BIFURCATION OF SUPERIOR ARTICULAR FACETS OF ATLAS VERTEBRA: A CASE STUDY IN DRY BONES

Objective: The objective of the study was to see the superior articular facets (SAF) of atlas vertebrae for complete bifurcation. Methods: In a number of 50 atlas vertebrae with 100 SAF were studied for the tendency to complete separation in the Department of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine of Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar during the period of January 2015 to January 2016. Results: Out of 50 atlas vertebrae (100 AF), we observed complete bifurcation on both sides in 14 atlas vertebrae (28 sides) and complete bifurcation right side only in six atlas vertebrae and complete bifurcation left side only in 14 atlas vertebrae. The results were compared with those of other studies and were statistically analyzed. Discussion: The clinical significance of this study has been thus discussed with a reference to its possible effect on the restriction of the neck movement at the atlanto-occipital joint. Conclusion: This study is of great importance to the clinicians for doing any clinical facet procedure in the neck region

Use of low-dose oral theophylline as an adjunct to inhaled corticosteroids in preventing exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with high morbidity, mortality, and health-care costs. An incomplete response to the anti-inflammatory effects of inhaled corticosteroids is present in COPD. Preclinical work indicates that 'low dose' theophylline improves steroid responsiveness. The Theophylline With Inhaled Corticosteroids (TWICS) trial investigates whether the addition of 'low dose' theophylline to inhaled corticosteroids has clinical and cost-effective benefits in COPD. METHOD/DESIGN: TWICS is a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted in primary and secondary care sites in the UK. The inclusion criteria are the following: an established predominant respiratory diagnosis of COPD (post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in first second/forced vital capacity [FEV1/FVC] of less than 0.7), age of at least 40 years, smoking history of at least 10 pack-years, current inhaled corticosteroid use, and history of at least two exacerbations requiring treatment with antibiotics or oral corticosteroids in the previous year. A computerised randomisation system will stratify 1424 participants by region and recruitment setting (primary and secondary) and then randomly assign with equal probability to intervention or control arms. Participants will receive either 'low dose' theophylline (Uniphyllin MR 200 mg tablets) or placebo for 52 weeks. Dosing is based on pharmacokinetic modelling to achieve a steady-state serum theophylline of 1-5 mg/l. A dose of theophylline MR 200 mg once daily (or placebo once daily) will be taken by participants who do not smoke or participants who smoke but have an ideal body weight (IBW) of not more than 60 kg. A dose of theophylline MR 200 mg twice daily (or placebo twice daily) will be taken by participants who smoke and have an IBW of more than 60 kg. Participants will be reviewed at recruitment and after 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome is the total number of participant-reported COPD exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids or antibiotics during the 52-week treatment period. DISCUSSION: The demonstration that 'low dose' theophylline increases the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids in COPD by reducing the incidence of exacerbations is relevant not only to patients and clinicians but also to health-care providers, both in the UK and globally. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN27066620 was registered on Sept. 19, 2013, and the first subject was randomly assigned on Feb. 6, 2014

Phenylbutyrate Counteracts Shigella Mediated Downregulation of Cathelicidin in Rabbit Lung and Intestinal Epithelia: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy

BACKGROUND: Cathelicidins and defensins are endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are downregulated in the mucosal epithelia of the large intestine in shigellosis. Oral treatment of Shigella infected rabbits with sodium butyrate (NaB) reduces clinical severity and counteracts the downregulation of cathelicidin (CAP-18) in the large intestinal epithelia. AIMS: To develop novel regimen for treating infectious diseases by inducing innate immunity, we selected sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (PB), a registered drug for a metabolic disorder as a potential therapeutic candidate in a rabbit model of shigellosis. Since acute respiratory infections often cause secondary complications during shigellosis, the systemic effect of PB and NaB on CAP-18 expression in respiratory epithelia was also evaluated. METHODS: The readouts were clinical outcomes, CAP-18 expression in mucosa of colon, rectum, lung and trachea (immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR) and release of the CAP-18 peptide/protein in stool (Western blot). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Significant downregulation of CAP-18 expression in the epithelia of rectum and colon, the site of Shigella infection was confirmed. Interestingly, reduced expression of CAP-18 was also noticed in the epithelia of lung and trachea, indicating a systemic effect of the infection. This suggests a causative link to acute respiratory infections during shigellosis. Oral treatment with PB resulted in reduced clinical illness and upregulation of CAP-18 in the epithelium of rectum. Both PB and NaB counteracted the downregulation of CAP-18 in lung epithelium. The drug effect is suggested to be systemic as intravenous administration of NaB could also upregulate CAP-18 in the epithelia of lung, rectum and colon. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that PB has treatment potential in human shigellosis. Enhancement of CAP-18 in the mucosal epithelia of the respiratory tract by PB or NaB is a novel discovery. This could mediate protection from secondary respiratory infections that frequently are the lethal causes in dysentery

