Efficacy of posterolateral hip muscles strengthening on patellofemoral pain

Background: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a syndrome characterized by pain or discomfort seemingly originating from the contact of the posterior surface of the patella (back of the kneecap) with the femur (thigh bone). Moderate evidence supports the addition of hip abductor and external rotator strengthening, as well as exercises targeting hip flexion and hip extension.Methods: 30 patients were taken from OPD of Department of Orthopedics, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, OPD of University College of Physiotherapy, Faridkot, Punjab, India. The patients were divided into two groups (15 patients each group). Group A was treated with quadriceps strengthening, Group B were treated with quadriceps strengthening with posterolateral hip strengthening (hip abductors and external rotators). Total treatment duration was 4 weeks. Both the groups were assessed for Pain (visual analog scale [VAS]) and health status (Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]). Follow up was done on 2nd and 4th week.Results: Significant improvements in VAS and WOMAC scores were observed in both groups from 0th-week to 2nd week and 0-week to 4th-week follow-up (P<0.05). Improvements in VAS and WOMAC scores in group B were superior to those in group A at 4-week follow-up (P<0.05).Conclusions: The present study has concluded that both Group A and Group B were effective in the management of patello-femoral pain but statistically it was concluded that Group B is more effective as compared to Group A.

To study the clinical profile, management and outcome of diabetic pregnancies in a rural tertiary care institute of Punjab

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. In India, about 50.9 million people suffer from diabetes, and this figure is likely to go up to 80 million by 2025, making it the 'diabetes capital' of the world. GDM develops due to an inability to compensate for physiological increase in insulin resistance that develops progressively throughout pregnancy as a consequence of multiple factors including placental hormones, increased caloric intake and reduced physical activity. Many studies report increased incidence of adverse foetal and maternal outcome in diabetic pregnancy.Methods: The present study is a retrospective cum prospective analysis carried out in SGRDIMSAR from 1st May 2015 to 30th April 2017. Patients with diabetic pregnancies who had delivery in our institution were included.Results: Total number of diabetic pregnancies during the study period were 76. Out of 76 patients 15 were PGDM and 61 were GDM. Maximum no of patients in PG group were in age group of 31-35 years, while in GDM group were upto 30 years of age. Gestational age at diagnosis in PGDM group is 13.42±1.2 weeks versus 29.62±4.53 weeks. Maximum patients (70.5%) in GDM group were managed by diet and exercise, while in PGDM group maximum patients (93.3%) needed insulin for glycemic control. Maternal complications were maximum in PGDM group. Most common complication was hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Mean gestational age at delivery was 35.15±1.42 weeks and 37.06±1.29 weeks in PGDM and GDM respectively (p value= 0.00). 11.8% neonates had a birth weight of >4 kg (macrosomia). 77% of neonates in GDM group had an uneventful outcome.Conclusions: Considering rising incidence and magnitude of the problem and its complications, identification and treatment of diabetic pregnancy is the need of hour

To study medical students' perspective on rising violence against doctors. Do they consider obstetrics and gynecology a risky branch?

Background: In recent years, there has been an epidemic of violence against health professional in many nations including India. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has reported that 75% of doctors have faced physical or verbal violence during their lifetime. The objective of present study was to evaluate the medical student perspective on rising violence against doctors.Methods: This is a cross sectional questionnaire based study carried out at Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of medical Sciences and Research Amritsar. Undergraduate medical students from second year onwards, interns and post- graduate students of the institution were included in the study. Data was compiled and statistically analysed.Results: Total 497 medical students participated in the study. Among participants 327 (65.8%) were undergraduates, 106 (21.3%) were interns, 64 (12.9%) were postgraduate students 97.18% of students said that they were aware of rising incidents of violence against doctors. while 96% of participants said that they were concerned about the problem. For 86.1% students source of information of these incidents was social media. 82.5% participants said that doctors are at higher risk of being victim of violence than other profession. 89.1% of participants who had said that doctors are at higher risk of being victims of violence than other professions have said yes to the question that doctors need to be trained in martial arts. 70.2% said that these incidences would affect their future carrier choices. 60.8% Students said that certain specialties are more prone to receive violence than others. In response to an open-ended question which specialties are more prone, 83.6% participants had written surgical branches and obstetrics and gynecology.Conclusions: The study indicates that they find certain specialties more-risky and their inclination towards non- surgical branches for post-graduation

