Occurrence & nucleotide sequence analysis of hepatitis G virus in patients with acute viral hepatitis & fulminant hepatitis

Background & objectives: Association of hepatitis G virus (HGV) with acute viral hepatitis (AVH) and fulminant hepatitis (FH) is not clearly understood.This study was designed to asses the occurrence of HGV infection and its relationship with other hepatotropic viruses in patients with FH and AVH and also to determine the nucleotide sequence of HGV isolates. Methods: The study included 100 patients of FH and 125 of AVH on the basis of clinical examination, liver function test and serology for hepatitis A, B, C and E virus. HGV RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and direct sequencing for 4 randomly selected samples followed by phylogenetic analysis. Results: Of the 100 patients with FH, 30 were negative for hepatitis viruses A, B, C and E by serology (non A - non E) while 60 were negative in the AVH group. In the non A- non -E hepatitis group, HGV was positive in 16.66 per cent (5/30) cases of FH, 10 per cent (6/60) cases of AVH and 6 per cent (6/100) of healthy controls. The difference in HGV seropositivity between FH and AVH patients was statistically not significant compared to healthy controls, while HBV and HCV infections were significant. The four isolates sequenced seemed to be of same type and close to Chinese strain of HGV (Y13755.1 Y13756.1 Y15407, and U67782) on phylogeny. Interpretation & conclusion: In HGV infection was not found to be clinically significant as well as nonpathogenic in the patients of FH and AVH and appeared to be an innocent bystander in the course of the disease. The four sequenced HGV isolates showed close pairing with Chinese strains

Causes of Infant Mortality in Babol, Northern Iran

Background and Objective: Infant mortality is an important health indicator. In order to reduce infant mortality, its causes should be considered in each region so that steps can be taken to improve the quality of health care and treatment. Therefore, this study was conducted in order to determine the causes of infant mortality in Babol, northern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all infants who died in public and private hospitals of Babol. The cause of infant death was extracted and analyzed based on the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) and also based on laboratory, clinical and paraclinical evidence recorded in the files. Findings: Out of a total of 16,005 live births in Babol, 123 infants (7.6%) died, of which 53 (43.1%) died in the first 24 hours of life. The mean gestational age of the deceased cases was 31.4±5.5 weeks, the mean birth weight was 1705.4±1045.3 grams, and their mean life span was 5.4±6.6 days. The most common causes of infant mortality were prematurity (30%), congenital anomalies (25.3%), sepsis (17.1%) and respiratory distress syndrome (13%). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the most common causes of infant mortality are prematurity and congenital anomalies

Arterial oxygen saturation under hypoxic environment of high-altitude associates with routine physical activities of natives

Per cent oxygen saturation of arterial haemoglobin levels (SaO2), a measure of hypoxemia has been analysed in the permanent residents of Ladakh. The population recognized as high-altitude controls (HAC) and high-altitudemonks (HAM), resided at the same altitude of 3600 m but differed in their routines. SaO2 was measured with a Finger-Pulse Oximeter. The HAM had 3.08% higher SaO2 (P<0.001) compared to the HAC, with mean SaO2 of 91.8°6.1% and 89.0°2.6%, respectively. Furthermore, the younger HAM also revealed an elevation of 4.55% SaO2 than the HAC of identical age (P<0.001). The HAM, who are less hypoxemic than their counterparts are physically more active, which may be a selective advantage in the extreme environment of higher altitudes

Entropy Production Rate is Maximized in Non-Contractile Actomyosin

The actin cytoskeleton is an active semi-flexible polymer network whose non-equilibrium properties coordinate both stable and contractile behaviors to maintain or change cell shape. While myosin motors drive the actin cytoskeleton out-of-equilibrium, the role of myosin-driven active stresses in the accumulation and dissipation of mechanical energy is unclear. To investigate this, we synthesize an actomyosin material in vitro whose active stress content can tune the network from stable to contractile. Each increment in activity determines a characteristic spectrum of actin filament fluctuations which is used to calculate the total mechanical work and the production of entropy in the material. We find that the balance of work and entropy does not increase monotonically and, surprisingly, the entropy production rate is maximized in the non-contractile, stable state. Our study provides evidence that the origins of system entropy production and activity-dependent dissipation arise from disorder in the molecular interactions between actin and myosinComment: 31 pages, 5 figure

