Immunization of Children in a Rural Area of North Kashmir, India: A KAP Study.

Background: Knowledge, attitude and practices about immunization among mothers of children aged 1-2 years was assessed. Method: 300 mothers were administered a semi-structured questionnaire at PHC Hajan from 1st march to 1st may 2011 to elicit the information about the knowledge, attitude and practices of the mothers regarding immunization. Results: 100% of mothers knew that vaccination is beneficial and protects their children from diseases. 39% knew OPV protects from polio while only 1% were aware of protective role of BCG. All mothers knew about immunization in pregnancy but 86% were unaware about its preventive role. 26% mothers believed that 3 doses of T.T (tetanus toxoid) are to be given during pregnancy. Whereas 98% of children were completely immunized, 93% completed on schedule. Eighty percent of mothers reported of fever following DPT. All mothers had received tetanus toxoid during pregnancy. Conclusion: Considering mothers' poor knowledge and good attitude, health education on immunization is emphasized to improve their practices

EFFECT OF NON-ENZYMATIC ANTIOXIDANTS IN EXTENDER ON POST-THAW QUALITY OF BUFFALO (BUBALUS BUBALIS) BULL SPERMATOZOA

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of non-enzymatic antioxidants (vitamin C or E) in tris-citric acid buffer (TCA) on post-thaw quality of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bull spermatozoa. Split pooled buffalo bull ejaculates were diluted in TCA egg yolk glycerol extender containing either vitamin C (TCAC), vitamin E (TCAE) or without antioxidant (TCAN) at 37°C. Extended semen was cooled to 4C in 2 h and equilibrated for 4 h at 4C. Cooled semen was then filled in 0.5 ml straws at 4C and frozen in programmable cell freezer. Thawing of semen was performed at 37°C for 30 seconds. Sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity and sperm morphology (acrosome integrity, head, mid-piece and tail abnormalities) of each semen sample were evaluated. Percentage of post-thaw spermatozoal motility assessed visually at 0 and 6 h and the post-thaw percentage of spermatozoa with intact plasma membranes at 0 h were higher (P<0.05) with TCAC and TCAE compared to control. However, the differences in both these parameters between the former two groups was non significant. The post-thaw percentage of spermatozoa with normal acrosomes was higher (P<0.05) in TCAE extender than control. Mean sperm abnormalities in samples cryopreserved with extender having TCAC, TCAE or TCAN were similar (P>0.05). In conclusion, non-enzymatic antioxidants, particularly vitamin E, in the tris citric acid extender may improve the quality of frozen-thawed buffalo bull spermatozoa

Estrus Synchronization and Artificial Insemination in Goats during Low Breeding Season-A Preliminary Study

A pilot project was initiated to introduce artificial insemination (AI) in goats at farmer level with chilled semen. Does (n=18) were synchronized with progesterone impregnated vaginal sponges (60 mg Medroxyprogesterone acetate; MAP) for 11 days. At 48 hrs prior to removal of the sponges, intramuscular injection of 400 IU equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and cloprostenol (0.075 mg) was given. Fixed time vaginal insemination (43-45 hrs after sponge removal) was done twice (at 12 hrs interval) in 17 does with chilled Beetal buck semen (4°C) extended with Tris-citric acid (TCA) or skimmed milk (SM) based extender (75 x 106 sperm/ml). Pregnancy test was performed at 45 days post insemination through ultrasonography. An overall 94.5% (17/18) of does showed heat signs and 78% of them were detected in heat between 12 - 24 hrs after sponge removal. An overall 29.4% (5/17) pregnancy rate was recorded. Higher pregnancy rate (44.4%) was obtained in does inseminated with SM extended semen as compared to 12.5% for TCA extended semen. Results were encouraging in the sense that to the best of our knowledge it was the first report of kidding through AI in heat induced does in Pakistan. Moreover, it indicated the feasibility of using synchronization and fixed time AI during low breeding season to enhance the reproductive efficiency in local goats

EFFECT OF REDUCING SPERM NUMBERS PER INSEMINATION DOSE ON FERTILITY OF CRYOPRESERVED BUFFALO BULL SEMEN

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of reducing sperm numbers per insemination dose on fertility of cryopreserved buffalo bull semen. For this purpose, semen was collected at weekly intervals from a Nili-Ravi buffalo bull (Bubalus bubalis) using an artificial vagina in two batches. The ejaculates were split-sampled and diluted at 37°C with tris-citric acid extender having 15x106 or 30x106 motile spermatozoa/0.5 ml. After dilution, the semen was cooled to 4C, equilibrated for 4 hours, packaged in 0.5 ml straws and frozen in programmable cell freezer. Fertility test based on 75-days first service pregnancy rate was determined under field conditions. A total of 500 buffaloes were inseminated with frozen semen and out of these 431 could be followed, 209 for semen straws packaged with 15x106 spermatozoa/straw and 222 for doses filled with 30x106 spermatozoa/straw. The inseminations were performed in two batches and each batch was spread over a period of three months. The fertility rate for sperm concentration of 15x106 spermatozoa/0.5 ml vs. 30x106 spermatozoa/0.5 ml (49.28 vs. 56.75%) was similar (P>0.05). The fertility rates were also similar (P>0.05) in the first and second batch of inseminations performed with 15x106 or 30x106 spermatozoa/0.5 ml straw of cryopreserved semen. In conclusion, reduction of sperm number from 30x106 to 15x106 spermatozoa/0.5 ml dose of insemination did not affect fertility of cryopreserved buffalo bull semen

