Redescription of Steinernema scapterisci Nguyen and Smart, 1990: (Steinernematidae)

Present communication deals with redescription of the insect parasitic nematode, Steinernema scapterisci Nguyen and Smart, 1990, collected from the mole cricket, Gryllotalpa africana at Khurja, district (U.P.). The original description suffers from some morphological variations in the testis, tail and vulvular region

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: maternal and fetal outcome and its correlation with serum bile acid levels

Background: Maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes in parturients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) have been retrospectively documented. We aimed to present pregnancy outcomes of parturients with ICP who underwent delivery. The study was conducted during a 1-year period in a tertiary care centre.Methods: Data from 1 January to 31 December 2017 were collected to identify parturients with ICP.Results: Almost 3/4th of births came to a vaginal delivery (76.74%) and only 10 parturients had cesarean delivery. 4 of 10 parturients underwent nonelective cesarean section, while 6 had elective cesarean delivery. 15.15 % vaginal deliveries were instrumental. The most common indications for emergency LSCS and instrumental deliveries was fetal distress followed by failure to progress of labour. Most births occurred at or after 37 weeks of gestation (65%).  Regarding neonatal outcomes in terms of birth weight and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min, they were positive, as well.  None of the babies had Apgar score < 7 at 5 minutes. No case of perinatal death was observed.Conclusions: Although the results were generally positive, larger studies need to be conducted to evaluate the maternal and fetal outcomes in ICP and correlation with serum bile acid levels

Role of ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology of right hypochondrial masses

Background: Patients having right hypochondrial intra-abdominal masses are commonly encountered in clinical practice. The study was done to know the role of ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration in diagnosing right hypochondrial masses and its most common cause.Methods: 112 cases were collected from department of surgery, SVBP hospital meerut. FNAC was done using 22-23 G disposable lumbar puncture needle with trochar fitted with 20 ml syringe, introduced under radiological guidance and aspiration is done under negative pressure. Smears were stained with Leishman’s stain, May Grunwald Geimsa (MGG) and Papnicolou stain.Results: Out of total 112 cases, 12 cases excluded from study as only blood was aspirated. Therefore, out of 100 cases, 83% (83/100) cases were malignant, 7% (7/100) benign and 10% (10/100) inconclusive/ due to low cellularity. Among the malignant masses, majority 52 (52.0%) cases were of liver secondaries followed by 24 (24.0%) cases of adenocarcinoma gall bladder, 5 (5.0%) cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and single case (1%), each of cholangiocarcinoma GB and squamous cell carcinoma GB. Among the benign lesions, 3 (3.0%) cases of liver abscess, 2 (2.0%) cases of hydatid disease followed by single case (1.0%) of hepatic adenoma and cysticercosis liver. In this study, overall accuracy of USG guided FNAC was 96.66%. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and efficacy of USG guided FNAC in right hypochondrial masses were 96.66%, 100%, 100%, 66.67% and 96.87% respectively.Conclusions: USG guided FNAC is simple, quick, safe, reliable and economical tool without any significant complication in diagnosing right hypochondrial masses

Green technology: an eco-friendly approach towards sustainable agriculture

Indiscriminate use of agrochemicals for agriculture practices such as pest control, weed control, increasing soil fertility etc. may cause some undesirable effects not only to the agricultural ecosystem but also to human health due to persistent in nature. This led to the need for curtail our dependency on chemical based agro products and search for alternatives, which are environmentally feasible. In this regard, sustainable agriculture plays a vital role worldwide as it offers the potential to meet the present agricultural needs. It is also an alternative to upgrade the national economy without degrading the environmental quality. Green technology also an eco-friendly way and ensures safe and healthy agricultural outputs for mankind. The contribution of green technology towards sustainable development in the agricultural sector has been described in the present paper. It also an attempt to elaborate the role of green technology along with how it would be helpful in the sustainable development

Green technology: an eco-friendly approach towards sustainable agriculture

Indiscriminate use of agrochemicals for agriculture practices such as pest control, weed control, increasing soil fertility etc. may cause some undesirable effects not only to the agricultural ecosystem but also to human health due to persistent in nature. This led to the need for curtail our dependency on chemical based agro products and search for alternatives, which are environmentally feasible. In this regard, sustainable agriculture plays a vital role worldwide as it offers the potential to meet the present agricultural needs. It is also an alternative to upgrade the national economy without degrading the environmental quality. Green technology also an eco-friendly way and ensures safe and healthy agricultural outputs for mankind. The contribution of green technology towards sustainable development in the agricultural sector has been described in the present paper. It also an attempt to elaborate the role of green technology along with how it would be helpful in the sustainable development