Current placenta previa management and outcome in a rural tertiary care centre

Background: The reported incidence for placenta previa averages 0.3% or 1 case in 300 to 400 deliveries. Multiparity, advanced maternal age, cigarette smoking, previous caesarean delivery, history of abortions or uterine surgical procedures are some of the risk factors contributing to the development of placenta previa. Massive obstetrical haemorrhage in placenta previa is associated with severe maternal morbidity and mortality. A significant number of mothers can be saved if right approach of management is followed in placenta previa.Methods: The present case study is a retrospective analysis carried out in a tertiary care centre to study the risk factors and maternal and perinatal outcome in cases of placenta previa. The study included antenatal patients diagnosed as placenta previa on sonography at or >26 weeks of pregnancy. Data was compiled and statistically analysed.Results: Incidence of Placenta Previa in our study was 0.54%. 73.2% patients had history of previous cesarean sections. 53.6% patients were referred from outside. 98.2% patients delivered by caesarean section. Obstetric hysterectomy was required in 3.5% of total cases. 10.7% cases required the ICU admission after delivery. There was no maternal mortality in the study group. The mean gestational age at delivery was 35±2.4weeks. The mean APGAR at 5 min was 9±2.2.Conclusions: Increasing rates of caesarean sections in present era indicate that incidence of Placenta Previa is expected to rise. Good antenatal care, availability of emergency obstetric services, infrastructure, blood bank facility, HDU and ICU care and NICU services can improve maternal and neonatal outcome

Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of Anticancer Activity of Nanoresveratrol in B16 Melanoma Cell Line

Resveratrol, a member of the stilbene family, is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound in grapes and other botanicals. It carries a potential to prevent or treat several chronic diseases, including cancers. Despite various promising health benefits, including chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic benefits against cancer, clinical translation of resveratrol is hampered due to its poor bioavailability, solubility and stability. Here we present the study to prepare nano-formulation of resveratrol for improving the resveratrol profile. Calcium phosphate loaded nanoresveratrol has been synthesized, characterized and its anti-proliferative effects were examined in a B16 murine melanoma cell line. The anti-cancer effects of nanoresveratrol were directly compared with free resveratrol and chemotherapy drug 5-FU. Nanoresveratrol induced apoptosis in B16 melanoma more efficiently as compared to resveratrol alone and 5 FU. A nuclear staining profile following Hoechst staining of B16 cells is indicative of apoptosis and shows that the anti-cancer effect of nanoresveratrol is due to apoptosis induction. Since antioxidant activity is a hallmark of resveratrol, we also measured the biochemical antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase antioxidant enzymes. We found that, concurrent with the anti-cancer activity, the antioxidant activity of nanoresveratrol increased. Collectively, these findings clearly show that nanoresveratrol is superior to free resveratrol in suppressing cell growth in B16 murine melanoma cell line, and that the anti-cancer activity is primarily through apoptosis induction. Keywords:&nbsp; Resveratrol, Nanoresveratrol, Formulation, B16 cell line, Cancer, Melanoma, Chemopreventive, Chemotherapeuti

Principal component analysis of body measurements based morphological structure of Madgyal sheep

The present study describes the morphometric structure of extensively managed Madgyal sheep of Maharashtra and predicts body weight from their body biometry traits using principal component analysis (PCA). The data on body weight and 13 body measurements were recorded on 200 randomly selected sheep. Phenotypic correlation among body weight and biometric traits were positive and highly significant except some of ear length related combinations. The PCA of morphometric traits extracted two components with a total variance 67.8% explained. The first factor had high loadings for variables related to body size, whereas second factor was loaded in favour of body shape. PCA was able to define the morphological structure of Madgyal sheep and identified traits with greater variability. The principal component based regression models were more appropriate than the use of original correlated variables in predicting the body weight. The findings could be useful in designing management, selection and breeding programmes of the Madgyal sheep