Genetic Alterations of RET: Possible Implications and Clinical Correlations in Thyroid Carcinogenesis

Thyroid cancers are malignant tumors in the thyroid gland. DNA polymorphisms are playing a decisive role in unscrambling the genomic basis of tumor formation and development in cancer. Thyroid cancer is influenced in a polygenic and low-penetrance manner by RET gene polymorphisms and this part of the world (North India) has not recorded any study regarding RET alterations in this very cancer. We assessed RET G691S (rs1799939), L769L (rs1800861) and S904S (rs1800863) polymorphisms by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in order to explain their potential role in the diagnosis and prognosis of Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and follicular thyroid cancer (FTC). In RET G691S polymorphism, the total dissemination of variant alleles (GA + AA) was 62.9% in cases as related to 44.5% in controls (P < 0.05). RET L769L variant alleles (TG + GG) was 70% in cases versus 88% in controls (P < 0.05). In RET S904S, occurrence of variant alleles (CG + GG) was 56% in cases versus 44% in controls (P < 0.05). G691S and L769L polymorphism advocate a “Dominant mode of inheritance”. The S904S polymorphism approves an “Additive mode of inheritance”. In conclusion, there was an over-representation of RET G691S/S904S polymorphisms and under-representation of L769L polymorphism in PTC and FTC patients. Additionally, our data suggest that some haplotypes (A T G, G T G and A T C) of RET may act as low penetrance alleles for predisposition of thyroid cancer

Fertilization capacity with rainbow trout DNA-damaged sperm and embryo developmental success

Mammalian spermatozoa undergo a strong selection process along the female tract to guarantee fertilization by good quality cells, but risks of fertilization with DNA-damaged spermatozoa have been reported. In contrast, most external fertilizers such as fish seem to have weaker selection procedures. This fact, together with their high prolificacy and external embryo development, indicates that fish could be useful for the study of the effects of sperm DNA damage on embryo development. We cryopreserved sperm from rainbow trout using egg yolk and low-density lipoprotein as additives to promote different rates of DNA damage. DNA fragmentation and oxidization were analyzed using comet assay with and without digestion with restriction enzymes, and fertilization trials were performed. Some embryo batches were treated with 3-aminobenzamide (3AB) to inhibit DNA repair by the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, which is an enzyme of the base excision repair pathway. Results showed that all the spermatozoa cryopreserved with egg yolk carried more than 10% fragmented DNA, maintaining fertilization rates of 61.1+/-2.3 but a high rate of abortions, especially during gastrulation, and only 14.5+/-4.4 hatching success. Furthermore, after 3AB treatment, hatching dropped to 3.2+/-2.2, showing that at least 10% DNA fragmentation was repaired. We conclude that trout sperm maintains its ability to fertilize in spite of having DNA damage, but that embryo survival is affected. Damage is partially repaired by the oocyte during the first cleavage. Important advantages of using rainbow trout for the study of processes related to DNA damage and repair during development have been reported. Reproduction (2010) 139 989-997Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) [LE007A06]; University of Leoninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Molecular Alterations and Expression Dynamics in the Etiopathogenesis of Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid carcinoma is the most prevalent endocrine malignancy and accounts for 2% of all human cancers. In the past decade, knowledge of genetic alterations of thyroid cancer (TC) has rapidly expanded, which has provided new insights into thyroid cancer etiology and has offered novel diagnostic tools and prognostic markers that enable improved and personalized management of thyroid cancer patients. Alterations in key signaling effectors seem to be the hallmark of distinct forms of thyroid neoplasia. Mutations or rearrangements in genes that encode Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway effectors seem to be required for transformation. Mutations in BRAF were the most recently identified MAPK effector in thyroid cancer. BRAF V600E is the most common alteration in sporadic papillary carcinoma. Three RAS proto-oncogenes (NRAS, HRAS & KRAS) are implicated in human thyroid tumorigenesis. High incidence of thyroid cancer worldwide indicates the importance of studying genetic alterations that lead to its carcinogenesis. BRAF and RAS alterations represent a novel indicator of the progression and aggressiveness of thyroid carcinogenesis. The GSα-adenylyl cyclase-cyclic AMP (cAMP) cascade is effected in thyroid cancer. Promoter hypermethylation of multiple genes especially TSHR has been identified to play a role in thyroid cancers, in particular showing a close association with BRAF mutational status. So, the main aim of the study was to elucidate the involvement of BRAF and RAS gene mutations along with BRAF expression and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) hypermethylation in North Indian patients and investigate their association with clinicopathological characteristics