Angiotensin converting enzyme insertion allele in relation to high altitude adaptation

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism has been associated with high altitude (HA) disorders as well as physical performance. We, however, envisage that the polymorphism may be associated with adaptation to the hypobaric hypoxia of altitude, thus facilitating physical performance. For this purpose, three unrelated adult male groups, namely (1) the Ladakhis (HLs), who reside at and above a height of 3600 m, (2) lowlanders, who migrated to Ladakh (MLLs), and (3) resident lowlanders (LLs), have been investigated. The HLs had significantly (p<0.001) greater numbers of the II homozygotes and the ID heterozygotes than the DD homozygotes, the genotype distribution being 0.46, 0.43 and 0.11 for II, ID and DD genotypes respectively. The MLLs comprised 60% II homozygotes, which was higher (p<0.001) than the HLs (46%). In the LLs, the heterozygotes were greater (p<0.001) in number than the II and DD homozygotes. The I allele frequency was 0.72 in the MLLs, 0.67 in the HLs and 0.55 in the LLs. Polymorphism study suggested that the II genotype could be associated with altitude adaptation, which might influence physical efficiency

ОФЭК/КТ в диагностике эктопированной аденомы паращитовидной железы (случай из практики)

Case study: a parathyroid tumor ectopic to the mediastinum. The diagnostic capabilities and advantages of the 99mТс-sestamibi SPECT/CT hybrid method in the preoperative localization of abnormally located parathyroma are demonstrated.Случай из практики: опухоль паращитовидной железы, эктопированная в средостение. Продемонстрированы диагностические возможности и преимущества гибридного метода ОФЭКТ/КТ с 99mТс-технетрилом в предоперационной локализации аномально расположенной паратиромы

Biomimetic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using endosymbiotic bacterium inhabiting euphorbia hirtal. And their bactericidal potential

The present investigation aims to evaluate biomimetic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using endophytic bacterium EH 419 inhabiting Euphorbia hirta L. The synthesized nanoparticles were initially confirmed with change in color from the reaction mixture to brown indicating the synthesis of nanoparticles. Further confirmation was achieved with the characteristic absorption peak at 440 nm using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were subjected to biophysical characterization using hyphenated techniques. The possible role of biomolecules in mediating the synthesis was depicted with FTIR analysis. Further crystalline nature of synthesized nanoparticles was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) with prominent diffraction peaks at 2θ which can be indexed to the (111), (200), (220), and (311) reflections of face centered cubic structure (fcc) of metallic silver. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed morphological characteristics of synthesized silver nanoparticles to be polydisperse in nature with size ranging from 10 to 60 nm and different morphological characteristics such as spherical, oval, hexagonal, and cubic shapes. Further silver nanoparticles exhibited bactericidal activity against panel of significant pathogenic bacteria among which Pseudomonas aeruginosa was most sensitive compared to other pathogens. To the best of our knowledge, present study forms first report of bacterial endophyte inhabiting Euphorbia hirta L. in mediating synthesizing silver nanoparticle

КОМПЛЕКСНАЯ ЛУЧЕВАЯ ДИАГНОСТИКА У НАРКОЗАВИСИМЫХ ПАЦИЕНТОВ С ФОСФОРНЫМИ ОСТЕОНЕКРОЗАМИ ЛИЦЕВОГО СКЕЛЕТА НА ДООПЕРАЦИОННОМ ЭТАПЕ

