The use of platelet-rich plasma in treatment of olfactory dysfunction: A pilot study.

BackgroundOlfactory dysfunction is a prevalent problem with a significant impact on quality of life and increased mortality. Limited effective therapies exist. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous biologic product with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. This novel pilot study evaluated the role of PRP on olfactory neuroregeneration in patients with hyposmia.MethodsSeven patients who had olfactory loss greater than 6 months in duration, no evidence of sinonasal inflammatory disease, and no improvement with olfactory training and budesonide topical rinses were enrolled in this preliminary study. Patients received a single intranasal injection of PRP into the mucosa of the olfactory cleft. The Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test consisting of threshold, discrimination, and identification measurements (TDI) was administered at the beginning of the study and at 1 and 3 months.ResultsAll patients reported a subjective improvement of their smell shortly after injection but then stabilized. At 3-month post-treatment, two patients with functional anosmia (TDI < 16) did not improve significantly. Five patients with hyposmia (TDI > 16 but <30) showed an improvement with 60% achieving normosmia (TDI > 30) at 3-month follow-up. On average, patients with baseline TDI > 16 improved by 5.85 points with the most significant improvement in the threshold subcomponent. There were no adverse outcomes from intranasal PRP injections.ConclusionPRP appears safe for use in the treatment of olfactory loss, and preliminary data suggest possible efficacy, especially for those with moderate yet persistent loss. Further studies will help determine optimal frequency and duration of use.Level of evidence 2

Morphology of the recently re-classified Tasman masked booby (Sula dactylatra tasmani) breeding on the Kermadec Islands

Once thought to be extinct, the Tasman Booby Sula tasmani has recently been re-classified as a subspecies of the Masked Booby S. dactylatra on the basis of genetic data. This re-classification raises the issue of whether this novel clade has a distinct morphology. Morphological differences in size, as well as coloration of integuments, bill and iris have been found in other subspecies of the Masked Booby but have not yet been reported for live Kermadec Islands breeding individuals. Museum specimens from this breeding location have been separated from other Pacific breeding subspecies by their longer wings. We sampled a total of 21 individuals from North Meyer Islet, Kermadec Group, New Zealand, and applied molecular sexing to obtain sex-specific morphometric measurements. We matched dimorphism in vocalization with genetic sexing results and photographic documentation of human-assessed bill, foot and eye coloration. While culmen measurements were consistent with reports from museum specimens, wing chords from living specimens of Tasman Masked Boobies were 3% and 4% larger in males and females, respectively. Females had larger culmens and wings than males, consistent with the low extent of sexual dimorphism reported from museum skins. Adult Tasman Masked Boobies had yellow to buff-yellow feet, while fledglings, as in most sulids, had grey to greyish-yellow feet. Our findings confirm the distinctively long wing and particular iris coloration previously reported for the taxon and provide the first description of integument coloration of live specimens. This study highlights the importance of including in situ assessment in taxon descriptions

Optimization of Kerf Width, MRR and Surface Roughness of H-11 Material Machined with Wire Cut EDM Process Using Grey Relation Analysis

In this study, the effects of cutting parameters on kerf width, MRR and surface roughness were experimentally investigated in WEDM. H-11 hot die tool steel was selected as the work material to conduct experiments. The factors selected for the optimization are the pulse on time, pulse off time, flushing pressure, wire tension, servo voltage and wire feed rate each of the factors in three different levels. An optimal parameter combination of the WEDM process was obtained by applying the grey relational analysis (GRA). Also, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out for finding out the contribution and the effects of machining parameters on the multiple performance characteristics (MPC). A Taguchi design of experiment (DOE) approach with L27 Orthogonal Array employed to conduct this experiment. Design Expert 8.0.6.1 software was used to perform the ANOVA (analysis of Variance) and confirmation test conducted to verify as well as compare the results from the theoretical prediction using software. And this research work develops new software tools in Visual basic-6.0. a. Develop scalar measurement software tool for measurement of kerf width b. ANOVA Analyzer software tool for analysis of variance

Loss of Immunohistochemical Reactivity in Association With Handling-Induced Dark Neurons in Mouse Brains.

The handling-induced dark neuron is a histological artifact observed in brain samples handled before fixation with aldehydes. To explore associations between dark neurons and immunohistochemical alterations in mouse brains, we examined protein products encoded by Cav3 (neuronal perikarya/neurites), Rbbp4 (neuronal nuclei), Gfap (astroglia), and Aif1 (microglia) genes in adjacent tissue sections. Here, dark neurons were incidental findings from our prior project, studying the effects of age and high-fat diet on metabolic homeostasis in male C57BL/6N mice. Available were brains from 4 study groups: middle-aged/control diet, middle-aged/high-fat diet, old/control diet, and old/high-fat diet. Young/control diet mice were used as baseline. The hemibrains were immersion-fixed with paraformaldehyde and paraffin-embedded. In the hippocampal formation, we found negative correlations between dark neuron hyperbasophilia and immunoreactivity for CAV3, RBBP4, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) using quantitative image analysis. There was no significant difference in dark neuron hyperbasophilia or immunoreactivity for any protein examined among all groups. In contrast, in the hippocampal fimbria, old age seemed to be associated with higher immunoreactivity for GFAP and allograft inflammatory factor-1. Our findings suggest that loss of immunohistochemical reactivity for CAV3, RBBP4, and GFAP in the hippocampal formation is an artifact associated with the occurrence of dark neurons. The unawareness of dark neurons may lead to misinterpretation of immunohistochemical reactivity alterations

