Postnatal bladder dysfunction

Background: Voiding difficulty and urinary retention is a common phenomenon in immediate postpartum period. Absolute or relative failure to empty the bladder resulting from decreased bladder contractility (magnitude or duration) or increased bladder outlet resistance or both are defined as voiding dysfunction. It needs high index of suspicion or else can go undiagnosed and can lead to magnitude of problems. The study aims to calculate the incidence of dysfunction of bladder in postnatal women and to study risk factors associated with development of bladder dysfunction and management strategies in cases of bladder dysfunction.Methods: Authors did a prospective observational study in a tertiary care hospital. 200 postpartum women were screened for complaints of voiding dysfunction within 6 hours of removal of catheter in post caesarean patients and of normal vaginal delivery. Authors found that the voiding dysfunction was relatively common with an incidence of 20.20%. Following risk factors were analyzed: parity, mode of delivery, pain at suture site, baby weight, para-urethral tear.Results: Postpartum voiding dysfunction was found to be relatively common with statistically significant association found for pain at suture site and para urethral tear. Intra partum events contributed to voiding dysfunction. 93% of patients who with voiding dysfunction could be managed conservatively, and only 7% had to undergo intervention in the form of re catheterization.Conclusions: The early identification and treatment can reduce the pain and discomfort. Majority of the cases resolves with conservative management and nursing staff plays a key role in early detection of the symptoms

Accurate Demarcation of Protein Domain Linkers Based on Structural Analysis of Linker Probable Region

In multi-domainproteins, the domainsare connected by a flexible unstructured region called as protein domain linker. The accurate demarcation of these linkers holds a key to understanding of their biochemical and evolutionary attributes. This knowledge helps in designing a suitable linker for engineering stable multi-domain chimeric proteins. Here we propose a novel method for the demarcation of the linker based on a three-dimensional protein structure and a domain definition. The proposed method is based on biological knowledge about structural flexibility of the linkers. We performed structural analysis on a linker probable region (LPR) around domain boundary points of known SCOP domains. The LPR was described using a set of overlapping peptide fragments of fixed size. Each peptide fragment was then described by geometricinvariants (GIs) and subjected to clustering process where the fragments corresponding to actual linker comeupasoutliers.We then discover the actual linkers by finding the longest continuous stretch ofoutlier fragments from LPRs. This method was evaluated on a benchmark dataset of 51 continuous multi-domain proteins, where it achieves F1 score of 0.745 (0.83precision and 0.66recall). When the method was applied on 725 continuous multi-domain proteins, it was able to identify novel linkers that were not reported previously. This method can be used in combination with supervised /sequence based linker prediction methods for accurate linker demarcation.

Heusler-based synthetic antiferrimagnets

Antiferromagnet spintronic devices eliminate or mitigate long-range dipolar fields, thereby promising ultrafast operation. For spin transport electronics, one of the most successful strategies is the creation of metallic synthetic antiferromagnets, which, to date, have largely been formed from transition metals and their alloys. Here, we show that synthetic antiferrimagnetic sandwiches can be formed using exchange coupling spacer layers composed of atomically ordered RuAl layers and ultrathin, perpendicularly magnetized, tetragonal ferrimagnetic Heusler layers. Chemically ordered RuAl layers can both be grown on top of a Heusler layer and allow for the growth of ordered Heusler layers deposited on top of it that are as thin as one unit cell. The RuAl spacer layer gives rise to a thickness-dependent oscillatory interlayer coupling with an oscillation period of ~1.1 nm. The observation of ultrathin ordered synthetic antiferrimagnets substantially expands the family of synthetic antiferromagnets and magnetic compounds for spintronic technologies

Silencing of directional migration in roundabout4 knockdown endothelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Roundabouts are axon guidance molecules that have recently been identified to play a role in vascular guidance as well. In this study, we have investigated gene knockdown analysis of endothelial Robos, in particular <it>roundabout 4 </it>(<it>robo4</it>), the predominant Robo in endothelial cells using small interfering RNA technology <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Robo1 and Robo4 </it>knockdown cells display distinct activity in endothelial cell migration assay. The knockdown of <it>robo4 </it>abrogated the chemotactic response of endothelial cells to serum but enhanced a chemokinetic response to Slit2, while <it>robo1 </it>knockdown cells do not display chemotactic response to serum or VEGF. <it>Robo4 </it>knockdown endothelial cells unexpectedly show up regulation of Rho GTPases. Zebrafish Robo4 rescues both Rho GTPase homeostasis and serum reduced chemotaxis in <it>robo4 </it>knockdown cells. Robo1 and Robo4 interact and share molecules such as Slit2, Mena and Vilse, a Cdc42-GAP. In addition, this study mechanistically implicates IRSp53 in the signaling nexus between activated Cdc42 and Mena, both of which have previously been shown to be involved with Robo4 signaling in endothelial cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study identifies specific components of the Robo signaling apparatus that work together to guide directional migration of endothelial cells.</p

Effect of varying concentrations of salinity on some biochemical parameters involved in nitrogen metabolism of four grass species