Plasma peptidome profiling of acute hepatitis E patients by MALDI-TOF/TOF

Background Hepatitis E is endemic to resource-poor regions, where it manifests as sporadic cases and large waterborne outbreaks. The disease severity ranges from acute self-limited hepatitis with low mortality to fulminant hepatic failure with high mortality. It is believed that the host response plays an important role in determining the progression and outcome of this disease. We profiled the plasma peptidome from hepatitis E patients to discover suitable biomarkers and understand disease pathogenesis. Results The peptidome (&lt; 10 kDa) fraction of plasma was enriched and analyzed by mass spectrometry. A comparative analysis of the peptide pattern of hepatitis E patients versus healthy controls was performed using ClinPro Tools. We generated a peptide profile that could be used for selective identification of hepatitis E cases. We have identified five potential biomarker peaks with m/z values of 9288.6, 7763.6, 4961.5, 1060.572 and 2365.139 that can be used to reliably differentiate between hepatitis E patients and controls with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) values of 1.00, 0.954, 0.989, 0.960 and 0.829 respectively. A number of proteins involved in innate immunity were identified to be differentially present in the plasma of patients compared to healthy controls. Conclusions Besides the utility of this approach for biomarker discovery, identification of changes in endogenous peptides in hepatitis E patient plasma has increased our understanding of disease pathogenesis. We have identified peptides in plasma that can reliably distinguish hepatitis E patients from healthy controls. Results from this and an earlier proteomics study are discussed

Genetic diversity analysis of Katchaikatty Black – An endangered sheep breed from Tamil Nadu

The study presents the genetic diversity of Katchaikatty Black, an endangered and culturally significant sheep breed of Tamil Nadu. A panel of 25 microsatellite markers recommended for Indian sheep was used for genotyping. Considerable genetic variation in terms of allele diversity and heterozygosity was observed within the investigated breed. A total of 174 distinct alleles were detected across the analyzed microsatellite loci with an average of 6.96 alleles per locus. The average observed and expected heterozygosity values were 0.600 and 0.706, respectively. The positive heterozygote deficiency (FIS) value of 0.171, estimated for this breed may be due to the possibility of Wahlund effect resulting from sampling from different breeding flocks, i.e. different villages and flocks in the same area. A normal L-shaped curve suggested absence of genetic bottleneck in this breed. The information generated will be useful in guiding conservation and management programmes for Katchaikatty Black sheep

Mining of diverse short non-coding RNAs from transcriptome of milk somatic cells of Murrah buffalo

The non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) are known to regulate expression of genes at the transcription, translation and processing levels. The present study was conducted to identify diverse short ncRNAs from milk somatic cells of lactating Murrah buffaloes. Elucidating the molecular drivers of lactation in dairy animals will help understand the process of lactation, eventually leading to improvement in milk production and quality. In order to discover the ncRNA, the transcriptome data of 12 samples of somatic cells from buffalo milk were analyzed. A web based pipeline, exceRpt was used to perform the analysis. The most abundant short ncRNA molecules discovered in buffalo milk were the miRNAs, followed by snRNAs. Least number of rRNAs was discovered in the investigated samples. The total number of rRNAs, tRNAs, snRNAs, snoRNAs and miRNAs were 12, 23, 72, 51 and 229 respectively, in the entire dataset. On matching with miRBase v22.1, a total of 1724, 897, 211 and 4 miRNAs were observed to be common to human, bovine, caprine and ovine genomes. The results provide information on the bioavailability of short ncRNAs in buffalo milk somatic cells, most of which are largely uncharacterized. The generated information is a step towards developing a database for ncRNAs in buffalo species

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570