The effectiveness of national influenza vaccination policies for at-risk populations over 5 seasons in a Scottish general practice.

AIM: To determine the effectiveness of serial influenza vaccination. SCOPE: Studied in a Scottish GP population, the overall seroresponse rate increased with annual influenza vaccinations and after 5 years it increased from 45.1% to 93.3% for influenza virus A (H1) and from 48.4% to 98.3% for influenza virus A (H3). However, there was little boosting effect with further doses after becoming a seroresponder. The pre-vaccination titres were significantly higher in previous year's seroresponders compared to non-responders. CONCLUSIONS: The policy of annual vaccination is supported by our data in order to increase the disappointing response rate after one dose. However, the lack of a boosting response with subsequent doses and the significant residual immunity after becoming a seroresponder suggests a prior serological immunity check in order to better direct the vaccine supply (in the years of no antigenic drift), to those who need it most

High efficiency phytoextraction of barium using Amaranthus viridis L.

Heavy metal pollutants in the environment are emerging global concern. Barium is one of the heavy metal abundantly used in the manufacture of firecrackers and match industries. This work is aim to eradicate barium from these industrial sites; the new-flanged phytoextraction technology is used to mitigate the metal pollution through hyperaccumulators. Plant used in phytoextraction should accumulate and translocate  specific pollutants especially heavy metals. This work aims to assess the tolerance mechanism of Amaranthus viridis L. a selective native hyperaccumulator under barium chloride stress. Morphometric, biochemical, enzymatic activity, accumulation, translocation and mobility of barium form soil to root and leaves were studied in co-cultivated hyperaccumulator (Amaranthus viridis) and hypoaccumulator (Abelmuscus esculentus) at various concentration levels of barium. Amaranthus viridis accumulated fourfold to fivefold barium in roots, shoots and leaves than Abelmuscus esculentusL. This is well understand that Amaranthus viridis showing higher accumulation of barium, more translocation of barium from root to shoot and good mobility. The mobility of barium was increased form level 1 to level 3. It was revealed that the accumulation of barium was more in root and shoot of Amaranthus viridis. It is inferred from the present study that A.esculentus is a hypoaccumulator and is sensitive to barium. When co-cultivated with Amaranthus viridis showing less of metal toxicity because Amaranthus viridis being hyperaccumulator of barium, accumulate more metal and save Abelmuscus esculentus. It is strongly suggest that the hyperaccumulator Amaranthus viridis L. should grown in the barium polluted sites and make the environment sans heavy metal pollution

Use Of Glucan From Saccharomyces Cerevisiae As An Immunostimulant In Carp: Impact On Hematology, Phagocyte Function, And Infection With Aeromonas Hydrophila

Glucan was extracted from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and subjected to chemical analy- ses. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed that glucan is primarily composed of glucose units and contains 97.2% glucose. Infrared spectrum showed a major band at 883/cm, suggest- ing that glucan is linked to β-glycosidic. Intraperitoneal administration of different doses of glu- can enhanced the survival rate of carp (Cyprinus carpio) infected by Aeromonas hydrophila. When a concentration above 500 μg glucan per fish was administered, survival relative to the uninfected control was 100%. The total leukocyte count and neutrophil and monocyte popula- tions increased after administration of the glucan. The maximum effect occurred on day 6 after injection. Macrophages of compound-administrated test animals significantly increased produc- tion of superoxide anions, efficiently killing the bacterial pathogen. This study showed that glu- can can be effective in inducing non-specific cellular defense mechanism in carp

p38α (MAPK14) critically regulates the immunological response and the production of specific cytokines and chemokines in astrocytes.

In CNS lesions, "reactive astrocytes" form a prominent cellular response. However, the nature of this astrocyte immune activity is not well understood. In order to study astrocytic immune responses to inflammation and injury, we generated mice with conditional deletion of p38α (MAPK14) in GFAP+ astrocytes. We studied the role of p38α signaling in astrocyte immune activation both in vitro and in vivo, and simultaneously examined the effects of astrocyte activation in CNS inflammation. Our results showed that specific subsets of cytokines (TNFα, IL-6) and chemokines (CCL2, CCL4, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL10) are critically regulated by p38α signaling in astrocytes. In an in vivo CNS inflammation model of intracerebral injection of LPS, we observed markedly attenuated astrogliosis in conditional GFAPcre p38α(-/-) mice. However, GFAPcre p38α(-/-) mice showed marked upregulation of CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CXCL2, CXCL10, TNFα, and IL-1β compared to p38αfl/fl cohorts, suggesting that in vivo responses to LPS after GFAPcre p38α deletion are complex and involve interactions between multiple cell types. This finding was supported by a prominent increase in macrophage/microglia and neutrophil recruitment in GFAPcre p38α(-/-) mice compared to p38αfl/fl controls. Together, these studies provide important insights into the critical role of p38α signaling in astrocyte immune activation