Dickkopf homolog 3 (DKK3) plays a crucial role upstream of WNT/β-CATENIN signaling for sertoli cell mediated regulation of spermatogenesis

Testicular Sertoli cells (Sc) are main somatic component of seminiferous tubules that govern the differentiation of germ cells (Gc) and provide them physical support. Sc are the target of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone (T) which are known to regulate spermatogenesis. FSH and T levels in human and sub-human male primates remain high during infancy (4–6 months post birth), similar to those during puberty. Subsequently, juvenile phase is marked with low levels of these hormones. In spite of prolonged hormonal exposure, spermatogenesis is not discerned during infancy unlike that during puberty. Situation during infancy is similar to certain idiopathic male infertility, where prolonged hormone supplementation fails to initiate spermatogenesis. In our quest to determine non hormonal causes of idiopathic infertility which may reside within the Sc, we investigated the association between spermatogenesis and Sc specific gene(s) expressed differentially during puberty and infancy. Although products of several genes may be necessary for quantitatively normal spermatogenesis, one needs to investigate their roles one by one. Differential display and real time PCR analysis revealed higher expression of a known tumor suppressor, Dickkopf homolog 3 (DKK3), by pubertal monkey Sc as compared to infant Sc. To evaluate role of DKK3 in spermatogenesis, we generated DKK3 knock down mice (DKDM) using shRNA construct targeted to DKK3. In testis of adult DKDM, expression of DKK3 mRNA and protein were significantly (p&#x003C;0.05) low and was associated with elevated WNT-4/β-CATENIN activity. Elevated β-CATENIN activity is known to restrict Sc maturation. Abundant expression of infant Sc marker, Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS), in the testes of adult DKDM confirmed lack of Sc maturation in DKDM. Gc differentiation and fertility was severely compromised in DKDM. This is the first report of role of DKK3 in the testis and DKK3 mediated regulation of spermatogenesis via WNT-4/β-CATENIN modulation

Reversal of Klein reflection in bilayer graphene

Whereas massless Dirac fermions in monolayer graphene exhibit Klein tunneling when passing through a potential barrier upon normal incidence, such a barrier totally reflects massive Dirac fermions in bilayer graphene due to difference in chirality. We show that, in the presence of magnetic barriers, such massive Dirac fermions can have transmission through even at normal incidence. The general consequence of this behaviour for multilayer graphene consisting of massless and massive modes are mentioned. We also briefly discuss the effect of a bias voltage on such magnetotransport.Comment: 10 double space single column latexed pages, 15 eps files in four figure

Kinetika raspodjele cefpiroma i njegovo in vitro vezanje na proteine plazme u goveda.

The disposition of cefpirome after single intramuscular (i.m.) administration (10 mg.kg-1) was investigated in five male cross-bred calves and in vitro plasma protein binding was determined. The concentration of cefpirome in the plasma was estimated by the microbiological assay technique. Binding of cefpirome to plasma proteins was determined at different concentration levels by the equilibrium dialysis technique. The peak plasma level of cefpirome after i.m. administration to cattle was attained at 45 min post-dose and the drug was detected in plasma above MIC of 0.5 μg.mL-1 for up to 10 h. The drug disposition followed a one-compartment open model. The values of t1/2Ka, t1/2β and AUC were 0.21 ± 0.01 h, 2.06 ± 0.02 h and 31.7 ± 0.95 μg.mL-1.h, respectively. Cefpirome was bound to the plasma proteins to the extent of 26.0 ± 2.84 percent at the concentration range of 1-100 μg.mL-1. The binding capacity of cefpirome to plasma proteins and the dissociation rate constant of the protein-drug complex were 3.71 ×10-8 ± 0.31 ×10-8 mole.g-1 and 3.43 ×10-7 ± 0.46 ×10-7 mole, respectively.Istražena je raspodjela cefpiroma i njegovo in vitro vezanje na proteine plazme u petero muške bivolje teladi nakon jednokratne intramuskularne primjene u dozi od 10 mg/kg. Koncentracija cefpiroma u plazmi bila je procijenjena pomoću mikrobioloških testova. Njegovo vezanje na proteine plazme određeno je za različite koncentracije pomoću dijalize. Vršna razina cefpiroma u plazmi nakon intramuskularne primjene postignuta je 45 minuta nakon davanja, a lijek je u plazmi bio dokazan iznad MIC od 0,5 μg/mL do 10 sati nakon davanja. Raspodjela lijeka bila je sukladna modelu otvorenosti jednog odjeljka. Vrijednost t1/2Ka iznosila je 0,21 ± 0,01 h, t1/2β 2,06 ± 0,02 h, a AUC 31,7 ± 0,95 μg/mL/h. Cefpirom se vezao na proteine plazme u visini od 26,0 ± 2,84 % u razmaku koncentracije od 1-100 μg/mL. Sposobnost vezanja cefpiroma na proteine plazme bila je 3,71 ×10-8 ± 0,31 ×10-8 mol/g, a konstanta njegova oslobađanja od kompleksa protein-lijek iznosila je 3,43 ×10 7± 0,46 ×10-7 mola

