An Interactive Method for Tracking & Geocoding

Tracking has been used for many years commercially. Some important applications are RFID tracking on animals and marine beings, military applications etc. tracking and navigation is done by using a wireless sensor having some transmission power. In Geocoding, the local names of the location are matched to their respective longitudes and latitudes so here after tracking we have to place its location on the map so for that the process of geocoding will be used. In this paper we are performing a survey on the various methods being used for geocoding and tracking

Migrated Disc at Cervicothoracic Junction Presenting as Acute Paraplegia

Herein, we report on an inferior migration of an intervertebral disc C6-7 to the cervicothoracic junction manifesting as acute paraplegia. The patient showed a remarkable recovery after the surgery. The diagnostic dilemma and management difficulties of such an entity are briefly discussed

Role of Host Immune Response and Viral Load in the Differential Outcome of Pandemic H1N1 (2009) Influenza Virus Infection in Indian Patients

BACKGROUND: An unusually high number of severe pneumonia cases with considerable mortality is being observed with the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus infections globally. In India, all mild as well as critically ill cases were admitted and treated in the government hospitals during the initial phase of the pandemic. The present study was undertaken during this early phase of the pandemic. METHODOLOGY: The role of viral load and host factors in the pathogenesis were assessed by examining 26 mild (MP), 15 critically ill patients (CIP) and 20 healthy controls from Pune, India. Sequential blood and lung aspirate samples were collected from CIP. Viral load and cytokines/chemokine levels were determined from the plasma and lung aspirates of the patients. TLR levels were determined by staining and FACS analysis. Gene profiling was done for both cells in the lung aspirates and PBMCs using TaqMan Low Density arrays. Antibody titres and isotyping was done using HA protein based ELISAs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 13/15 critically ill patients expired. All plasma samples were negative for the virus irrespective of the patient's category. Sequential lung samples from CIP showed lower viral loads questioning association of viral replication with the severity. Anti-rpH1N1-09-HA-IgG titres were significantly higher in critically ill patients and both categories circulated exclusively IgG1 isotype. Critically ill patients exhibited increase in TLR-3, 4, 7 and decrease in TLR-2 expressions. The disease severity correlated with increased plasma levels of IL1RA, IL2, IL6, CCL3, CCL4 and IL10. Majority of the immune-function genes were down-regulated in the PBMCs and up-regulated in the cells from lung aspirates of critically ill patients. No distinct pattern differentiating fatal and surviving patients was observed when sequential samples were examined for various parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Disease severity was associated with pronounced impairment of host immune response

Therapeutic prospects of extracellular vesicles in cancer treatment

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released by all cells within the tumor microenvironment, such as endothelial cells, tumor-associated fibroblasts, pericytes and immune system cells. The EVs carry the cargo of parental cells formed of proteins and nucleic acids, which can convey cell-to-cell communication influencing the maintenance and spread of the malignant neoplasm, for example promoting angiogenesis, tumor cell invasion and immune escape. However, EVs can also suppress tumor progression, either by the direct influence of the protein and nucleic acid cargo of the EVs or via antigen presentation to immune cells as tumor derived EVs carry on their surface some of the same antigens as the donor cells. Moreover, dendritic cell-derived EVs carry MHC class I and class II/peptide complexes and are able to prime other immune system cell types and activate an anti-tumor immune response. Given the relative longevity of vesicles within the circulation and their ability to cross blood-brain barriers, modification of these unique organelles offers the potential to create new biological-tools for cancer therapy. This review examines how modification of the EV cargo has the potential to target specific tumor mechanisms responsible for tumor formation and progression to develop new therapeutic strategies and to increase the efficacy of antitumor therapies

Application of mesenchymal stem cells for therapeutic agent delivery in anti-tumor treatment

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic progenitor cells, which can be isolated from different types of tissues including bone marrow, adipose tissue, tooth pulp, and placenta/umbilical cord blood. There isolation from adult tissues circumvents the ethical concerns of working with embryonic or fetal stem cells, whilst still providing cells capable of differentiating into various cell lineages, such as adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes. An important feature of MSCs is the low immunogenicity due to the lack of co-stimulatory molecules expression, meaning there is no need for immunosuppression during allogenic transplantation. The tropism of MSCs to damaged tissues and tumor sites makes them a promising vector for therapeutic agent delivery to tumors and metastatic niches. MSCs can be genetically modified by virus vectors to encode tumor suppressor genes, immunomodulating cytokines and their combinations,other therapeutic approaches include MSCs priming/loading with chemotherapeutic drugs or nanoparticles. MSCs derived membrane microvesicles (MVs), which play an important role in intercellular communication, are also considered as a new therapeutic agent and drug delivery vector. Recruited by the tumor, MSCs can exhibit both pro and anti-oncogenic properties. In this regard, for the development of new methods for cancer therapy using MSCs, a deeper understanding of the molecular and cellular interactions between MSCs and the tumor microenvironment is necessary. In this review, we discuss MSC and tumor interaction mechanisms and review the new therapeutic strategies using MSCs and MSCs derived MVs for cancer treatment

