Hardware and software integration and testing for the automation of bright-field microscopy for tuberculosis detection

Automated microscopy for the detection of tuberculosis (TB) in sputum smears would reduce the load on technicians, especially in countries with a high TB burden. This dissertation reports on the development and testing of an automated system built around a conventional microscope for the detection of TB in Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stained sputum smears. Microscope auto-focusing, image analysis and stage movement were integrated. Images were captured at 40x magnification

Pengubahsuaian Kaedah Analisis Bagi Pironaridina Di Dalam Plasma Dan Perbandingan Formulasi Pironaridina Dalam Kajian Farmakokinetik

Pironaridina merupakan drug antimalaria yang berpotensi tinggi dalam rawatan malaria dan baru-baru ini ia menghasilkan keputusan yang menggalakkan di dalam cubaan klinikal yang dijalankan di Cameroon dan Thailand. Pyronaridine is a promising drug for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and has been recently received encouraging results in clinical trials conducted in Cameroon and Thailand

An unusual presentation of choriocarcinoma

Choriocarcinoma is the most malignant growth arising from the uterine body. Incidence of choriocarcinoma following vesicular mole is 29-83%. Diagnosis of choriocarcinoma is by histopathology only. In the present case 22year old woman with history of vesicular mole evacuation 8 months back suddenly landed in shock. During her irregular follow up, misleading ultrasonographic findings and clinical features delayed the diagnosis of advanced choriocarcinoma till it perforated through the uterus and patient landed in shock due to massive hemoperitoneum.We report this case because of its unusual presentation which led to diagnostic dilemma and mismanagement

NOVEL SYNTHESIS OF PEG COATED IRON NANOPARTICLES (Fe3O4) AND IT’S EVALUATION OF CONTROLLED RELEASE KINETICS IN DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Magnetic Nanoparticles (MNPs) because of their high magnetic responsiveness, biodegradability, high delivery efficiency and potential targeting function is a possible material as drug delivery system, since  drug –loaded MNPs can be directly injected in to solid tumors and   are expected to be held in place by an external magnetic field and to release the drug in a controlled manner. In the present research study Synthesis, Characterization and in vitro rate studies of super paramagnetic Iron Nanoparticles coated with PEG has been carried out. The nanoparticle synthesized in the present study had an average particle size of ~ 30 nm. starch-based polysaccharide nanocarrier encapsulated with the drug i.e. THC and MNPs as anticancer drug delivery was constructed. This efficiently reduces tumor growth thus providing a proof of concept for the utilization of this formulation in cannabinoid-based anti-cancer therapies. Evaluation of THC loaded magnetic nanoparticles was successfully carried out and correlation coefficient (R2) value 0.999 and drug released was found to be 97% for 48hrs at pH7.0. The entrapment efficiency and drug loading of THC-MNPs in the starch based nanoparticles was found to be high.Â

Benthos - Polychaetes

Polychaetes are one of the major benthic group of animals just like molluscs and crustaceans. Globally 12,620 species of Polychaetes are supposed to be occurring and in India around, 1,093 species representing 8.66% of the total number of polychaete species are known. Polychaetes are very important in the marine and brackish water ecosystems extending from the abyssal depths to the inter-tidal regions. Its major role is through the biomass formation in the benthic as well as in the pelagic aquatic systems as sedentary and pelagic polychaetes and through the different larval forms released by them. It also forms the major food for crustaceans, molluscs as well as for fishes. Because of the special adaptive nature of this group, Polychaetes are distributed in almost all ecological conditions, both in the macro and micro environments having different ranges of salinities and dissolved oxygen. Certain species survive in the anaerobic conditions also

SPECTRO-ANALYTICAL, COMPUTATIONAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON 4-PYRIDINE CARBOXALDEHYDE-3-HYDROXY-5-(HYDROXY METHYL)-2-METHYL HYDRAZONE HYDROCHLORIDE AND ITS CU (II) COMPLEXCA