Development and Validation of a 30-Day In-hospital Mortality Model Among Seriously Ill Transferred Patients: a Retrospective Cohort Study

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or be any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Background Predicting the risk of in-hospital mortality on admission is challenging but essential for risk stratification of patient outcomes and designing an appropriate plan-of-care, especially among transferred patients. Objective Develop a model that uses administrative and clinical data within 24 h of transfer to predict 30-day in-hospital mortality at an Academic Health Center (AHC). Design Retrospective cohort study. We used 30 putative variables in a multiple logistic regression model in the full data set (n = 10,389) to identify 20 candidate variables obtained from the electronic medical record (EMR) within 24 h of admission that were associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality (p < 0.05). These 20 variables were tested using multiple logistic regression and area under the curve (AUC)–receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis to identify an optimal risk threshold score in a randomly split derivation sample (n = 5194) which was then examined in the validation sample (n = 5195). Participants Ten thousand three hundred eighty-nine patients greater than 18 years transferred to the Indiana University (IU)–Adult Academic Health Center (AHC) between 1/1/2016 and 12/31/2017. Main Measures Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, C-statistic, and risk threshold score of the model. Key Results The final model was strongly discriminative (C-statistic = 0.90) and had a good fit (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test [X2 (8) =6.26, p = 0.62]). The positive predictive value for 30-day in-hospital death was 68%; AUC-ROC was 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.89–0.92, p < 0.0001). We identified a risk threshold score of −2.19 that had a maximum sensitivity (79.87%) and specificity (85.24%) in the derivation and validation sample (sensitivity: 75.00%, specificity: 85.71%). In the validation sample, 34.40% (354/1029) of the patients above this threshold died compared to only 2.83% (118/4166) deaths below this threshold. Conclusion This model can use EMR and administrative data within 24 h of transfer to predict the risk of 30-day in-hospital mortality with reasonable accuracy among seriously ill transferred patients

An efficient method for generating a germ cell depleted animal model for studies related to spermatogonial stem cell transplantation

Background: Spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) transplantation (SSCT) has become important for conservation of endangered species, transgenesis and for rejuvenating testes which have lost germ cells (Gc) due to gonadotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy during the prepubertal phase of life. Creating a germ cell-depleted animal model for transplantation of normal or gene-transfected SSC is a prerequisite for such experimental studies. Traditionally used intraperitoneal injections of busulfan to achieve this are associated with painful hematopoietic toxicity and affects the wellbeing of the animals. Use of testicular busulfan has been reported recently to avoid this but with a very low success rate of SSCT. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a more efficient method to achieve higher SSCT without any suffering or mortality of the animals. Methods: A solution of busulfan, ranging from 25 &#x03BC;g/20 μl to 100 &#x03BC;g/20 μl in 50 % DMSO was used for this study. Each testis received two diagonally opposite injections of 10 &#x03BC;l each. Only DMSO was used as control. Germ cell depletion was checked every 15 days. GFP-expressing SSC from transgenic donor mice C57BL/6-Tg (UBC-GFP) 30Scha/J were transplanted into busulfan-treated testis. Two months after SSCT, mice were analyzed for presence of colonies of donor-derived SSC and their ability to generate offspring. Results: A dose of 75 &#x03BC;g of busulfan resulted in reduction of testis size and depletion of the majority of Gc of testis in all mice within 15 days post injection without causing mortality or a cytotoxic effect in other organs. Two months after SSCT, colonies of donor-derived Gc-expressing GFP were observed in recipient testes. When cohabitated with females, donor-derived offspring were obtained. By our method, 71 % of transplanted males sired transgenic progeny as opposed to 5.5 % by previously described procedures. About 56 % of progeny born were transgenic by our method as opposed to 1.2 % by the previously reported methods. Conclusions: We have established an efficient method of generating a germ cell-depleted animal model by using a lower dose of busulfan, injected through two diagonally opposite sites in the testis, which allows efficient colonization of transplanted SSC resulting in a remarkably higher proportion of donor-derived offspring generation