PHARMACOVIGILANCE OF RADIOGRAPHIC CONTRAST-INDUCED ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF SOUTH INDIA

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the nature and incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to radiographic contrast media (oral and intravenous) reported during a 1½ years' period in a tertiary care hospital in South India.Methods: The study was an observational prospective study of ADRs to radiographic contrast media (oral and intravenous) observed during a period of 1½ years from July 2014 to October 2015 in Department of Radio Diagnosis at Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chromepet. The observations were analyzed for demographic profile, frequency, severity, causality, and temporal relationship of contrast administration to the occurrence of ADRs.Results: A total of 33 ADRs were observed for oral and intravenous radiographic contrast media administered for radiographic study for the above-mentioned period. It included 17 (51.5%) males and 16 (48.5%) females. Among the 33 ADRs, 19 (57%) were for oral and intravenous radiographic contrast and 14 (42%) for intravenous radiographic contrast alone. The most frequent ADRs were vomiting and nausea 16 (48%), skin rashes 9 (27%), and thrombophlebitis 9 (27%). As per Naranjo's algorithm and WHO causality assessment, all reactions are probable except in one patient who received intravenous contrast administration was possible. According to the Hartwig severity scale, 23 (69%) reactions were mild, 7 (21%) reactions were moderate, and 3 (9%) reactions were severe. There was no fatality observed. Adverse events required immediate treatment in 22 (66%). Most of the reactions, i.e., 21 (63%) appeared immediately after contrast administration. 12 (36%) reactions appeared within next 30 minutes after contrast administration.Conclusion: The common adverse reactions to radiographic contrast were mild in severity such as nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, and giddiness. Most of the reactions occur immediately after administration of contrast. The causality of majority of the ADRs is probable. Pharmacovigilance is an important tool in detection, reporting and thereby preventing ADRs due to radiographic contrast media

Influence of Nano-/Microfiller Addition on Mechanical and Morphological Performance of Kenaf/Glass Fibre-Reinforced Hybrid Composites

Natural-based composite’s progress as carriers has revealed many benefits in biomedicine, notably in the construction field, synthetic biology, and genetic engineering. Compared to analogous composites without nanoparticles, incorporating nanoparticles into polymeric materials improved architectural performance, physiological connections, and ecological features. The major goal of the current investigation is to determine the impact of nano-/micro-TiO2 on the mechanical characteristics of kenaf/glass/epoxy hybrids. The samples have been created using a hand layup method and a variety of filler loading and stacking sequences. The addition of nano-/microfiller significantly improved the mechanical performance of the epoxy/hybrid composite material. It was discovered that nanofiller-added composite materials fared better when composites were compared to and without microfilter-added composites. SEM was used to investigate the microstructure of the interfaces to ensure a good understanding of interfacial adherence between the reinforcement and their matrix. Compared to pure epoxy resin, the 15 wt% of microfiller additions of glass-kenaf-kenaf-glass type composites exhibit a 39.48% improvement in tensile and a 42.88% improvement in flexural. Similarly, 5 wt% nanofiller addition reveals a 44.214% improvement in tensile and a 50.50% improvement in flexural

Developmenrt of EST-SSR and genomic-SSR markers to assess genetic diversity in Jatropha Curcas L.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Jatropha curcas L. </it>has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide, regarding its potential as a new biodiesel crop. However, the understanding of this crop remains very limited and little genomic research has been done. We used simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that could be transferred from <it>Manihot esculenta </it>(cassava) to analyze the genetic relationships among 45 accessions of <it>J. curcas </it>from our germplasm collection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 187 out of 419 expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSR and 54 out of 182 genomic (G)-SSR markers from cassava were polymorphic among the <it>J. curcas </it>accessions. The EST-SSR markers comprised 26.20% dinucleotide repeats, 57.75% trinucleotide repeats, 7.49% tetranucleotide repeats, and 8.56% pentanucleotide repeats, whereas the majority of the G-SSR markers were dinucleotide repeats (62.96%). The 187 EST-SSRs resided in genes that are involved mainly in biological and metabolic processes. Thirty-six EST-SSRs and 20 G-SSRs were chosen to analyze the genetic diversity among 45 <it>J. curcas </it>accessions. A total of 183 polymorphic alleles were detected. On the basis of the distribution of these polymorphic alleles, the 45 accessions were classified into six groups, in which the genotype showed a correlation with geographic origin. The estimated mean genetic diversity index was 0.5572, which suggests that our <it>J. curcas </it>germplasm collection has a high level of genetic diversity. This should facilitate subsequent studies on genetic mapping and molecular breeding.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We identified 241 novel EST-SSR and G-SSR markers in <it>J. curcas</it>, which should be useful for genetic mapping and quantitative trait loci analysis of important agronomic traits. By using these markers, we found that the intergroup gene diversity of <it>J. curcas </it>was greater than the intragroup diversity, and that the domestication of the species probably occurred partly in America and partly in Hainan, China.</p