The purpose. To determine the role of complex radiological diagnostics and diagnostic effectiveness of various radiological methods in drug-dependent patients with phosphorous osteonecrosis of the facial skeleton at the preoperative stage.Materials and methods. The study included 85 drug addicted patients with a diagnosis of toxic phosphorus osteonecrosis of the facial skeleton. In the preoperative period all patients underwent full clinical and radiological examination. Orthopantomography (OPG), skull x-ray, multislice computed tomography (MSCT), cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) were performed in 85 patients (100%) at the preoperative stage. Also, 19 patients (22.4 %) underwent radionuclide diagnostics, which included planar scintigraphy and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Further, all patients underwent surgical treatment to the extent of complete or partial resection of the jaws and other bones of the facial skeleton.Results. According to the data of complex radiological examination at the preoperative stage it was revealed that in 48% (n = 41) cases the osteonecrosis zones were localized in the lower jaw, in 24% (n = 20) in the upper jaw, in 28% (24) patients the pathological process captured both jaws. Also, MSCT and CBCT data revealed the spread of the pathological process to other bones of the facial, in some cases, the brain part of the scull in 25 patients (29.5%). The data of radionuclide diagnostics allowed to reveal the zones of radiopharmaceutical accumulation both in the bones of the skull and outside it. Based on the results of the analysis of the data obtained, the role of complex radiation diagnosis was determined, as well as the diagnostic effectiveness of radiation methods (OPG, X-ray of the skull, MSCT, CBCT) in the examination of drug-dependent patients with phosphoric osteonecrosis of the facial skeleton at the preoperative stage.Conclusion. The complex radiological diagnostics with application of high informative modern methods (MSCT, CBCT, radionuclide diagnostics) is the required step in the evaluation of patients with osteonecrosis of the facial skeleton at the preoperative stage. The diagnostic efficiency parameters for MSCT were: sensitivity – 98.1%, specificity – 99.6%, the accuracy – 98.8%, for CBCT: sensitivity – 97.3%, specificity – 99.1%, accuracy – 98.4%, for OPG: sensitivity – 78.6%, specificity – 76.3%, accuracy – 77.4%, for radiography of the skull: sensitivity – 61.1%, specificity – 59.2%, accuracy – 60.2%.Цель исследования: определить роль комплексной лучевой диагностики и диагностическую эффективность различных лучевых методов у наркозависимых пациентов с фосфорными остеонекрозами лицевого скелета на дооперационном этапе.Материал и методы. В представленное исследование было включено 85 наркозависимых пациентов с диагнозом “токсический фосфорный остеонекроз” лицевого скелета. В предоперационном периоде всем пациентам было выполнено полное клинико-лучевое обследование. Ортопантомография (ОПТГ), рентгенография черепа, мультиспиральная компьютерная томография (МСКТ), конусно-лучевая компьютерная томография (КЛКТ) были проведены 85 (100%) пациентам на дооперационном этапе. Также 19 (22,4%) пациентам была проведена радионуклидная диагностика, включившая в себя планарную сцинтиграфию и однофотонноую эмиссионную компьютерную томографию (ОФЭКТ). Далее всем пациентам было проведено хирургическое лечение в объеме полной или частичной резекции челюстей и других костей лицевого скелета.Результаты. Данные МСКТ и КЛКТ позволили выявить распространение патологического процесса на другие кости лицевого (в ряде случаев мозгового) отдела скелета у 25 (29,5%) пациентов, данные радионуклидной диагностики – зоны накопления радиофармпрепарата как в костях черепа, так и за его пределами. По результатам анализа полученных данных была определена роль комплексной лучевой диагностики, а также диагностическая эффективность лучевых методов (ОПТГ, рентгенографии черепа, МСКТ, КЛКТ) в обследовании наркозависимых пациентов с фосфорными остеонекрозами лицевого скелета на дооперационном этапе.Заключение. Комплексная лучевая диагностика с применением высокоинформативных современных методов (МСКТ, КЛКТ, радионуклидная диагностика) является неотъемлемым этапом обследования пациентов с остеонекрозами лицевого скелета на дооперационном этапе. Показатели диагностической эффективности для МСКТ составили: чувствительность – 98,1%, специфичность – 99,6%, точность – 98,8%, для КЛКТ: чувствительность – 97,3%, специфичность –  9,1%, точность – 98,4%, для ОПТГ: чувствительность – 78,6%, специфичность – 76,3%, точность – 77,4%, для рентгенографии черепа: чувствительность – 61,1%, специфичность – 59,2%, точность – 60,2%