Analytical study of Atrial Fibrillation in Government Stanley Hospital, Chennai

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation is a condition of increasing clinical and economic importance. It is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. AF is a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia characterized by uncoordinated atria activation with consequent deterioration of atrial mechanical function. Atrial fibrillation is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. It is caused by many cardiac and non cardiac conditions. AF coexists with common cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, heart failure,coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus, and with an increasing older general population af will become an increasing health care burden. AF is increasing in incidence and prevalence. The estimated prevalence of AF in general population is 0.4%. The prevalence and incidence increases with advancing age, affecting approximately 5% of individuals older than 65 years and nearly 10% of those aged older than 80 years. In the Framingham study, yearly incidence rates for persons age 50–59 were approximate 1–9 and 0–9 per 1000 person years in men and women respectively. Over 38 years of follow up, the Framingham study found an over all incidence rate of approximately 3 per 1000 years in men and 2 per 1000 years in women aged 55 – 64 years. The incidence of AF doubled, for every decade increment in age in the Framingham heart study cohort. Men are at moderately higher risk of AF than women, however the onset of AF in women occurs later in life. Prognostically the prevalence of AF is associated with five-fold increase in morbidity risk and a two-fold increase in mortality risk. Most complications and Death associated with AF are due to complications associated cerebrovascular embolic events. Pharmacological treatment modalities form the mainstay of treatment. Recent research has highlighted new approaches to both pharmacological and non pharmacological management strategies.Newer antiarrhythmic agents have been developed and others are being evaluated for their potential use in atrial fibrillation. AIM OF STUDY: To analyse the etiological factor, clinical presentation and complications of 50 cases of Atrial fibrillation in Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai-1. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was conducted at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai during the period of January 2007 to June2007. Fifty cases of patients admitted with atrial fibrillation were recorded. No patient had been counted to if he/she got admitted again after discharge. Paediatric age group (13 Yrs and Less) was not included in this study. CONCLUSION: The Commonest etiology causing atrial fibrillation was Rhenmatic heart disease, which contributed to 60% of the cases. • The majority of the cases of Atrial fibrillation were in the 4th or 5th decade. • There were no significant sex differences in the distribution of Atrial fibrillation but in Dilated cardiomyopathy had a predominant female preponderance. • Rheumatic heart disease patients with atrial fibrillation had a mean of 35.7 years, while patients with ischaemic heart disease had a mean of 58.3 years. • In Rheumatic heart disease the predominant lesion causing AF was mitral valve lesion. • The commonest clinical manifestation causing Atrial fibrillation was palpitations followed by dyspnoea. • A Left atrial size of >4 cm predisposes to Atrial fibrillation in Rheumatic Heart Disease. • The major complication of atrial fibrillation was precipitation of cardiac failure. • Atrial fibrillation perse does not cause cardiac failure in a majority of cases. But it may precipitate overt cardiac failure in a haemodynamically compromised heart as in rheumatic heard disease and pump failure as in DCMP and CHD. Since majority of the cases in the study were rheumatic heard disease precipitation of cardiac failure was the major complication

Fecundity and viability of eggs in wild breeders of spiny lobsters, Panulirus homarus (Linnaeus, 1758), Panulirus versicolor (Latrielle, 1804) and Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1798)

Berried lobsters collected from landing centres and lobster holding centres were used for larval rearing of the spiny lobsters, Panulirus homarus (Linnaeus, 1758), Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1798) and Panulirus versicolor (Latrielle, 1804). Fecundity of the lobsters used for larval rearing was calculated as the number of eggs deposited on the ovigerous setae on the pleopods. The number of eggs in a single brood ranged from 1,20,544 to 4,49,585 in P. homarus. 5,18,181 to P.ornatus 1,979,522 and that of P. versicolor as 1,70,212 to P.versicolor 7,33,752. The tropical lobsters are reported to and therefore breed two times or more in a year. The absolute (annual) fecundity of these lobsters is expected to be higher. The phyllosoma larvae released, as percentage of fecundity, was maximum in P. homarus 85.7, 49.7 in P. ornatus and 74.0 in P. versicolor. Handling of lobsters at the landing and holding centres and aerial transport resulted in high percentage of eggs in arrested development, complete or partial shedding of eggs and release of weak phyllosoma larvae. Severe bacterial infection leading to complete shedding of eggs was recorded in a few breeders collected from holding centres

Production of cysts and biomass of the exotic species of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana (Kellog) in out-door culture system

The production of cysts and biomass of the exotic species of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana was studied for a period of 90 days in out- door culture system at a salinity range of 38 to 83 ppt. From the initial stocking density of 231 to 294 nauplii / 700 l of brine the population density steadily increased and reached the maximum of 389.7 to 565.3 numbers / l on 38th day of culture. The total quantity of cysts and biomass harvested from the culture system ranged from 26.450 g to 33.860 g and from 813.6 g to 1226.7 g respectively. The first maturity and first spawning were recorded at the age of 7-8 and 12-13 days respectively and the maximum density of 59.3 riding pairs / l was recorded on 59th day of culture . The prospect of the culture of the exotic species is discussed in this pap

Quality of the cysts of Artemia franciscana collected at Tuticorin with observations on growth, maturity and sex ratio of the offspring

