Antitumor and Immunopotentiating Activity of Polysaccharide PST001 Isolated from the Seed Kernel of Tamarindus indica: An InVivo Study inMice

Antitumor activity of polysaccharide PST001 isolated from the seed kernel of Tamarindus indica was evaluated using different cancer cell lines. Human cancer cell lines A549, KB, and MCF-7 and murine cancer cell lines DLA and EAC were treated with PST001 and cell growth inhibition was assessed by MTT assay. In vivo studies were carried out for toxicity, tumor reduction and immunomodulation. The respective IC50 of PST001 in A549, KB, and DLA was at 80.72, 190.99, and 91.14 μg/mL. Significant tumor reduction was obtained in both DLA and EAC tumors on treatment with PST001 which was more prominent when PST001 was administered with CTX/5-fluorouracil. Increase in total WBC, CD4+ T-cell population, and bonemarrow cellularity suggested strong immunomodulatory activity for this compound. No significant abnormality was observed in toxicity studies. Thus the results of the present study suggest that PST001 has immunomodulatory and tumor inhibitory activities and has the potential to be developed as an anticancer agent and immunomodulator either as a sole agent or as an adjuvant to other chemotherapeutic drugs

Effectiveness of pranayama on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy: A randomized controlled trial

Context: Incidence of breast cancer is very high among women around the world. Breast cancer patients experience cancer-related fatigue at some points during the treatment for breast cancer. Since cancer-related fatigue is of multifactorial origin, there are no evidence-based treatment strategies for fatigue. This study tested the effectiveness of certain pranayama techniques in reducing cancer-related fatigue among breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of pranayama on cancer-related fatigue among breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy as measured by cancer fatigue scale. Settings and Design: Shirdi Sai Baba Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Kasturba Hospital Manipal. Materials and Methods: Study was a randomized controlled trial done among breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. Statistical Analysis Used: Demographic characteristics of the participants are presented as frequency and percentage. Comparison of means of cancer-related fatigue between the two groups is done by Mann-Whitney U-test and comparison of pre- and post-test means of cancer-related fatigue among the experimental group is done by Wilcoxon sign rank test. Results: There was a significant difference between the two groups with regard to the scores of cancer-related fatigue. The experimental group of patients who performed pranayama along with radiation therapy experienced less fatigue. Conclusions: Pranayama can be used as a supportive therapy for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy

Mixed IgG Fc immune complexes exhibit blended binding profiles and refine FcR affinity estimates.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies coordinate immune effector responses by interacting with effector cells via fragment crystallizable γ (Fcγ) receptors. The IgG Fc domain directs effector responses through subclass and glycosylation variation. Although each Fc variant has been extensively characterized in isolation, during immune responses, IgG is almost always produced in Fc mixtures. How this influences effector responses has not been examined. Here, we measure Fcγ receptor binding to mixed Fc immune complexes. Binding of these mixtures falls along a continuum between pure cases and quantitatively matches a mechanistic model, except for several low-affinity interactions mostly involving IgG2. We find that the binding model provides refined estimates of their affinities. Finally, we demonstrate that the model predicts effector cell-elicited platelet depletion in humanized mice. Contrary to previous views, IgG2 exhibits appreciable binding through avidity, though it is insufficient to induce effector responses. Overall, this work demonstrates a quantitative framework for modeling mixed IgG Fc-effector cell regulation

Characteristics of CCN activation and cloud microphysics over the east coast of India during the Northeast Monsoon onset

Airborne observations conducted during the Northeast Monsoon onset as part of the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX 2011) are used to link the activation properties of aerosols with the observed cloud microphysics. This study illustrates the significant spatial variability in the aerosol spectrum, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation characteristics, and the cloud droplet spectral properties over a coastal and an inland location. High concentrations of Aitken mode and black carbon aerosols were observed in the free troposphere and are attributed to the convectively transported smoke and aerosols from the coastal boundary layer. The assumption of an internally mixed organic and inorganic aerosol composition provided a better CCN closure over assumptions of either purely organic or purely inorganic aerosols. The coastal clouds were equally polluted as the inland clouds with high cloud droplet number concentrations near the cloud base. The vertical distribution of cloud droplet spectral characteristics was similar in both coastal and inland clouds. An increase in droplet number concentration up to 2 km above the cloud base indicated a prominent influence of submicron particles on the cloud microphysical parameters. Evidence for an enhanced concentration of supercooled drops above the freezing level up to temperatures below −12 °C is documented. The secondary ice production was evident through observations of graupel and snow particles. Heavy loading of aerosols near the cloud base leads to enhanced mixed-phase processes in these clouds

Vertical profile of aerosol characteristics including activation over a rain shadow region in India

International audienc

Cloud and aerosol characteristics during dry and wet days of southwest monsoon over the rain shadow region of Western Ghats, India

International audienceAbstract Spheroscale estimates are essential not only for incorporating the seemingly incompatible phenomenon of atmospheric convection within the framework of wide‐range horizontal and vertical scaling in the atmosphere, but also to make semi‐empirical estimates of the storm‐scale atmospheric predictability limits. Since spheroscales are extremely variable, this study computes yearly spheroscales during convective weather events over a selected part of northeast India for 5 different years using the ensemble‐averaged fluctuations of radar reflectivity from the CloudSat geometric profile data set. All these spheroscale estimates are consistently less than 100 m and are directly proportional to the maximum reflectivity observed during the corresponding year. This is in agreement with the fact that spheroscales for unstable atmospheric fields are larger than that of stable atmospheric fields. The semi‐empirical angle‐averaged predictability limits estimated using these spheroscale estimates illustrate that atmospheric fields with larger spheroscales are weakly stable and have smaller intrinsic predictability limits thereby making them less predictable

Physiology Seminars: Perceptions of Undergraduate allied health sciences students

Background: Seminar is reported as an effective method for improving communication skills and facilitates learning process. Seminars enable active participation, peer interaction, questioning the minds of students, handling of debatable issues, effective presentational skills, presenting opinions. Aims and objectives: The present study was aimed to observe the effectiveness of seminar in allied health science students through their own perceptions. Materials and Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted in 60 male and female first year undergraduate allied health science students, after obtaining voluntary, written informed consent after explaining the need of the study and ensuring confidentiality. Results: Majority of the students expressed positive opinion about seminar. Conclusion: We recommend that seminar could be implemented successfully as a learning process. We also recommend further studies with involvement of multiple centers to support the implementation of seminars in the curriculum, to increase the academic performance of students in Physiology