ABSTRACT: Salinity adversely affects crop productivity and the quality of yield. The present work was carried out to estimate the changes in nitrogen metabolism under the influence of NaCl salinity in four selected grasses. All the species recorded a decrease in nitrate nitrogen content at the highest concentration of salinity stress (300 mM). Its maximum increase was 14 and 19% (100 mM) for Cymbopogon nardus and Cynodon dactylon, respectively. The maximum increase in nitrite nitrogen found was 11% (200 mM) in Cymbopogon nardus, 12% (100 mM) in Cynodon dactylon. The concentration of proline and amides in the leaves of all the experimental grasses showed a positive correlation with increasing concentrations of salinity. The maximum increase in proline content was 81, 88, 126, and 68% in Cymbopogon nardus, Cynodon dactylon, Pennisetum alopecuroides, and Vetiveria zizanioides, respectively, at 300 mM NaCl salinity. The concentration of free amino acids in the leaves of all the experimental grasses was considerably increased under saline condition and showed a positive correlation with increasing concentrations of salinity. Similar results were obtained in the case of amides. The concentration of nitrate reductase enzyme was elevated in Cymbopogon nardus and Pennisetum alopecuroides at lower salinity regime

Proposal for creating a centre for research in solar-terrestrial physics as an interdepartmental activity during IHY at Shivaji University, Kolhapur (16.40°N, 74.15°E)

This note describes teaching and R &amp; D activities presently being carried out in the solar-terrestrial Physics at the Space Science laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur. A variety of solar and geophysical ground based experiments are available, which can be operated on a regular basis during IHY, with financial help from the government funding agencies in India. The main purpose of this note is to briefly describe our experimental research facilities of relevance to IHY

Molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in natural Leishmania populations vary with genetic background

The evolution of drug-resistance in pathogens is a major global health threat. Elucidating the molecular basis of pathogen drug-resistance has been the focus of many studies but rarely is it known whether a drug-resistance mechanism identified is universal for the studied pathogen; it has seldom been clarified whether drug-resistance mechanisms vary with the pathogen's genotype. Nevertheless this is of critical importance in gaining an understanding of the complexity of this global threat and in underpinning epidemiological surveillance of pathogen drug resistance in the field. This study aimed to assess the molecular and phenotypic heterogeneity that emerges in natural parasite populations under drug treatment pressure. We studied lines of the protozoan parasite Leishmania (L.) donovani with differential susceptibility to antimonial drugs; the lines being derived from clinical isolates belonging to two distinct genetic populations that circulate in the leishmaniasis endemic region of Nepal. Parasite pathways known to be affected by antimonial drugs were characterised on five experimental levels in the lines of the two populations. Characterisation of DNA sequence, gene expression, protein expression and thiol levels revealed a number of molecular features that mark antimonial-resistant parasites in only one of the two populations studied. A final series of in vitro stress phenotyping experiments confirmed this heterogeneity amongst drug-resistant parasites from the two populations. These data provide evidence that the molecular changes associated with antimonial-resistance in natural Leishmania populations depend on the genetic background of the Leishmania population, which has resulted in a divergent set of resistance markers in the Leishmania populations. This heterogeneity of parasite adaptations provides severe challenges for the control of drug resistance in the field and the design of molecular surveillance tools for widespread applicability

Leishmania donovani: Immunostimulatory Cellular Responses of Membrane and Soluble Protein Fractions of Splenic Amastigotes in Cured Patient and Hamsters

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by the intracellular parasite Leishmania donovani, L. chagasi and L. infantum is characterized by defective cell-mediated immunity (CMI) and is usually fatal if not treated properly. An estimated 350 million people worldwide are at risk of acquiring infection with Leishmania parasites with approximately 500,000 cases of VL being reported each year. In the absence of an efficient and cost-effective antileishmanial drug, development of an appropriate long-lasting vaccine against VL is the need of the day. In VL, the development of a CMI, capable of mounting Th1-type of immune responses, play an important role as it correlate with recovery from and resistance to disease. Resolution of infection results in lifelong immunity against the disease which indicates towards the feasibility of a vaccine against the disease. Most of the vaccination studies in Leishmaniasis have been focused on promastigote- an infective stage of parasite with less exploration of pathogenic amastigote form, due to the cumbersome process of its purified isolation. In the present study, we have isolated and purified splenic amastigotes of L. donovani, following the traditional protocol with slight modification. These were fractionated into five membranous and soluble subfractions each i.e MAF1-5 and SAF1-5 and were subjected for evaluation of their ability to induce cellular responses. Out of five sub-fractions from each of membrane and soluble, only four viz. MAF2, MAF3, SAF2 and SAF3 were observed to stimulate remarkable lymphoproliferative, IFN-γ, IL-12 responses and Nitric Oxide production, in Leishmania-infected cured/exposed patients and hamsters. Results suggest the presence of Th-1 type immunostimulatory molecules in these sub-fractions which may further be exploited for developing a successful subunit vaccine from the less explored pathogenic stage against VL