The cysts of the exotic species of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana collected from the natural ecosystem at Tuticorin during January 2001 were processed, stored and their quality evaluated. A total of 22 experiments were conducted on hatching and it was observed that the time taken for first hatching ranged from 13 hours and 10 minutes to 17 hours. The maximum hatching percentage recorded at 24 hours and 48 hours were 52.0 and 79.9 respectively. The I instar obtained from the hatching experiments were reared in outdoor culture tanks at 30, 50, and 70 ppt with two different types of feed and the maximum size of 10.04 ± 0.3 mm was recorded on 18th day in the animals fed with rice bran at 70 ppt. The earliest first pairing and first spawning were recorded on 6th and 12th days respectively in the animals fed with mixed phytoplankton at 50 ppt

A review on CRISPR-Cas9 and its role in cancer immunotherapy

Since the discovery of CRISPR, the field of Molecular Genetics has revolutionized and has opened so many different doors to improve molecular techniques and interpret the early microbial life forms. The diversity found within the CRISPR-Cas systems has led to its application in various fields like diagnostics, medicine and also has given rise to an interesting field of genome engineering. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their work on CRISPR-Cas9 and its application as a genome engineering tool. Scientists have been using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit genomes and cure various genetic diseases associated with mutations in the human genome. One such application is the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in cancer immunotherapy. The entire world has been known to be affected by the rapidly dividing cellular disease of cancer. Since cancer cells have different morphology, they are attacked by our immune system. Cancer cells possess the ability to camouflage themselves and avoid these immune responses and thereby proliferate and metastasize to a much greater extent. Scientists have been able to genetically engineer T-cells with the help of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool which has shown promising results in the course of immunotherapy. On the 4th of June 2021, in India, the first patient underwent CAR-T Cell therapy setting a milestone for future treatments. In this review, we aim to evaluate the potential and diversity of the profound CRISPR-Cas systems and the application of CRISPR-Cas9 in immunotherapy for refractory cancer. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.552722

A genetic algorithm-based energy-aware multi-hop clustering scheme for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

Background: The energy-constrained heterogeneous nodes are the most challenging wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for developing energy-aware clustering schemes. Although various clustering approaches are proven to minimise energy consumption and delay and extend the network lifetime by selecting optimum cluster heads (CHs), it is still a crucial challenge.Methods: This article proposes a genetic algorithm-based energy-aware multi-hop clustering (GA-EMC) scheme for heterogeneous WSNs (HWSNs). In HWSNs, all the nodes have varying initial energy and typically have an energy consumption restriction. A genetic algorithm determines the optimal CHs and their positions in the network. The fitness of chromosomes is calculated in terms of distance, optimal CHs, and the node's residual energy. Multi-hop communication improves energy efficiency in HWSNs. The areas near the sink are deployed with more supernodes far away from the sink to solve the hot spot problem in WSNs near the sink node.Results: Simulation results proclaim that the GA-EMC scheme achieves a more extended network lifetime network stability and minimises delay than existing approaches in heterogeneous nature.peer-reviewe

Role of Genome Sequences of Major and Minor Millets in Strengthening Food and Nutritional Security for Future Generations

Millets are small-seeded cereals belonging to the family Poaceae. They are considered to be climate-resilient and future nutritional food cereals for humans. Millets are resistant to biotic and abiotic stressors compared to other major cereals and thrive in low-quality soils with little maintenance and less rainfall. The importance of millets is still not well known to many people due to the lack of popularity and cultivation in semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) to promote millet cultivation and popularize their health benefits globally. A few years ago, the application of molecular biology was in its infancy in millets due to the unavailability of genome sequences. Genome sequences are available for most of the millets on NCBI and Phytozome databases. In this review, we discuss the details of genome sequences for millets, candidate genes identified from the native genome of millets. The current status of quantitative trait loci and genome-wide association studies in millets are also discussed. The utilization of millet genome sequences in functional genomics research and translating the information for crop improvement will help millet and non-millet cereals survive harsh environments in the future. Such efforts will help strengthen food security and reduce malnutrition worldwide in 2050

Characteristics and properties of nano-LiCoO2 synthesized by pre-organized single source precursors: Li-ion diffusivity, electrochemistry and biological assessment

Background: LiCoO2 is one of the most used cathode materials in Li-ion batteries. Its conventional synthesis requires high temperature (>800 degrees C) and long heating time (>24 h) to obtain the micronscale rhombohedral layered high-temperature phase of LiCoO2 ( HT-LCO). Nanoscale HT-LCO is of interest to improve the battery performance as the lithium (Li+) ion pathway is expected to be shorter in nanoparticles as compared to micron sized ones. Since batteries typically get recycled, the exposure to nanoparticles during this process needs to be evaluated. Results: Several new single source precursors containing lithium (Li+) and cobalt (Co2+) ions, based on alkoxides and aryloxides have been structurally characterized and were thermally transformed into nanoscale HT-LCO at 450 degrees C within few hours. The size of the nanoparticles depends on the precursor, determining the electrochemical performance. The Li-ion diffusion coefficients of our - LiCoO2 nanoparticles improved at least by a factor of 10 compared to commercial one, while showing good reversibility upon charging and discharging. The hazard of occupational exposure to nanoparticles during battery recycling was investigated with an in vitro multicellular lung model. Conclusions: Our heterobimetallic single source precursors allow to dramatically reduce the production temperature and time for HT-LCO. The obtained nanoparticles of LiCoO2 have faster kinetics for Li+ insertion/extraction compared to microparticles. Overall, nano-sized - LiCoO2 particles indicate a lower cytotoxic and (pro-)inflammogenic potential in vitro compared to their micron-sized counterparts. However, nanoparticles aggregate in air and behave partially like microparticles