Inflammatory cytokine profile of VEGF and IL-6 from the endometrium of women with and without endometriosis

Background: Endometriosis affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide, which constitutes 10% of the total female population causing debilitating symptoms of pelvic pain and infertility, which limits the quality of reproductive life of affected women. The present study aimed to assess the serum level of VEGF and pro-inflammatory marker IL-6 in cases and normal healthy control groups.Methods: VEGF and IL-6 serum levels were measured by competitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from 34 subjects with surgically confirmed endometriosis, 16 subjects with adenomyosis and 18 similar  age matched healthy controls with no clinical evidence of the disease or detectable endometriotic lesions at the time of surgical examination. Patients were characterized in terms of their socio-demographic and clinically diagnosed characteristics, including the validated infertility and chronic disease registries.Results: The mean serum level of VEGF was significantly (p<0.0001) higher in case of endometriosis (3887 ng/l) followed by adenomyosis (2588 ng/l) group and lower in case of normal healthy control (665 ng/l) group. The mean serum IL-6 was found to be highly significant (p<0.0001) in case of endometriosis (90.49 pg/ml) followed by adenomyosis (70.37 pg/ml) group and lower in case of normal healthy control (22.97 pg/ml) group.Conclusions: VEGF and IL-6 seems to play a crucial role in the implantation and development of endometriotic lesions, and the disease is associated with significant modulations in the serum levels of VEGF. IL-6 can be a reliable non-invasive diagnostic marker for endometriosis

Effect of metal ions on amylase production

Amylase producing fungi were isolated from different soil samples. About 11 fungal isolates were isolated which were screened for Amylase production on starch agar medium using iodine test. Of the 11 isolates, three isolates showed clear zones and the isolate showing maximum clearance zone was selected for further studies. Identification of isolate showed that it belonged to Genus Aspergillus. The effect of different metal ions on the production and activity of Amylase was studied. Five different ions were used for the study. Starch agar medium was prepared with different metal ions and inoculated with the culture and incubated. It was seen that maximum mycelial growth was observed with MgSO4 followed by KNO3 but very less or negligible growth was seen when grown with CaCO3. Therefore, Mg ions were considered to be the best ion for optimum growth of the fungus and thus considered the best inducer for Amylase production as maximum enzyme activity was observed with Mg ions but Ca and Cu ions showed less activity and therefore might be showing inhibitory effect on Amylase production

The Yin and Yang of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells

In recent years, most of our knowledge about myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) has come from cancer studies, which depicts Yin side of MDSCs. In cancer, inherent immunosuppressive action of MDSCs favors tumor progression by inhibiting antitumor immune response. However, recently Yang side of MDSCs has also been worked out and suggests the role in maintenance of homeostasis during non-cancer situations like pregnancy, obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders. Continued work in this area has armored the biological importance of these cells as master regulators of immune system and prompted scientists all over the world to look from a different perspective. Therefore, explicating Yin and Yang arms of MDSCs is obligatory to use it as a double edged sword in a much smarter way. This review is an attempt toward presenting a synergistic coalition of all the facts and controversies that exist in understanding MDSCs, bring them on the same platform and approach their “Yin and Yang” nature in a more comprehensive and coherent manner

Comparative study on physical characteristics and nutritional composition of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) at different stages of maturity

Present day scientists are paying more attention towards developing new value-added products from underutilized crops for economic growth in agriculture system. Therefore, present experiment was undertaken to explicate the nutritional potential of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) at different stage of maturity until it is fully mature and ripe. Variation in different physico-biochemical properties,for example moisture content, sugars, titratable acidity (TA), crude proteins, crude fat, β-carotene, ascorbic acid, pectin and fibre in flesh, peel and seeds of fruit provides the better understanding for its utilization in preparation of various products. The firmness of pumpkin increased from 4.94 lbs/inch2 at 15 DAA (Days after antesis) to 22.50 lbs/inch2 at ripe stage during maturity. β-carotene content of flesh increased from 1.34 to13.30 mg/100g and 26.26 while quantity ascorbic acid in flesh of fruit declined from 26.46 to 13.16 mg/100 g at 15 DAA to ripe stage.In seeds crude fat increased from 5.43 to 50.24% and protein increase was found to be from 4.10 to 19.56%. Pectin content (as calcium pectate) of flesh and peel increased from 0.56 to 1.89 and 0.78 to 2.15%, respectively from 15 DAA to 45 DAA and at later stage it decreased. The knowledge about physic-chemical quality of pumpkin at different stage of maturity would help in selecting right stage of fruit maturity for its utilization in acceptable manner

Equal abundance of summertime natural and wintertime anthropogenic Arctic organic aerosols