Vector-Virus Mutualism Accelerates Population Increase of an Invasive Whitefly

The relationships between plant viruses, their herbivore vectors and host plants can be beneficial, neutral, or antagonistic, depending on the species involved. This variation in relationships may affect the process of biological invasion and the displacement of indigenous species by invaders when the invasive and indigenous organisms occur with niche overlap but differ in the interactions. The notorious invasive B biotype of the whitefly complex Bemisia tabaci entered China in the late 1990s and is now the predominant or only biotype in many regions of the country. Tobacco curly shoot virus (TbCSV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) are two whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses that have become widespread recently in south China. We compared the performance of the invasive B and indigenous ZHJ1 whitefly biotypes on healthy, TbCSV-infected and TYLCCNV-infected tobacco plants. Compared to its performance on healthy plants, the invasive B biotype increased its fecundity and longevity by 12 and 6 fold when feeding on TbCSV-infected plants, and by 18 and 7 fold when feeding on TYLCCNV-infected plants. Population density of the B biotype on TbCSV- and TYLCCNV-infected plants reached 2 and 13 times that on healthy plants respectively in 56 days. In contrast, the indigenous ZHJ1 performed similarly on healthy and virus-infected plants. Virus-infection status of the whiteflies per se of both biotypes showed limited effects on performance of vectors on cotton, a nonhost plant of the viruses. The indirect mutualism between the B biotype whitefly and these viruses via their host plants, and the apparent lack of such mutualism for the indigenous whitefly, may contribute to the ability of the B whitefly biotype to invade, the displacement of indigenous whiteflies, and the disease pandemics of the viruses associated with this vector

Not Available

Not AvailableA field experiment on rainfed sunflower was conducted during kharif 2014 at College agriculture farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study the effect of humic acid under nutrient management practices on seed yield, oil yield, protein yield, volume weight and hull content of rainfed sunflower. The experiment was laid out in Split plot design with eigthteen treatments (Six main and three sub-treatments and replicated thrice). The six main treatments consisted of M1-Absolute control, M2 - compost @ 2.5t/ha, M3-Compost @ 5t/ha, M4- RDF alone (60-60-30 kg N, P2O5,K2O/ha), M5- RDF+ compost @ 2.5t/ha and M6- RDF+compost @ 5t/ha and three sub-plot treatments consisted of application of varying levels of humic acid granules (basal) viz., S1 - 5.0kg/ha, S2- 10.0 kg/ha and S3- 15.0kg/ha. The crop was grown completely under rainfed conditions. During the crop growth period (July 9 to Oct 9) a total of 329.7mm rainfall was received in 24 rainy days and it was deficit by 57.14% over the decennial average of 519.1mm received in 30 rainy days. A total of 11 dry spells occurred during the crop growth period coinciding with the vegetative (5) and reproductive stages (6). The results revealed that among all the nutrient management practices maximum seed, oil and protein yield (1959, 741 and 224 kg/ha, respectively) was recorded with the combined application of RDF (60-60-30 N, P2O5, K2O kg/ha) + Compost @ 5t/ha and the lowest oil yield, protein and seed yield were observed under absolute control. The effect of varying levels of humic acid was found to be non significant on oil yield, protein yield and seed yield.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailablePhosphorus (P) is an essential macro-nutrient required for growth and development of all crop plants including rice. Low availability of P in the soils manifests in terms of impeding crop growth leading to yield losses in rice. Adequate genetic variability for low soil P tolerance and also P use efficiency has been documented in rice and a major QTL called Pup1, conferring tolerance to low soil P has been identified, characterized and cloned from an Indian landrace, Kasalath. In the present study, a set of 98 germplasm lines collected from North-Eastern part of India were characterized for low soil P tolerance by screening them in a plot with low soil P (with available P  20 kg ha−1). The rice lines showed significantly high genetic variability for low soil P tolerance associated traits. Stress indices were estimated based on yield under normal and low soil P conditions and cluster analysis based on the stress indices; yield under normal and low soil P condition grouped the genotypes into highly tolerant, tolerant and sensitive to low soil P. Among the rice lines, 18 showed tolerance to low soil P (i.e. yield reduction < 70% in low soil P condition). The genotypic analysis based on Pup1 associated molecular markers revealed the presence of complete or partial Pup1 genomic region in most of the germplasm lines. Interestingly, a landrace called Wazuhophek was observed to be completely devoid of Pup1 and hence it can serve as novel source for low P tolerance.Department of Biotechnology, Government of Indi