Discovery of four recessive developmental disorders using probabilistic genotype and phenotype matching among 4,125 families.

Discovery of most autosomal recessive disease-associated genes has involved analysis of large, often consanguineous multiplex families or small cohorts of unrelated individuals with a well-defined clinical condition. Discovery of new dominant causes of rare, genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders has been revolutionized by exome analysis of large cohorts of phenotypically diverse parent-offspring trios. Here we analyzed 4,125 families with diverse, rare and genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders and identified four new autosomal recessive disorders. These four disorders were identified by integrating Mendelian filtering (selecting probands with rare, biallelic and putatively damaging variants in the same gene) with statistical assessments of (i) the likelihood of sampling the observed genotypes from the general population and (ii) the phenotypic similarity of patients with recessive variants in the same candidate gene. This new paradigm promises to catalyze the discovery of novel recessive disorders, especially those with less consistent or nonspecific clinical presentations and those caused predominantly by compound heterozygous genotypes

Cell-Cell Transmission Enables HIV-1 to Evade Inhibition by Potent CD4bs Directed Antibodies

HIV is known to spread efficiently both in a cell-free state and from cell to cell, however the relative importance of the cell-cell transmission mode in natural infection has not yet been resolved. Likewise to what extent cell-cell transmission is vulnerable to inhibition by neutralizing antibodies and entry inhibitors remains to be determined. Here we report on neutralizing antibody activity during cell-cell transmission using specifically tailored experimental strategies which enable unambiguous discrimination between the two transmission routes. We demonstrate that the activity of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and entry inhibitors during cell-cell transmission varies depending on their mode of action. While gp41 directed agents remain active, CD4 binding site (CD4bs) directed inhibitors, including the potent neutralizing mAb VRC01, dramatically lose potency during cell-cell transmission. This implies that CD4bs mAbs act preferentially through blocking free virus transmission, while still allowing HIV to spread through cell-cell contacts. Thus providing a plausible explanation for how HIV maintains infectivity and rapidly escapes potent and broadly active CD4bs directed antibody responses in vivo

Assessing the impact of a program for late surgical intervention in early-blind children

© 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health Objective Many blind children in the developing world are unable to obtain timely treatment due to lack of financial and medical resources. Can public health programs that identify and treat such children several years after the onset of blindness enhance their quality of life? The notion that visual development is subject to an early ‘critical period’ argues against this possibility. However, there are inadequate empirical data from humans on this issue. To address this need, we examined the quality of life of children living in India and who were treated for early-onset blindness (before one year of age), due to cataracts or corneal opacities. Study design Survey study. Methods As part of an ongoing scientific effort named Project Prakash, we screened over 40,000 children in rural northern India to identify those suffering from early-onset blindness. They were provided eye surgeries in a tertiary care ophthalmic center in New Delhi. We subsequently surveyed 64 Prakash children, ranging in age from 5 to 22 years and obtained their responses on a multi-dimensional quality of life questionnaire. Results Nearly all of the subjects indicated that their quality of life had improved after treatment. Children reported marked enhancement in their mobility, independence, and safety, and also in social integration. Surprisingly, we found no significant correlations between quality of life metrics and factors such as age at treatment, gender, time since treatment, and pre-surgery and post-surgery acuity. Conclusions A key question for public health policy makers is whether a program of surgical intervention for older blind children is likely to be beneficial, or if the resources are better spent on rehabilitation via vocational training and assistive devices. The marked improvements in quality of life we find in our data strongly argue for the provision of surgical care regardless of a child's age