Objective: The title compound 4-pyridine carboxaldehyde 3-hydroxy-5-(hydroxy methyl)-2-methyl hydrazone (PCHHMMH) hydrochloride an analogue of Pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone PIH, is an iron chelator. The PCHHMMH has potential donor sites suitable for metal ion binding, the study on structural aspects of the compound and its copper complex are explored. With a view to understand biological importance of title compounds, antimicrobial and cytotoxic studies were planned. Methods: In the present study the spectroanalytical techniques employed were pH-metry, spectrophotometry, IR, 1H & 13C-NMR, UV-Vis, ESR, Magnetic measurements, TGA and SEM. The computational method employed is HyperChem 7.5 software. The antimicrobial studies were carried out by agar disc diffusion method for antibacterial studies against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The cytotoxic potential was measured by Sulforhodamine B (SRB) method against selected tumor cells. Results: The equilibrium studies by employing pH-metric method inferred the dissociation of two protons in it. Further titration in presence of Cu (II) ion, it is confirmed the release of two protons from title compound and formation of corresponding complex. The orientations of frontier orbitals for molecular and ionized forms of compound were computed to understand the electronic properties. The Cu (II) PCHHMMH complex was characterized by spectroanalytical methods and screened for, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Conclusion: As the structural features are important to understand the chemical behavior of metal complexes, in the present study copper complex was synthesized and characterized by employing various spectro-analytical tools viz; IR, 1H & 13C-NMR, UV-Vis, ESR, Magnetic measurements, TGA and SEM. Further the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities were evaluated and correlated with computed QSAR data

Temporal and spatial variations in particulate matter, particulate organic carbon and attenuation coefficient in Cochin backwaters

242-245Nine stations over a stretch of 21 km of Periyar river estuary were sampled during January to December 1981. Particulate matter varied from 3-253 mg.l-1 at the surface and 24.8-257mg. l-1 at the bottom. Particulate organic carbon ranged between 0.2 and 8.02 mg. l-1 at the surface and 0.2 and 8.48 mg. l-1 at the bottom except for a stray value of 15.91 mg. l-1 at the bottom of st 1. Attenuation coefficient (k) values were high during non-monsoon months. Extraneous inputs in general influenced these parameters only locally. Temporal and spatial variations by and large were governed by the monsoonal cycle. Influence of allochthonous contributions has been discussed with special reference to effluents

Functional Profiling Of Metabolic Regulation In Marine Bacteria

Oceans are powered by active, metabolically diverse microorganisms, which are important in regulating biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Most of the ocean surface is often limited by nutrients, influencing bacterial growth and activities. Bacterial adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions involves extensive reprogramming, and redirection of bacterial metabolism and physiology. In this thesis, I investigated the molecular mechanisms of bacterial adaptation strategies to sustain their growth and survival, focusing on the regulation of gene and protein expression in heterotrophic marine bacteria. Comparative proteomics analyses of the growth and non-growth conditions, uncovered central adaptations that marine bacteria employ to allow them to change their metabolism to support exponential growth in response to nutrients and to readjust to stationary phase under nutrient limitation. Our results highlight that during nutrient rich conditions three distinct bacteria lineages have great similarities in their proteome. On the other hand, we observed pronounced differences in behavior between taxa during stationary phase. Analyses of the proteorhodopsin containing bacterium Vibrio sp. AND4 during starvation showed that significantly improved survival in the light compared to darkness. Notably, proteins involved in promoting cell vitality and survival had higher relative abundance under light. In contrast, cells in the dark need to degrade their endogenous resources to support their basic cellular demands under starvation. Thus, light strongly influences how PR-containing bacteria organize their molecular composition in response to starvation. Study of alternative energy generation metabolisms in the Alphaproteobacteria Phaeobacter sp. MED193 showed that the addition of thiosulfate enhanced the bacterial growth yields. Concomitantly, inorganic sulfur oxidation gene expression increased with thiosulfate compared to controls. Moreover, thiosulfate stimulated protein synthesis and anaplerotic CO2 fixation. These findings imply that this bacterium could use their lithotrophic potential to gain additional energy from sulfur oxidation for both improving their growth and survival. This thesis concludes that analyses in model organisms under defined growth conditions gives invaluable knowledge about the regulatory networks and physiological strategies that ensure the growth and survival of heterotrophic bacteria. This is critically important for interpreting bacterial responses to dynamic environmental changes. Moreover, these analyses are crucial for understanding genetic and proteomic responses in microbial communities or uncultivated organisms in terms of defining ecological niches of planktonic bacteri