Changes of smooth muscle contractile filaments in small bowel atresia

AIM: To investigate morphological changes of intestinal smooth muscle contractile fibres in small bowel atresia patients. METHODS: Resected small bowel specimens from small bowel atresia patients (n = 12) were divided into three sections (proximal, atretic and distal). Standard histology hematoxylin-eosin staining and enzyme immunohistochemistry was performed to visualize smooth muscle contractile markers α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and desmin using conventional paraffin sections of the proximal and distal bowel. Small bowel from age-matched patients (n = 2) undergoing Meckel's diverticulum resection served as controls. RESULTS: The smooth muscle coat in the proximal bowel of small bowel atresia patients was thickened compared with control tissue, but the distal bowel was unchanged. Expression of smooth muscle contractile fibres SMA and desmin within the proximal bowel was slightly reduced compared with the distal bowel and control tissue. There were no major differences in the architecture of the smooth muscle within the proximal bowel and the distal bowel. The proximal and distal bowel in small bowel atresia patients revealed only minimal differences regarding smooth muscle morphology and the presence of smooth muscle contractile filament markers. CONCLUSION: Changes in smooth muscle contractile filaments do not appear to play a major role in postoperative motility disorders in small bowel atresia

Globalization, Health Sector Reform, Gender and Reproductive Health

Explores the interrelationships between globalization and health sector reforms, and how changes in macro-economic and social policies affect women's reproductive health and rights

Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Identification of Metabolites of Nitroarenes

Nitroarenes are a class of fused ring aromatic hydrocarbons substituted with nitro groups. They are released into the environment by combustion processes. Nitropyrenes and nitrofluoranthenes are of particular importance because of the mutagenic and carcinogenic properties that they display. Efficient and convenient routes of preparation of the individual nitropyrenol, acetamidopyrenol, nitrofluoranthenol and acetamidofluoranthenol isomers in high purity and good yields are described here. The approach to synthesis was acetylation in the case of the pyrene metabolites and benzoylation in the case of the fluoranthene metabolites, followed by conversion to the corresponding ester and nitration. Purification was carried out before or after hydrolysis of the ester, based on the ease of separation of the esters compared to the phenols. The metabolites synthesized were then characterized by H^1-NMR and mass spectrometry.Master of Science in Public Healt

Effect of Tannery Effluents on the Antioxidant Enzymes of a Fresh Water Fish Channa striatus

Tannery effluents add pollutants to the aquatic environment. The characterization of responses to toxic exposure at the molecular level of biological systems is a major challenge in ecotoxicology because it enables the unraveling of mechanisms of toxicity, the discovery of novel biochemical markers, and early diagnoses of exposure and effects. The three major classes of antioxidant enzymes viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) were analyzed in the liver, testes, and ovary of Channa striatus to delineate the impact of tannery effluents on these enzymes. The oxidative stress biomarkers showed a significant reduction (p<0.05) in their activities among the control and experimental groups exposed to both 10 and 1 % concentrations of the tannery effluents. The SOD activity was reduced to 96.13 % in the ovary compared to the liver (60.73 %) and testes (47.89 %) after 30 days of exposure to a 10 % concentration of the tannery effluents. However, the activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase decreased to 58.59 % and 43.64 % in the testes when compared to the liver and ovary

The bountiful and baffling baculovirus: the story of polyhedrin transcription

Baculoviruses are a unique group of eukaryotic viruses that parasitize insects. The prototype member of the family Baculoviridae is Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). Global interest in baculovirus biology stems from two important uses of baculoviruses - as biopesticides and as a highly favoured eukaryotic expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant proteins in the laboratory. Of late, baculoviruses have invited renewed interest by virtue of their potential use as a delivery system in gene therapy. Although the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is extensively used worldwide, the transcriptional regulation of the hyperactive promoters used to drive foreign gene expression still remains shrouded in mystery. It is clear, however, that this regulation involves an intricate interplay of both host and viral factors. This review provides an overview of what we do know about the mechanisms of transcription of baculoviral genes, with special emphasis on the polyhedrin promoter, the workhorse promoter of the BEVS, and the insect cell host factors involved in enhancing transcription from it

A case of hoarseness of voice following COVID-19 infection

Mucormycosis is a fatal angio-invasive fungal infection associated with a high mortality. Apart from the traditional risk factors, COVID-19 infection and steroid therapy for the same have been recently identified to predispose to this life-threatening infection. Usual presentations of mucormycosis include rhino-orbito-cerebral, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal and cutaneous involvement. We report an unusual case of mediastinal involvement by mucormycosis in a patient recovering from moderate COVID-19 pneumonia. Early diagnosis, prompt initiation of antifungal therapy accompanied by timely surgical debridement were pivotal in averting morbidity and mortality in this patient

Insights into the Recent Advances in Nanomaterial Based Electrochemical Sensors for Pesticides in Food

Food safety is one of the rising concerns challenging all over the world and the analysis and determination of food contaminants to ensure the quality of food is highly inevitable. Electroanalytical sensors are a versatile tool for the accurate monitoring of food samples from the pollutants. Pesticides are one of the major sources of food pollutants and their impacts on human health is also very dangerous. This will trigger the researchers to develop more and more sensitive devices to monitor the level of various pesticides in various food samples, especially in agricultural products. Electrochemical sensors fabricated using nanocomposites offers more sensitive electrochemical response in the detection of these pesticides than traditional unmodified electrodes. This prompted us to write a mini review on the electrochemical sensors for pesticides in food using nanomaterials as modifiers from some of the previous reports. This review will motivate the experts working in this area to develop highly efficient sensing devices for pesticides, beneficial to the society as well

Knowledge of blood loss at delivery among postpartum patients

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of obstetric morbidity. There is limited understanding of patients’ knowledge about blood loss at delivery, PPH, and PPH-related morbidities, including transfusion and anemia. Methods: We surveyed 100 healthy postpartum patients who underwent vaginal or cesarean delivery about blood loss, and whether they received information about transfusion and peripartum hemoglobin (Hb) testing. Responses were compared between women undergoing vaginal delivery vs. cesarean delivery; P<0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results: In our cohort, 49 women underwent vaginal delivery and 51 women underwent cesarean delivery. Only 29 (29%) of women provided blood loss estimates for their delivery. Women who underwent cesarean delivery were more likely to receive clear information about transfusion therapy than those undergoing vaginal delivery (43.1% vs. 20.4% respectively; P=0.04). Women who underwent vaginal delivery were more likely to receive results of postpartum Hb tests compared to those undergoing cesarean delivery (49% vs. 29.4%; P=0.02). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that women are poorly informed about the magnitude of blood loss at delivery. Hematologic information given to patients varies according to mode of delivery. Further research is needed to better understand the clinical implications of patients’ knowledge gaps about PPH, transfusion and postpartum anemia

1-Bromo­acetyl-2,6-bis­(4-methoxy­phen­yl)-3,5-dimethyl­piperidin-4-one

In the title compound, C23H26BrNO4, the piperidinone ring adopts a boat conformation. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 70.9 (1)°. The two meth­oxy groups are close to coplanar with the attached benzene rings [C—C—O—C torsion angles of 6.3 (5) and 16.4 (4)°]. A weak C—H⋯Br intra­molecular inter­action is observed. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked into a chain along [101] by inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A short inter­molecular Br⋯O contact [3.063 (2) Å] is observed