Studies on Fruit and Yield Traits in Indigenous Coloured Varieties of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) in South Gujarat, India

An investigation on fruit descriptors and yield in twelve mango varieties was conducted under South Gujarat conditions. Maximum fruit length was recorded in cv. Totapuri (16.23cm). Vanraj showed the highest values for fruit width (11.67cm), fruit circumference (37.37cm), fruit weight (729g), fruit volume (575.59cm3) and fruit pulp (78.93%). Maximum TSS (21.20%), acidity (0.42%) and fruit firmness (7.00 rating) was observed in cvs. Deshi-1, Deshi-3 and Makaram, respectively. 'Totapuri' had maximum total shelf-life (21.33 days), number of fruits per tree (383.00) and fruit yield (236.80kg/tree). The varieties had green to yellow ground-colour of peel. All the varieties had red-blush peel colour, excepting cvs. Dadamio, Makaram and Swarnarekha which were purplish-red. Similarly, pulp colour ranged from light yellow to light orange. Based on overall performance, cvs. Alphonso, Deshi-1, Deshi-2, Kesar, Khandesi Borasio, Totapuri and Vanraj proved to be superior to the other varieties

Global Management Effectiveness Study: Integrated Social and Ecological Report for Non-node and Node Sites

The purpose of this study is to provide a critical assessment of the implementation, impact, and performance of Marine Managed Area (MMA) projects to serve as a basis for improved planning and implementation of new MMA projects worldwide. The specific objectives of the study are (1) to determine the socioeconomic, governance and ecological effects of MMAs; (2) to determine the critical factors influencing MMA effects, as well as the impact of the timing of those factors on the effects of the MMA; and (3) to provide tools for predicting MMA effects based on ecological, socioeconomic and governance variable

Neuronal hyperexcitability in the ventral posterior thalamus of neuropathic rats: modality selective effects of Pregabalin

Neuropathic pain represents a substantial clinical challenge; understanding the underlying neural mechanisms and back-translation of therapeutics could aid targeting of treatments more effectively. The ventral posterior thalamus (VP) is the major termination site for the spinothalamic tract and relays nociceptive activity to the somatosensory cortex, however under neuropathic conditions, it is unclear how hyperexcitability of spinal neurones converges onto thalamic relays. This study aimed to identify neural substrates of hypersensitivity, and the influence of pregabalin on central processing. In vivo electrophysiology was performed to record from VP wide dynamic range (WDR) and nociceptive-specific (NS) neurones in anaesthetised spinal nerve-ligated (SNL), sham-operated and naïve rats. In neuropathic rats, WDR neurones had elevated evoked responses to low and high intensity punctate mechanical stimuli, dynamic brushing, innocuous and noxious cooling, but less so to heat stimulation of the receptive field. NS neurones in SNL rats also displayed increased responses to noxious punctate mechanical stimulation, dynamic brushing, noxious cooling and noxious heat. Additionally, WDR, but not NS, neurones in SNL rats exhibited substantially higher rates of spontaneous firing, which may correlate with ongoing pain. The ratio of WDR:NS neurones was comparable between SNL and naïve/sham groups suggesting relatively few NS neurones gain sensitivity to low intensity stimuli leading to a 'WDR phenotype'. After neuropathy, the proportion of cold sensitive WDR and NS neurones increased, supporting that changes in frequency dependent firing and population coding underlie cold hypersensitivity. In SNL rats, pregabalin inhibited mechanical and heat responses but not cold evoked or elevated spontaneous activity

Efficacy and superiority of an innovative method (IM) of intravenous (IV) fluid drip drop rate calculation using IV set and its comparison with conventional methods (CM)

Background: Almost every indoor patient requires some form of intravenous (IV) fluids and its infusion rate should be proper as recommended for best treatment outcomes. To overcome the same, a simple, quick and easily applicable new method for drip drop rate calculation is proposed, which is user-friendly at bedside and doesn’t require mathematical skills or help.Methods: Author compared this novel innovative method (IM) of IV fluid drip drop rate method for both regular macro and micro drop infusion set against conventional mathematical calculation method (MC) of infusion in various IV fluid indoor orders and assessed for time-to-initiation of treatment (TI) required and its accuracy. Ten resident doctors and ten nursing staff participated to grade both conventional and novel methods by using pre-printed forms of various parameters like time consumption, comfort level, accuracy and applicability in ward and these both methods were scored on a scale of 1 to 10.Results: Conventional method (CM) required 14.23±1.10seconds, while novel method (IM) required average 3.63±0.73seconds for calculation of drop rate. Average grading for conventional method was 3.63±0.49 and for novel method was 7.84±0.6 out of 10.Conclusions: Novel method of IV fluid drip drop rate formula is easy, quick and superior in comparison to conventional method and it doesn’t require any additional instrumental help. It is good alternative to conventional formula for IV drip drop rate calculation in absence of infusion pump