Pregnancy with pancytopenia: an observational study

Background: Pancytopenia is the reduction in all three major cellular elements of blood; hence it is the simultaneous presence of anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Pancytopenia is associated with many maternal and foetal complications during pregnancy like maternal sepsis, postpartum haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and preterm labour, IUGR and intrauterine foetal demise.Methods: The study was conducted at BLDE (Deemed to be) University, Shri B. M. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. It’s an observational study done from November 2019-April 2020. The participants enrolled in the study were subjected for further clinical and laboratory evaluation and followed for feto-maternal outcome.Results: The incidence of pancytopenia with pregnancy in this study was 3% and all the patients were vegetarian by diet along with vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency. They were associated with different maternal and foetal complications.Conclusions: Proper dietary counselling and well-balanced dietary plans even with plant originate food can prevent the micronutrients deficiency and avoid the deleterious consequences like pancytopenia

A study of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and the fetal outcome in a tertiary care hospital: a prospective study

Background: Pregnancy induced hypertension is one of the major causes of feto maternal morbidity and mortality in pregnancy. The exact cause of PIH is unknown certain factors are known to increase the risk of PIH such as risk factor includes that young women with first pregnancy.Methods: The objective of this study was to assess the socio-demographic and clinico-pathological profile of the patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its associated fetal outcomes. A prospective study was conducted in department of obstetrics and gynecology Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, BLDE (Deemed to be University), Vijayapura Karnataka from 15th July to 15th December 2018. All women admitted to labour ward with diagnosis of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were included in the study after ruling out the exclusion criteria and thorough history, examination and laboratory evaluation were done and followed till delivery.Results: A total of 123 pregnant women with hypertensive disorder of pregnancy were enrolled in the study. Most of the participants were in the age group of 20 to 30 years. The PIH was seen mostly in primigravida, lower socioeconomic status and with lower educational levels. Emergency LSCS is the most common mode of delivery.Conclusions: The hypertensive disorder in pregnancy affects the majorly younger age group. It is most commonly seen in low socio-economic and uneducated population. Hence, there should be provided with proper antenatal care, early detection of hypertensive disorders for better feto-maternal outcome

Cellular Automata with Synthetic Image A Secure Image Communication with Transform Domain

    Image encryption has attained a great attention due to the necessity to safeguard confidential images. Digital documents, site images, battlefield photographs, etc. need a secure approach for sharing in an open channel. Hardware – software co-design is a better option for exploiting unique features to cipher the confidential images. Cellular automata (CA) and synthetic image influenced transform domain approach for image encryption is proposed in this paper. The digital image is initially divided into four subsections by applying integer wavelet transform. Confusion is accomplished on low – low section of the transformed image using CA rules 90 and 150. The first level of diffusion with consecutive XORing operation of image pixels is initiated by CA rule 42. A synthetic random key image is developed by extracting true random bits generated by Cyclone V field programmable gate array 5CSEMA5F31C6. This random image plays an important role in second level of diffusion. The proposed confusion and two level diffusion assisted image encryption approach has been validated through the entropy, correlation, histogram, number of pixels change rate, unified average change intensity, contrast and encryption quality analyses

Direct effect of CryIIa transgenic chickpea on coccinellid, Cheilomenes sexmaculatus (Fabricius)

The experiments were conducted during 2012-2014 at ICRISAT, Hyderabad to study the direct effects of transgenic chickpea lines on coccinellid beetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculatus (Fabricius). The direct effects on coccinellids were greater when fed on 0.1% Bt intoxicated diet, followed by diets with 0.05% and 0.02% Bt. The survival and development of coccinellid grubs were slightly affected when reared on aphids fed on diets with different concentrations (0.02%, 0.05% and 0.1%) of transgenic chickpea leaf powder. The coccinellids fed on diets with 0.05% BS5A.2(T2) 19-3P1 leaf powder showed a marginal reduction in survival and development as compared to that on other transgenic lines

Population density and damage by pod borers, helicoverpa armigera and spodoptera exigua in a diverse array of chickpea genotypes under natural infestation in the field

Host plant resistance is one of the important components of resistance to insects, and hence, we evaluated a diverse array of chickpea genotypes for resistance to pod borers, Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera exigua under field conditions. Data were recorded on S. exigua egg masses and larvae, H. armigera eggs and larvae, plant damage at the vegetative, flowering and podding stages, and grain yield at crop harvest. During the vegetative stage, significantly lower numbers of H. armigera and S. exigua larvae were recorded on ICC 10393, ICCL 86111, ICC 12475 and RIL 20; while leaf damage was significantly lower on ICC 12475, ICC 10393, ICCV 10, and RIL 25 as compared to that on ICC 3137. During the flowering stage, leaf damage was significantly lower on ICC 12475, RIL 20, RIL 25, ICC 10393, ICCL 86111, KAK 2, and ICCV 10 than on ICC 3137; of which the numbers of H. armigera larvae were significantly lower on ICCL 86111, RIL 20, ICC 10393, RIL 25 and ICC 12475 than on ICC 3137 in one or both sowings/seasons. During the podding stage, the H. armigera and/or S. exigua larval densities were significantly lower on ICC 12475, ICC 10393, RIL 25, ICCV 10, and RIL 20; of which EC 583264, ICC 10393, ICC 12475, ICCL 86111, ICCV 10, RIL 20 and RIL 25 than in ICC 3137. The grain yield of these genotypes was also significantly greater than that of ICC 3137 one or both sowings/seasons, and these genotypes can be used for improving chickpea to pod borer resistance for sustainable crop production