Nitrosopumilus maritimus gen. nov., sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus cobalaminigenes sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus oxyclinae sp. nov., and Nitrosopumilus ureiphilus sp. nov., four marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota

Four mesophilic, neutrophilic, and aerobic marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea, designated strains SCM1^T, HCA1^T, HCE1^T and PS0^T, were isolated from a tropical marine fish tank, dimly lit deep coastal waters, the lower euphotic zone of coastal waters, and near-surface sediment in the Puget Sound estuary, respectively. Cells are straight or slightly curved small rods, 0.15–0.26 µm in diameter and 0.50–1.59 µm in length. Motility was not observed, although strain PS0^T possesses genes associated with archaeal flagella and chemotaxis, suggesting it may be motile under some conditions. Cell membranes consist of glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids, with crenarchaeol as the major component. Strain SCM1^T displays a single surface layer (S-layer) with p6 symmetry, distinct from the p3-S-layer reported for the soil ammonia-oxidizing archaeon Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76^T. Respiratory quinones consist of fully saturated and monounsaturated menaquinones with 6 isoprenoid units in the side chain. Cells obtain energy from ammonia oxidation and use carbon dioxide as carbon source; addition of an α-keto acid (α-ketoglutaric acid) was necessary to sustain growth of strains HCA1^T, HCE1^T, and PS0^T. Strain PS0^T uses urea as a source of ammonia for energy production and growth. All strains synthesize vitamin B_1 (thiamine), B_2 (riboflavin), B_6 (pyridoxine), and B_(12) (cobalamin). Optimal growth occurs between 25 and 32 °C, between pH 6.8 and 7.3, and between 25 and 37 ‰ salinity. All strains have a low mol% G+C content of 33.0–34.2. Strains are related by 98 % or greater 16S rRNA gene sequence identity, sharing ~85 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76^T. All four isolates are well separated by phenotypic and genotypic characteristics and are here assigned to distinct species within the genus Nitrosopumilus gen. nov. Isolates SCM1^T (=ATCC TSD-97^T =NCIMB 15022^T), HCA1^T (=ATCC TSD-96^T), HCE1^T(=ATCC TSD-98^T), and PS0^T (=ATCC TSD-99^T) are type strains of the species Nitrosopumilus maritimus sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus cobalaminigenessp. nov., Nitrosopumilus oxyclinae sp. nov., and Nitrosopumilus ureiphilus sp. nov., respectively. In addition, we propose the family Nitrosopumilaceae fam. nov. and the order Nitrosopumilales ord. nov. within the class Nitrososphaeria

Nitrosopumilus maritimus gen. nov., sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus cobalaminigenes sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus oxyclinae sp. nov., and Nitrosopumilus ureiphilus sp. nov., four marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota

Four mesophilic, neutrophilic, and aerobic marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea, designated strains SCM1^T, HCA1^T, HCE1^T and PS0^T, were isolated from a tropical marine fish tank, dimly lit deep coastal waters, the lower euphotic zone of coastal waters, and near-surface sediment in the Puget Sound estuary, respectively. Cells are straight or slightly curved small rods, 0.15–0.26 µm in diameter and 0.50–1.59 µm in length. Motility was not observed, although strain PS0^T possesses genes associated with archaeal flagella and chemotaxis, suggesting it may be motile under some conditions. Cell membranes consist of glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids, with crenarchaeol as the major component. Strain SCM1^T displays a single surface layer (S-layer) with p6 symmetry, distinct from the p3-S-layer reported for the soil ammonia-oxidizing archaeon Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76^T. Respiratory quinones consist of fully saturated and monounsaturated menaquinones with 6 isoprenoid units in the side chain. Cells obtain energy from ammonia oxidation and use carbon dioxide as carbon source; addition of an α-keto acid (α-ketoglutaric acid) was necessary to sustain growth of strains HCA1^T, HCE1^T, and PS0^T. Strain PS0^T uses urea as a source of ammonia for energy production and growth. All strains synthesize vitamin B_1 (thiamine), B_2 (riboflavin), B_6 (pyridoxine), and B_(12) (cobalamin). Optimal growth occurs between 25 and 32 °C, between pH 6.8 and 7.3, and between 25 and 37 ‰ salinity. All strains have a low mol% G+C content of 33.0–34.2. Strains are related by 98 % or greater 16S rRNA gene sequence identity, sharing ~85 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76^T. All four isolates are well separated by phenotypic and genotypic characteristics and are here assigned to distinct species within the genus Nitrosopumilus gen. nov. Isolates SCM1^T (=ATCC TSD-97^T =NCIMB 15022^T), HCA1^T (=ATCC TSD-96^T), HCE1^T(=ATCC TSD-98^T), and PS0^T (=ATCC TSD-99^T) are type strains of the species Nitrosopumilus maritimus sp. nov., Nitrosopumilus cobalaminigenessp. nov., Nitrosopumilus oxyclinae sp. nov., and Nitrosopumilus ureiphilus sp. nov., respectively. In addition, we propose the family Nitrosopumilaceae fam. nov. and the order Nitrosopumilales ord. nov. within the class Nitrososphaeria