STUDY OF CAMELLIA SINENSIS AND BOSWELLIA SERRATA IN RESPECT TO ANTIANGIOGENIC EFFECT

Objective: The process of angiogenesis is finely balanced by Proangiogenic factors and antiangiogenic factors. Any imbalance between these factors may result in a group of diseases with varied morphologic and pathologic changes, called angiogenesis dependent diseases. One has to arrest the growth of unwanted blood vessels like in metastasis of tumour, arthritis, retinopathies, etc. As the angiogenesis is simultaneously controlled by several factors, one needs to target the whole process through a holistic approach i.e. targeting more than one mechanism at a time. Objective of our study was to evaluate antiangiogenic potentials of Camellia sinensis and Boswellia serrata in whole animal models along with their safety individually as well as in combination. Methods: These extracts were evaluated for their antiangiogenic effect using three models – Chicken Chorioallentoic membrane assay, Rat Subcutaneous air sac and Mesenteric window angiogenesis. Results: The results of toxicity study showed that aqueous extracts of Camellia sinensis and Boswellia serrata are safe on oral administration in acute as well as repeated dose toxicity studies. It also showed antiangiogenic effects of individual extracts as well as their combinations. The study suggests that there may be synergistic effect in these extracts particularly in mesenteric window model. Conclusion: From the study it can be concluded that these extracts can be clinically evaluated on angiogenesis dependent diseases

Prophylactic amnioinfusion in oligohydramnios

Background: Oligohydramnios causes many intrapartum maternal and fetal complications. Intrapartum amnioinfusion effectively increases amniotic fluid volume and thereby decreases FH decelerations. The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of fetal heart decelerations and its perinatal outcome with and without amnioinfusion in patients with oligohydramnios and the cesarean rates for fetal distress between them.Methods: In study group, 100 patients in labour with AFI < 5 cm, oligohydramnios and IUGR with normal doppler, postdated pregnancies with AFI ≤ 5 cm with normal doppler were selected and prophylactic amnioinfusion with 300 ml lukewarm saline is given aseptically for 15 minutes after amniotomy. Continuous CTG monitoring done till delivery. If FH decelerations occur, the bolus was repeated up to 3 times. 100 age matched controls managed with conventional methods without amnioinfusion were selected retrospectively from labour room case records.Results: Incidence of FH decelerations was lower in study group (59% versus 84%). Cesarean section for fetal distress was reduced (20.9% versus 79.1%) Perinatal outcome was better. Babies with normal 1-minute Apgar was 86% compared to 75% in controls. Frequency of FH decelerations was reduced (20% versus 73%). Occurrence of 2 FH decelerations were 13% versus 33%, 3 FH decelerations were 7% versus 27% and > 3 times was 0% versus 13%.Conclusions: Prophylactic amnioinfusion can easily and effectively reduce the FH decelerations and caesarean section rate for fetal distress in oligohydramnios improving both maternal and fetal outcomes with negligible risks

Analysis of Priority Queueing System with Working Breakdown,Vacation and Vacation Interruption under Random Environment

study priority queueing system consisting of working breakdown, repair, single vacation and vacation interruption. At a breakdown instant during the busy period, without stop the servie, the server provides service at slower rate for the current customer. After completion of priority service, depending on the environment, the server can choose type I or type II vacation. Both types of vacation are considered as a single vacation. On completion of type I vacation if the server finds thepriority queue is empty, he has the option to take type II vacation. During the type II vacation, when priority customers arrive the server has the option to interrupt the vacation. We use the established norm which is the corresponding steady state results for time dependent probability generating functions are obtained. Along with that, the expected waiting time for theexpected number of customers for both high and low priority queues are computed. Numerical results along with the graphical representations are shown elaborately

Comparison of different brands of centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants: a cost analysis study

Background: Skeletal muscle relaxants are structurally distinct drugs prescribed for reducing muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. Centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants are manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies with variable price. The present study, aimed to analyze the cost variation of various brands of centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants, so as to help the physician to choose the cost effective treatment.Methods: Current index of medical stores (CIMS) April 2018 and online literature were used as information guide to review the prices of drugs used in the treatment of musculo skeletal pain and spastic neurological disorders.Results: Among anti spasmodic group, thiocolchicoside 4 mg shows maximum price variation of 337.5%, whereas carisoprodol 350 mg shows the least variation of 0.1%. It is evident from antispastic group that baclofen 10 mg shows maximum price variation of 93.91% and 5 mg of Baclofen shows the least variation of 11.22%. It is observed that, among anti spastic group, a percentage prize variation of 93.91 for 10 mg and 11.22 for 5 mg baclofen. Largest % prize variation is seen in metaxalone + diclofenac sodium (400+50) mg as 525% and the least variation is observed in tolperisone+ paracetamol (150+325) mg as 3.88%.Conclusions: Centrally acting orally effective skeletal muscle relaxants are commonly prescribed for painful musculoskeletal and spastic neurological disorders. Physicians should give due importance for the cost of the drugs while selecting appropriate drug for musculo skeletal disorders