Organic aerosols in the Arctic are predominantly fuelled by anthropogenic sources in winter and natural sources in summer, according to observations from eight sites across the Arctic Aerosols play an important yet uncertain role in modulating the radiation balance of the sensitive Arctic atmosphere. Organic aerosol is one of the most abundant, yet least understood, fractions of the Arctic aerosol mass. Here we use data from eight observatories that represent the entire Arctic to reveal the annual cycles in anthropogenic and biogenic sources of organic aerosol. We show that during winter, the organic aerosol in the Arctic is dominated by anthropogenic emissions, mainly from Eurasia, which consist of both direct combustion emissions and long-range transported, aged pollution. In summer, the decreasing anthropogenic pollution is replaced by natural emissions. These include marine secondary, biogenic secondary and primary biological emissions, which have the potential to be important to Arctic climate by modifying the cloud condensation nuclei properties and acting as ice-nucleating particles. Their source strength or atmospheric processing is sensitive to nutrient availability, solar radiation, temperature and snow cover. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the current pan-Arctic organic aerosol, which can be used to support modelling efforts that aim to quantify the climate impacts of emissions in this sensitive region.Peer reviewe

Two Cases of Microperforation of the Transverse Vaginal Septum

Primary amenorrhoea with microperforate transverse vaginal septum is a rare entity with varied incidence in different parts of the world. It may be asymptomatic, unlike imperforate hymen. Depending on the size of the microperforation in transverse vaginal septum clinical features may vary similar to those found in imperforate hymen cases. We report two cases of a 25 and 22-year-old women who sought the gynaecologist with complains of primary infertility. They had normal menses with one of them having secondary dysmenorrhea. Physical examination and imaging disclosed microperforation of transverse vaginal septum in the upper part of the vagina at mid point position. Resection of the septum under anesthesia was done. The outcome was favourable and 25 year asymptomatic patient with primary infertility at the present moment have conceived carrying six weeks pregnancy and second patient is in follow up. We conclude that this anomaly may be overlooked, interfering on its incidence determination. The finding of transverse vaginal septum in an asymptomatic infertility patient is highly unusual. Clinicians must be aware of atypical presentations and potential multifactorial etiologies of primary infertility. Ensuring a thorough evaluation is essential in order to mitigate long-term effects of a misdiagnosis

Nepali Ethnographic case study

This study provides a more in-depth understanding of the Nepali students’ specific needs and obstacles in achieving happiness and success in both academic and social areas of their lives during their time in Australia. Data was collected via in-depth interviews and field notes taking into consideration the two research questions: 1) What academic and social successes and challenges do Nepali students experience as learners at an Australian university? 2) How can these experiences be explained through the threshold concepts theory?</p

Standardization of process for development of instant chickpea using Desi and Kabuli variety

Chickpea is considered among the most important leguminous crops in the world but is not a regular meal pulse due to their long cooking time and lengthy preparatory procedure. This gives rise to the need of converting raw chickpea into convenient food. For the preparation of instant chickpea from Desi and Kabuli variety, Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed which consisted of four variables i.e. sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), ammonium carbonate (NH4)2CO3 and temperature for soaking treatments. This design was used to develop models for the soaking time, change in colour, split %, alkalinity and cooking time for prepared instant chickpea samples. High-temperature hydration (60 °C) required lesser time to achieve the maximum hydration, whereas low-temperature hydration (30 °C) enhanced the hydration time and reduced the cooking time of instant chickpea significantly (P≤ 0.01) but this condition was inverse for the splitting/butterfly defects. Increasing the concentration of sodium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate from 0.5 to 1.5 % during soaking treatments increased the splitting and alkalinity and produced undesirable colours in treated samples of chickpea. RSM optimized values concerning concentrations of different salts i.e. NaCl, NaHCO3, and (NH4)2CO3 in soaking solution were 0.59, 0.85 % and 0.82 %, respectively at 49.81 °C temperature for Desi instant chickpea having 11 minutes of cooking time whereas corresponding values for Kabuli chickpea were 1.07 % NaCl, 0.79 % NaHCO3, and 0.70 % (NH4)2CO3 at 46.53 °C temperature with 13 min cooking time.Keywords: Central Composite Rotatable Design, Chickpea, Soaking, Cooking time, Instan

Standardization of process for development of instant chickpea using Desi and Kabuli variety

Chickpea is considered among the most important leguminous crops in the world but is not a regular meal pulse due to their long cooking time and lengthy preparatory procedure. This gives rise to the need of converting raw chickpea into convenient food. For the preparation of instant chickpea from Desi and Kabuli variety, Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed which consisted of four variables i.e. sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), ammonium carbonate (NH4)2CO3 and temperature for soaking treatments. This design was used to develop models for the soaking time, change in colour, split %, alkalinity and cooking time for prepared instant chickpea samples. High-temperature hydration (60 °C) required lesser time to achieve the maximum hydration, whereas low-temperature hydration (30 °C) enhanced the hydration time and reduced the cooking time of instant chickpea significantly (P≤ 0.01) but this condition was inverse for the splitting/butterfly defects. Increasing the concentration of sodium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate from 0.5 to 1.5 % during soaking treatments increased the splitting and alkalinity and produced undesirable colours in treated samples of chickpea. RSM optimized values concerning concentrations of different salts i.e. NaCl, NaHCO3, and (NH4)2CO3 in soaking solution were 0.59, 0.85 % and 0.82 %, respectively at 49.81 °C temperature for Desi instant chickpea having 11 minutes of cooking time whereas corresponding values for Kabuli chickpea were 1.07 % NaCl, 0.79 % NaHCO3, and 0.70 % (NH4)2CO3 at 46.53 °C temperature with 13 min cooking time.Keywords: Central Composite Rotatable Design, Chickpea, Soaking, Cooking time, Instan