Variability in stratification and flushing times of the Gautami–Godavari estuary, India

In order to examine the influence of forcing (river flow and tides) and anthropogenic activities (dredging and dam regulation) on stratification, a study was conducted over a period of 19 months (June 2008–December 2009) in the Gautami–Godavari estuary (G–GE) during spring and neap tide periods covering entire spectrum of discharge over a distance of 36 km from the mouth. The bathymetry of the estuary was recently changed due to dredging of ∼20 km of the estuary from the mouth for transportation of barges. This significantly changed the mean depth and salinity of the estuary from its earlier state. The variations in the distribution of salinity in the Godavari estuary are driven by river discharge during wet period (June–November) and tides during dry period (December–May). The weak stratification was observed during high discharge (July–August) and no discharge (January–June) periods associated with dominant fresh water and marine water respectively. The strong stratification was developed associated with decrease in discharge during moderate discharge period (October–December). Relatively stronger stratification was noticed during neap than spring tides. The 15 psu isohaline was observed to have migrated ∼2–3 km more towards upper estuary during spring than neap tide suggesting more salt enters during former than latter period. Total salt content was inversely correlated with river discharge and higher salt of about 400×106 m3 psu was observed during spring than neap tide. Flushing times varied between less than a day and more than a month during peak and no discharge periods respectively with lower times during spring than neap tide. The flushing times are controlled by river discharge during high discharge period, tides during dry period and both (river discharge and tides) under moderate discharge period. This study suggests that modification of discharge, either natural due to weak monsoon or artificial such as dam constructions and re-routing the river flow, may have significant impact on the stratification and biogeochemistry of the Godavari estuary

Ack1 Mediated AKT/PKB Tyrosine 176 Phosphorylation Regulates Its Activation

The AKT/PKB kinase is a key signaling component of one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer and is a major target of cancer drug development. Most studies have focused on its activation by Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) mediated Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) activation or loss of Phosphatase and Tensin homolog (PTEN). We have uncovered that growth factors binding to RTKs lead to activation of a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, Ack1 (also known as ACK or TNK2), which directly phosphorylates AKT at an evolutionarily conserved tyrosine 176 in the kinase domain. Tyr176-phosphorylated AKT localizes to the plasma membrane and promotes Thr308/Ser473-phosphorylation leading to AKT activation. Mice expressing activated Ack1 specifically in the prostate exhibit AKT Tyr176-phosphorylation and develop murine prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPINs). Further, expression levels of Tyr176-phosphorylated-AKT and Tyr284-phosphorylated-Ack1 were positively correlated with the severity of disease progression, and inversely correlated with the survival of breast cancer patients. Thus, RTK/Ack1/AKT pathway provides a novel target for drug discovery

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of fushi tarazu Factor 1 in the Brain of Air-Breathing Catfish, Clarias gariepinus

BACKGROUND: Fushi tarazu factor 1 (FTZ-F1) encodes an orphan nuclear receptor belonging to the nuclear receptor family 5A (NR5A) which includes adrenal 4-binding protein or steroidogenic factor-1 (Ad4BP/SF-1) and liver receptor homologue 1 (LRH-1) and plays a pivotal role in the regulation of aromatases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Present study was aimed to understand the importance of FTZ-F1 in relation to brain aromatase (cyp19a1b) during development, recrudescence and after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) induction. Initially, we cloned FTZ-F1 from the brain of air-breathing catfish, Clarias gariepinus through degenerate primer RT-PCR and RACE. Its sequence analysis revealed high homology with other NR5A1 group members Ad4BP/SF-1 and LRH-1, and also analogous to the spatial expression pattern of the latter. In order to draw functional correlation of cyp19a1b and FTZ-F1, we analyzed the expression pattern of the latter in brain during gonadal ontogeny, which revealed early expression during gonadal differentiation. The tissue distribution both at transcript and protein levels revealed its prominent expression in brain along with liver, kidney and testis. The expression pattern of brain FTZ-F1 during reproductive cycle and after hCG induction, in vivo was analogous to that of cyp19a1b shown in our earlier study indicating its involvement in recrudescence. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Based on our previous results on cyp19a1b and the present data, it is plausible to implicate potential roles for brain FTZ-F1 in ovarian differentiation and recrudescence process probably through regulation of cyp19a1b in teleosts. Nevertheless, these interactions would require primary coordinated response from ovarian aromatase and its related transcription factors

Bacteria-inducing legume nodules involved in the improvement of plant growth, health and nutrition

Bacteria-inducing legume nodules are known as rhizobia and belong to the class Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria. They promote the growth and nutrition of their respective legume hosts through atmospheric nitrogen fixation which takes place in the nodules induced in their roots or stems. In addition, rhizobia have other plant growth-promoting mechanisms, mainly solubilization of phosphate and production of indoleacetic acid, ACC deaminase and siderophores. Some of these mechanisms have been reported for strains of rhizobia which are also able to promote the growth of several nonlegumes, such as cereals, oilseeds and vegetables. Less studied are the mechanisms that have the rhizobia to promote the plant health; however, these bacteria are able to exert biocontrol of some phytopathogens and to induce the plant resistance. In this chapter, we revised the available data about the ability of the legume nodule-inducing bacteria for improving the plant growth, health and nutrition of both legumes and nonlegumes. These data showed that rhizobia meet all the requirements of sustainable agriculture to be used as bio-inoculants allowing the total or partial replacement of chemicals used for fertilization or protection of crops