Marine fisheries development in Tamil Nadu

Fisheries development is governed by the stock of fishery resources, the level and types of fishing effort and the use of diversified craft and gear. The growing Importance of fishery resources and the level of their exploitation are traced in this paper. The marine capture fisheries account for a substantial proportion of the total fish production in Tamil Nadu. The present level of fish landings, their seasonal variation and the major species groups are brought out. The developmental programme aimed at increasing fish production are reviewed. The need for innovations In and diversification of fishing methods is highlighted. The Impact of investment on fish production is analysed with a time frame of ten years. Basic needs of fisher folk which have a bearing on fisheries development are identified. Technological developments made over the last decade are mentioned with a note on the extent of non-adoption of new technology and the major determinants thereof are pointed out for remedying the situation. Culture practices in suitable areas along the coasts are stressed to provide employment opportunities that step up production. Developments in the preservation and processing of the sea foods are presented and the scope for the establishment of a stable Internal and external market is explored. The state of affairs of marine or coastal fisheries management and suggestions for toning up resource management are stressed. The need for sea ranching and SCUBA diving Is Indicated. The vital feature of training and the nature and areas of extension programmes are also pointed out for ushering In speedier development of the sector

Some observations on primary production and plankton biomass along the continental shelf and slope off the northeast coast of India during January 1989

The present study deals with the quantitative aspects of chlorophyll pigments, primary productivity and plankton biomass from the continental shelf and slope off the northeast coast of India between 16° and 20°N latitudes towards the end of northeast monsoon season. In surface waters, the mean values of chl-a, -b, and -c were 0.249,0.275 and 0.837 mg/m^ along the shelf and 0.246,0.260 and 0.805 mg/m^ in the slope respectively while the net primary productivity values were 0.074 and 0.081 g C/m /d for the shelf and slope waters respectively. Column productivity in the upper 0-50 m water in the shelf and slope regions were 2.9 and 3.25 g C/m /d with an average production of 3.08 g C/m /d. Higher rate of production was observed around 18° and 20°N latitudes. Zooplankton biomass exhibited progressive increase in volume from 16° to 20°N. The estimated mean zooplankton biomass volume of the study area was 28.83 ml/m . The mean transfer coefficient from primary to secondary production was found to be 14% when 50% of the zooplankton biomass was considered as the daily rate of production. From the mean primary and secondary productivity values, potential tertiary production of pelagic fishery resources in the upper 0-50 m water column of the study area for the month was assessed

A TSPO ligand is protective in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

Local production of neurosteroids such as progesterone and allopregnanolone confers neuroprotection in central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory diseases. The mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) performs a rate-limiting step in the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone and its steroid derivatives. Previous studies have shown that TSPO is upregulated in microglia and astroglia during neural inflammation, and radiolabelled TSPO ligands such as PK11195 have been used to image and localize injury in the CNS. Recent studies have shown that modulating TSPO activity with pharmacological ligands such as etifoxine can initiate the production of neurosteroids locally in the injured CNS. In this study, we examined the effects of etifoxine, a clinically available anxiolytic drug, in the development and progression of mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an experimental model for multiple sclerosis (MS). Our results showed that etifoxine attenuated EAE severity when administered before the development of clinical signs and also improved symptomatic recovery when administered at the peak of the disease. In both cases, recovery was correlated with diminished inflammatory pathology in the lumbar spinal cord. Modulation of TSPO activity by etifoxine led to less peripheral immune cell infiltration of the spinal cord, and increased oligodendroglial regeneration after inflammatory demyelination in EAE. Our results suggest that a TSPO ligand, e.g. etifoxine, could be a potential new therapeutic option for MS with benefits that could be comparable to the administration of systemic steroids but potentially avoiding the detrimental side effects of long-term direct use of steroids

Enhancement of Solubility and Dissolution Rate of Racecadotril through Solid Dispersion Methods.

The oral route of drug administration is the most common and preferred method of delivery due to convenience and ease of ingestion. From a patient’s perspective, swallowing a dosage form is a comfortable and a familiar means of taking medication as a result, patient compliance and hence drug treatment is typically more effective with orally administered medications as compared with other routes of administration, for example,parenteral. Although the oral route of administration is preferred, for many drugs it can be a problematic and inefficient mode of delivery for a number of reasons limited drug absorption resulting in poor bioavailability is paramount amongst the potential problems that can be encountered when delivering an active agent via the oral route. the kneading, melting, solvent evaporation and freeze drying methods are useful methods for the successful enhancement of solubility of poorly water soluble drug Racecadotril with faster dissolution rate further, it may be assumed that the solubility and dissolution rate can be increased due to the conversion of crystalline matter into amorphous powder. Hence we can conclude that solid dispersion of Racecadotri by using the water soluble carrier PVP K30 in the ratio 1:3 prepared by kneading method provide best release of drug (72.7% released in 60 mins) among all the formulations, and this ratio can be used to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drug Racecadotril