Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis in Blood Donors in Saurashtra Region of Gujarat: Declining Trends Over a Period of 3½ Years

Background: Transfusion of blood and blood products is a life saving intervention and benefits innumerous patients worldwide. At the same time it could be an ominous mode of infection transmission to recipients. In 15 percent of total patients infected with HIV, blood transfusion has been the responsible mechanism of transmission. Methods: In this study, we aimed to access the prevalence and trend of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis over the last 3½ years (January 2008 to June 2011) among the blood donors who came to donate blood at Blood Bank, P.D.U. Medical College & Hospital, Rajkot as well as in various blood donation camps organized by the same blood bank. Results: From the total of 30,178 blood donors, 711 (2.35%) had serological evidence of infection with at least one pathogen, either of HIV, HBV, HCV or Syphilis. These included 131 (0.43%) with HIV, 293 (0.97%) with HBV, 124 (0.41%) with HCV and 94 (0.31%) with Syphilis. Moreover, significantly declining trends of HIV, HBV and Syphilis was observed over the study period. Conclusion: A substantial percentage of blood donors harbor HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis infections. Strict selection of blood donors and comprehensive screening of donors’ blood using standard methods are highly recommended to ensure the safety of blood for recipient

Military Force and the Protection of Human Rights

Does the international community accept that it has a right and a duty to use military force to end the most egregious violations of human rights, when no other means will work? This paper will seek to address the aforementioned question through a qualitative analysis of secondary sources such as journal articles and books, published by prominent authors in the field of International Relations. Specifically, it looks at authors conducting research on the fragmented post-Cold War world order, domestic sovereignty of States, humanitarian intervention, and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The historical context of this paper is based on the domestic conflicts that erupted around the world in the 1990s, characterized by the gross violation of human rights by the State itself. Prominent examples looked at include the conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo. This paper then examines the international community’s inability to respond to these conflicts due to being locked in a debate between the principle of domestic non-interference and military intervention on humanitarian grounds. The concept of R2P was put forth to bridge the gap between this debate, allowing for military intervention under certain criteria. R2P was consequently included within certain UN Resolutions and adopted unanimously by Member States. This paper argues that whilst States accepted their moral duties by adopting resolutions on R2P, there existed immense contestation when it came to exercising their right to use military force to protect human rights – as will be demonstrated in the case of intervention in Libya in 2011.Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) ; Student Extracurricular Enrichment Fund (SEEF

Role of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in Salivary Gland Pathology and its Histopathological Correlation: A Two Year Prospective Study in Western India.

Background and objectives: Salivary gland lesions account for 2-6.5% of all the neoplasms of the head and neck. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is being increasingly used in the diagnosis of salivary gland lesions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC in various salivary gland lesions in correlation with their histopathology, which helps in the appropriate therapeutic management. Methods: A total of 120 FNACs were done on salivary gland tumours from July 2010 to June 2012 in the Department of Pathology, P.D.U. Government Medical College, Rajkot (Gujarat, India). Formalin fixed (10%), surgically resected specimens were received, they were processed and slides were prepared for histopathological diagnosis. The stained cytological and histopathological slides were studied, analyzed and correlated. Results: The cytomorphological features were studied and analyzed and the following lesions were observed: Pleomorphic adenoma (88), Warthin’s tumour (2), Cystic lesion (4), Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (6), Acinic cell carcinoma (2), Primary lymphoma (2), Carcinoma EX pleomorphic adenoma(4), metastatic malignancy deposits (2), benign parotid tumour (8) and malignant tumour (unspecified)(2). A histopathological correlation was available in 78 cases. Out of these, 71 cases were true positive, 1 was false positive, 2 were false negative and 4 were true negative. Interpretation and conclusion: The overall sensitivity, specificity and the diagnostic accuracy were 97%, 80% and 92% respectively. Hence, the appropriate therapeutic management could be planned earlier. This study documents that FNAC of the salivary gland tumours is accurate, simple, rapid, inexpensive, well tolerated and harmless for the patient

CHARACTERIZATION OF PEPTIDE CYCLASE 1 (PCY1), A SERINE PROTEASE-LIKE ENZYME INVOLVED IN CYCLIC PEPTIDE BIOSYNTHESIS IN PLANTS

Plants within the Caryophyllaceae, and certain other families, produce cyclic peptides (CPs) which generally consist of 5–12 proteinogenic amino acids. Until recently, very little was known about the biosynthesis of CPs in the Caryophyllaceae. Recently, in the Covello lab, two enzymes in Saponaria vaccaria were found to be involved in the processing of ribosome-derived linear precursors, giving rise to cyclic peptides. Thus, oligopeptidase 1 (OLP1) and peptide cyclase 1 (PCY1) are involved in the biosynthesis of segetalin A (a six-membered CP) from a 32 amino acid linear peptide precursor called presegetalin A1. PCY1 carries out the unusual cyclization reaction to form mature segetalin A from a linear intermediate. The purified recombinant PCY1, the first cloned plant enzyme whose function is peptide cyclization, was identified as a homologue of a prolyl-oligopeptidase from the S9 serine protease family. In principle, PCY1 performs an intra-molecular transpeptidation reaction to produce a CP. A homology-based structural model of PCY1 suggests that it has two domains, a catalytic α/β hydrolase domain and an unusual β- propeller domain. In an effort to define the substrate specificity of PCY1, a wide variety of synthetic peptide precursors were tested in assays and the results are discussed