QCD Potential Model

We study the masses and decay constants of heavy-light flavour mesons D, Ds, B and Bs in a QCD Potential model. The mesonic wavefunction is used to compute the masses of D and B mesons in the ground state and the wavefunction is transformed to momentum space to estimate the pseudoscalar decay constants of these mesons. The leptonic decay widths and branching ratio of these mesons for different leptonic channels are also computed to compare with the experimental values. The results are found to be compatible with available data.Comment: 9 pages,3 table

A various equation of state for anisotropic models of compact star

We obtain models of compact stars having pressure anisotropy on Finch-Skea spacetime by considering generalized equation of state (EoS), whose particular cases are linear, quadratic, polytropic, chaplygin and colour - flavor locked(CFL) equation of states. The physical viability of models are tested for strange star candidate 4U 1820 - 30 having mass M = 1.58Mass of the sun and radius R = 9.1 km. All the models are physically plausible.Comment: 28 pages and 15 figure

Natural remedies to combat aberrant hallmark signatures including altered glycosylation in oral carcinoma

Background: Tobacco associated oral cancers remain a major concern in India with higher incidence and mortality making it an Indian-centric burning issue. To combat this dreadful disease, we investigated effects of certain natural compounds on the hallmark signatures including glycosylation transcripts levels in oral carcinoma. Methods: The tongue carcinoma cells- SAS cells were treated with tobacco compounds, natural compounds and Cisplatin. RNA was isolated from the cells and converted to cDNA. RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate expression levels of various genes. Results: The treatment of tobacco compounds resulted in similar pattern of altered makers (ST3GAL1, NEU3, FUT5, FUT6, MMP2, BCL2) as observed in tobacco habituated patients. The treatment of Curcumin resulted in down regulation of FUT8 and MMP2 which are known to have a significant association with disease progression and metastasis. Furthermore, Curcumin treatment also resulted in up regulation of the good prognostic glycosylation transcript marker i.e. FUT3 showing its protective effect against the tumor invasion and metastasis. Butein treatment resulted in the down regulation of the worst prognostic indicators i.e. FUT8 and MMP2 in a dose dependent manner. Piceatannol treatment showed better protective effects via down regulation of the markers related to the aggressive disease progression (ST3GAL2, FUT5, FUT8, MMP2, VEGFC). Conclusion: The study provides novel approach of targeting aberrant hallmark signatures including glycosylation with natural compounds which may open the possibility of promising therapeutic strategies using natural compounds alone or in combination with other conventional therapies to alleviate the present scenario of this dreadful disease in India

Changing trends in cesarean section: from 1950 to 2020

Caesarean section (C.S) is a part of the standard care in modern obstetrics. The indications for a caesarean section as an alternative to vaginal delivery have evolved over the centuries. Its practicality, disponibility, and apparent safety have placed caesarean section, a first-line procedure in many clinical scenarios. The awareness of perinatal mortality and morbidity associated with safety of caesarean, expert anaesthesia, potent antibiotics, blood transfusion facilities and better neonatal care have increased incidence of caesarean section very fast. Thus, there is fast, steady and definite rise in incidence of caesarean section everywhere. But the question is ‘Is a rising caesarean section rate is inevitable?’. Studies carried out to understand CS deliveries has adopted different framework. The issue treats elements of ethics in the medical profession, gender issues, choices of women, the quality of institutional services, etc. The findings of retrospective studies have suggested that the caesarean section rate could be reduced in certain categories. In this study, we discuss the various ways in which it can be achieved