Effect of Haritaki (Terminalia chebula Retz.) with Takra in Dandruff

Dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost half of the population. According to Ayurveda, Dandruff may be correlated to Darunaka. Ayurveda classics dealt different procedures and medications to treat the disease Darunaka (dandruff). The present study is based on the reference from Cikitsamanjary by Sreeman Nambootiri, an authentic Ayurveda book. Haritaki mixed with Takra (buttermilk) as Sirolepa (application of paste over the scalp region) is used to reduce Darunaka. Darunaka is a Kapha Vata predominant disease having the symptoms like Kandu (Itching), Kesha Chyuthi (Hair fall), Twak sphutana (Scaling) and Rukshata (Dryness). Haritaki is having Lavanavarjitha Pancha Rasa, Laghu Ruksha Guna, Ushna Virya, Madhura Vipaka and Tridoshahara property (Pharmacological properties). Takra is having Laghu Ruksha Guna, Kasaya, Amla rasa; Ushna Virya and Madhura Vipaka with Kapha Vatahara property. In the clinical study, 30 patients of Darunaka were selected as per inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study was effective in reducing the symptoms of Darunaka

Development of human single-chain antibodies against SARS-associated coronavirus.

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by a distinct coronavirus, in 2003 greatly threatened public health in China, Southeast Asia as well as North America. Over 1,000 patients died of the SARS virus, representing 10% of infected people. Like other coronaviruses, the SARS virus also utilizes a surface glycoprotein, namely the spike protein, to infect host cells. The spike protein of SARS virus consists of 1,255 amino acid residues and can be divided into two sub-domains, S1 and S2. The S1 domain mediates the binding of the virus to its receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, which is abundantly distributed on the surface of human lung cells. The S2 domain mediates membrane fusion between the virus and the host cell. Hence two strategies can be used to block the infection of the SARS virus, either by interfering with the binding of the S1 domain to the receptor or by blocking the fusion of the virus with the cell membrane mediated by the S2 domain. Several antibodies against the S1 domain have been generated and all of them are able to neutralize the virus in vitro and in vivo using animal models. Unfortunately, point mutations have been identified in the S1 domain, so that the virus isolated in the future may not be recognized by these antibodies. As no mutation has been found in the S2 domain indicating that this region is more conserved than the S1 domain, it may be a better target for antibody binding. After predicting the immunogenicity of the epitopes of the S2 domain, we chemically synthesized two peptides and also expressed one of them using a recombinant DNA method. We screened a phage displaying library of human single-chain antibodies (ScFv) against the predicted epitopes and obtained a human ScFv which can recognize the SARS virus in vitro

Profiles of cytokine and chemokine gene expression in human pulmonary epithelial cells induced by human and avian influenza viruses

Influenza pandemic remains a serious threat to human health. In this study, the repertoire of host cellular cytokine and chemokine responses to infections with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, low pathogenicity avian influenza H9N2 and seasonal human influenza H1N1 were compared using an in vitro system based on human pulmonary epithelial cells. The results showed that H5N1 was more potent than H9N2 and H1N1 in inducing CXCL-10/IP-10, TNF-alpha and CCL-5/RANTES. The cytokine/chemokine profiles for H9N2, in general, resembled those of H1N1. Of interest, only H1N1, but none of the avian subtypes examined could induce a persistent elevation of the immune-regulatory cytokine - TGF-β2. The differential expression of cytokines/chemokines following infection with different influenza viruses could be a key determinant for clinical outcome. The potential of using these cytokines/chemokines as prognostic markers or targets of therapy is worth exploring

A review of the evolution of robotic-assisted total hip arthroplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is currently a very successful operation but continues to evolve as we try to perfect techniques and improve outcomes for our patients. Robotic hip surgery (RHS) began with the 'active' ROBODOC system in the 1980s. There were drawbacks associated with the original ROBODOC and most recently, the MAKO robot was introduced with early promising results. AIM: The aim of this paper is to provide an up-to-date review surrounding this area and discuss the pros and cons of this technique. METHODS: A literature review searching Medline, Embase, Ovidsp, Cochrane library, pubmed database and google scholar was performed searching keywords including: 'Robotic hip surgery', 'Robotic orthopaedic surgery', 'Computer assisted hip surgery', 'robotic arthroplasty', and 'computer assisted orthopaedic surgery'. CONCLUSION: Robotic hip surgery aims to tackle the limitations of the human factor in surgery by promising reproducible and reliable methods of component positioning in arthroplasty surgery. However, as orthopaedic surgeons, we must critically appraise all new technology and support the use providing there is sound robust evidence backing it