AN ALGORITHM FOR GENERATING NATURAL COLOR IMAGES FROM FALSE COLOR USING SPECTRAL TRANSFORMATION TECHNIQUE WITH HIGHER POLYNOMIAL ORDER

Satellite imageries in True color composite or Natural Color composite (NCC) serves the best combination for visual interpretation. Red, Green and Infrared channels form false color composite which might not be as useful as NCC to a non-remote sensing professional. As blue band is affected by large atmospheric scattering, satellites like IRS-LISS IV, SPOT do not have blue band. To generate NCC from such satellite data blue band must be simulated. Existing algorithms of spectral transformation do not provide robust coefficients leading to wrong NCC colors especially in water bodies. To achieve more robust coefficients, we have proposed new algorithm to generate NCC for IRS-LISS IV data using second order polynomial regression technique. Second order polynomial transformation functions consider even minor variability present in the image as compared to 1st order so that the derived coefficients are adjustable to accommodate spatial and temporal variability while generating NCC. In this study, Sentinel-2 image was used for deriving coefficients with blue band as dependent and green, red and infrared as independent variables. Simulated Sentinel band showed high accuracy with correlation of 0.93 and 0.97 for two test sites. Using the same coefficients, blue band was simulated for LISS-IV which also showed good correlation of 0.90 with sentinel original blue band. On comparing LISS-IV simulated NCC with simulated NCC from other algorithms, it was observed that higher order polynomial transformation was able to achieve higher accuracy especially for water bodies where expected color is green. Thus, proposed algorithms can be used for transforming false color image to natural color images

1-Year COMBO stent outcomes stratified by the PARIS bleeding prediction score: From the MASCOT registry

Background: The COMBO stent is a biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stent with endothelial progenitor cell capture technology for faster endothelialization. Objective: We analyzed COMBO stent outcomes in relation to bleeding risk using the PARIS bleeding score. Methods: MASCOT was an international registry of all-comers undergoing attempted COMBO stent implantation. We stratified patients as low bleeding-risk (LBR) for PARIS score 3 based on baseline age, body mass index, anemia, current smoking, chronic kidney disease and need for triple therapy. Primary endpoint was 1-year target lesion failure (TLF), composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) not clearly attributed to a non-target vessel or clinically-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR). Bleeding was adjudicated using the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) definition. Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) cessation was independently adjudicated. Results: The study included 56% (n = 1270) LBR and 44% (n = 1009) IHBR patients. Incidence of 1-year TLF was higher in IHBR patients (4.1% vs. 2.6%, p = 0.047) driven by cardiac death (1.7% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.029) with similar rates of MI (1.8% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.17), TLR (1.5% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.89) and definite/ probable stent thrombosis (1.2% vs. 0.6%, p = 0.16). Incidence of 1-year major BARC 3 or 5 bleeding was significantly higher in IHBR patients (2.3% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.0094), as was the incidence of DAPT cessation (29.3% vs. 22.8%, p < 0.01), driven by physician-guided discontinuation. Conclusions: Patients with intermediate-to-high PARIS bleeding risk in the MASCOT registry experienced greater incidence of 1-year TLF, major bleeding and DAPT cessation than LBR patients, without significant differences in stent thrombosis

Monitoring of Serum DNA Methylation as an Early Independent Marker of Response and Survival in Metastatic Breast Cancer: TBCRC 005 Prospective Biomarker Study

Epigenetic alterations measured in blood may help guide breast cancer treatment. The multisite prospective study TBCRC 005 was conducted to examine the ability of a novel panel of cell-free DNA methylation markers to predict survival outcomes in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) using a new quantitative multiplex assay (cMethDNA)

Semi-automated Magnetic Bead-Based Antibody Selection from Phage Display Libraries

Phage display of combinatorial antibody libraries is a very efficient method for selecting recombinant antibodies against a wide range of molecules. It has been applied very successfully for the generation of therapeutic antibodies for more than a decade. To increase robustness and reproducibility of the selection procedure, we developed a semi-automated selection method for the generation of recombinant antibodies from phage display libraries. In this procedure, the selection targets are specifically immobilised to magnetic particles which can then by automatically handled by a magnetic particle processor. At present up to 96 samples can be handled simultaneously. Applying the processor allows standardisation of panning parameters such as washing conditions, incubation times, or to perform parallel selections on same targets under different buffer conditions. Additionally, the whole protocol has been streamlined to carry out bead loading, phage selection, phage amplification between selection rounds and magnetic particle ELISA for confirmation of binding activity in microtiter plate formats. Until now, this method has been successfully applied to select antibody fragments against different types of target, such as peptides, recombinant or homologous proteins, or chemical compounds