Computational prediction of essential genes in an unculturable endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia of Brugia malayi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Wolbachia </it>(<it>w</it>Bm) is an obligate endosymbiotic bacterium of <it>Brugia malayi</it>, a parasitic filarial nematode of humans and one of the causative agents of lymphatic filariasis. There is a pressing need for new drugs against filarial parasites, such as <it>B. malayi</it>. As <it>w</it>Bm is required for <it>B. malayi </it>development and fertility, targeting <it>w</it>Bm is a promising approach. However, the lifecycle of neither <it>B. malayi </it>nor <it>w</it>Bm can be maintained <it>in vitro</it>. To facilitate selection of potential drug targets we computationally ranked the <it>w</it>Bm genome based on confidence that a particular gene is essential for the survival of the bacterium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>w</it>Bm protein sequences were aligned using BLAST to the Database of Essential Genes (DEG) version 5.2, a collection of 5,260 experimentally identified essential genes in 15 bacterial strains. A confidence score, the Multiple Hit Score (MHS), was developed to predict each <it>w</it>Bm gene's essentiality based on the top alignments to essential genes in each bacterial strain. This method was validated using a jackknife methodology to test the ability to recover known essential genes in a control genome. A second estimation of essentiality, the Gene Conservation Score (GCS), was calculated on the basis of phyletic conservation of genes across <it>Wolbachia's </it>parent order <it>Rickettsiales</it>. Clusters of orthologous genes were predicted within the 27 currently available complete genomes. Druggability of <it>w</it>Bm proteins was predicted by alignment to a database of protein targets of known compounds.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ranking <it>w</it>Bm genes by either MHS or GCS predicts and prioritizes potentially essential genes. Comparison of the MHS to GCS produces quadrants representing four types of predictions: those with high confidence of essentiality by both methods (245 genes), those highly conserved across <it>Rickettsiales </it>(299 genes), those similar to distant essential genes (8 genes), and those with low confidence of essentiality (253 genes). These data facilitate selection of <it>w</it>Bm genes for entry into drug design pipelines.</p

The holographic fluid dual to vacuum Einstein gravity

We present an algorithm for systematically reconstructing a solution of the (d+2)-dimensional vacuum Einstein equations from a (d+1)-dimensional fluid, extending the non-relativistic hydrodynamic expansion of Bredberg et al in arXiv:1101.2451 to arbitrary order. The fluid satisfies equations of motion which are the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, corrected by specific higher derivative terms. The uniqueness and regularity of this solution is established to all orders and explicit results are given for the bulk metric and the stress tensor of the dual fluid through fifth order in the hydrodynamic expansion. We establish the validity of a relativistic hydrodynamic description for the dual fluid, which has the unusual property of having a vanishing equilibrium energy density. The gravitational results are used to identify transport coefficients of the dual fluid, which also obeys an interesting and exact constraint on its stress tensor. We propose novel Lagrangian models which realise key properties of the holographic fluid.Comment: 31 pages; v2: references added and minor improvements, published versio

Urinary biomarker concentrations of captan, chlormequat, chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin in UK adults and children living near agricultural land

There is limited information on the exposure to pesticides experienced by UK residents living near agricultural land. This study aimed to investigate their pesticide exposure in relation to spray events. Farmers treating crops with captan, chlormequat, chlorpyrifos or cypermethrin provided spray event information. Adults and children residing ≤100 m from sprayed fields provided first-morning void urine samples during and outwith the spray season. Selected samples (1–2 days after a spray event and at other times (background samples)) were analysed and creatinine adjusted. Generalised Linear Mixed Models were used to investigate if urinary biomarkers of these pesticides were elevated after spray events. The final data set for statistical analysis contained 1518 urine samples from 140 participants, consisting of 523 spray event and 995 background samples which were analysed for pesticide urinary biomarkers. For captan and cypermethrin, the proportion of values below the limit of detection was greater than 80%, with no difference between spray event and background samples. For chlormequat and chlorpyrifos, the geometric mean urinary biomarker concentrations following spray events were 15.4 μg/g creatinine and 2.5 μg/g creatinine, respectively, compared with 16.5 μg/g creatinine and 3.0 μg/g creatinine for background samples within the spraying season. Outwith the spraying season, concentrations for chlorpyrifos were the same as those within spraying season backgrounds, but for chlormequat, lower concentrations were observed outwith the spraying season (12.3 μg/g creatinine). Overall, we observed no evidence indicative of additional urinary pesticide biomarker excretion as a result of spray events, suggesting that sources other than local spraying are responsible for the relatively low urinary pesticide biomarkers detected in the study population