Short term outcome of primary un-cemented total hip arthroplasty in osteonecrosis of femoral head

Background: Osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH) is characterised by cell death in the subchondral bone caused by abnormalities of blood flow to the femoral head. About 5% to 13% of arthroplasties are performed yearly for ONFH in United States. Ficat and Arlet classification is the commonest system used for grading of ONFH. Advanced stages 3 and 4 are best managed with total hip arthroplasty (THA). THA restores hip range of movement and allows early ambulation in ONFH.Methods: After seeking approval from local institutional ethical committee 25 patients with stage 3 and stage 4 ONFH (Ficat and Arlet) were admitted from OPD of SKIMS MC and Hospital Bemina, Srinagar. The study was conducted from February 2018 to February 2020 in department of Orthopaedics SKIMS MC and Hospital Bemina, Srinagar.  25 patients with mean age of 50.64 years comprising of 13 females and 12 males with unilateral osteonecrosis of femoral head with collapsed head underwent uncemented total hip arthroplasty and were followed up to a minimum of 1 year post-operatively.Results: Outcome was evaluated by comparing pre-operative and post-operative Harris hip scores. The average Harris hip scores improved from 65.87 in the pre-operative group to 96.54 at 1-year follow-up post-operatively. Marked improvement was noted in pain scores. No revisions were performed during the study. One patient developed superficial surgical site infection which healed with supervised dressings and oral antibiotics.Conclusions: Uncemented THA has excellent short-term outcomes in advanced stages of ONFH. It provides mobile hip joint and pain free ambulation shortly after surgery

Surgical resection of Haglund deformity by lateral approach: our institutional experience on 29 heels

Background: Haglund deformity is a common cause of posterior heel pain and consists of a constellation of soft tissue and osseous abnormalities. The treatment starts with conservative approach and ends with surgical treatment in case conservative treatment fails and the symptoms are bothersome. Different surgical procedures and approaches have been used for this deformity. But in the literature, the results have been inconsistent. In this study we evaluated the clinical and functional outcome of osteotomy of the calcaneal tuberosity with debridement of the retrocalcaneal bursa and the Achilles tendon using a lateral approach at our institute.Methods: A total of 29 feet in 25 patients that underwent surgical procedure from August 2013 to March 2017 at our institute were included in this study. The clinical and functional outcome was evaluated using AOFAS ankle-hind foot scale.Results: The mean AOFAS ankle-hind foot score had improved by 32 points from the pre-operative mean score, with a mean score of 86 at the final follow up of one year. Five out of 29 operated feet had superficial surgical site infection in the postoperative period that responded to antibiotic therapy and regular antiseptic dressings. One patient had local betadine allergy.Conclusions: We conclude lateral approach to debridement and calcaneal tuberosity resection is an effective method with good clinical and functional outcome in patients with refractory Haglund deformity.

Evaluation of the Cross-Protective Efficacy of a Chimeric Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Constructed Based on Two Field Strains

One of the major hurdles to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) vaccinology is the limited or no cross-protection conferred by current vaccines. To overcome this challenge, a PRRS chimeric virus (CV) was constructed using an FL12-based cDNA infectious clone in which open reading frames (ORFs) 3–4 and ORFs 5–6 were replaced with the two Korean field isolates K08-1054 and K07-2273,respectively. This virus was evaluated as a vaccine candidate to provide simultaneous protection against two genetically distinct PRRS virus (PRRSV) strains. Thirty PRRS-negative three-week-old pigs were divided into five groups and vaccinated with CV, K08-1054, K07-2273, VR-2332, or a mock inoculum. At 25 days post-vaccination (dpv), the pigs in each group were divided further into two groups and challenged with either K08-1054 or K07-2273. All of the pigs were observed until 42 dpv and were euthanized for pathological evaluation. Overall, the CV-vaccinated group exhibited higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and interleukin-12 (IL-12) expression and of serum virus-neutralizing antibodies compared with the other groups after vaccination and also demonstrated better protection levels against both viruses compared with the challenge control group. Based on these results, it was concluded that CV might be an effective vaccine model that can confer a broader range of cross-protection to various PRRSV strains

Climatic Events and Natural Disasters of 21st Century: A Perspective of Pakistan

In recent years, the frequent occurrence of natural calamities in the world has gained much attention due to infrastructure and life losses. Increase in global temperature has threatened the earth’s climate, causing unpredictable and extreme weather events more often. These events were both short-term as well as long-term. In spite of insufficient monitoring coverage of inner areas and high altitudes, an intensification of average yearly temperature has been observed after the 20th century in many regions of Asia. Pakistan has faced a number of natural disasters including severe floods, devastating earthquakes, disturbing droughts, distressing smog, extreme temperature and torrential rainfall patterns. These calamities have affected people economically, socially, physically and mentally by posing a threat to earth, its species and their livelihood. This paper was aimed to document the natural calamities in Pakistan since the beginning of 21st century till date. The country is facing the problem of intense and longer summers and has witnessed two intense heat waves. Moreover, in some areas, extensive droughts are threatening crops, freshwater supply and wildlife. In recent years, the problem of smog has emerged in Pakistan, especially in Punjab. The problem is getting worse in every coming year due to overpopulation, cities expansion, increased emission of greenhouse gases, open burning of crop residues and extreme reliance on fossil fuels for energy purpose. So far in this century, Pakistan has faced 3 droughts, 2 heat waves, 10 severe floods, 27 major earthquakes, 2 consecutive sessions of severe smog and extreme high and low temperature events. Some of the deadliest events were; 2005 Kashmir earthquake claiming 87,350 human lives and 2010 flood impacting nearly 20 million people with 1,781 causalities. Change in climate is posing a severe threat to species, livelihood of the human beings and the earth. Global warming is causing warming of oceans and consequently rise in sea level. Climate change affects average as well as extreme temperatures hence increasing the probability climate-related disasters. Thus, global warming is causing a chain of catastrophic events that make the problem even more complex to understand

Scavenger receptor B1 facilitates the endocytosis of \u3ci\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/i\u3e via TLR4 signaling in mammary gland infection

SCARB1 belongs to class B of Scavenger receptors (SRs) that are known to be involved in binding and endocytosis of various pathogens. SRs have emerging role in regulating innate immunity and host–pathogen interactions by acting in co-ordination with Toll-like receptors.Query Little is known about the function of SCARB1 in milk-derived mammary epithelial cells (MECs). This study reports the role of SCARB1 in infection and its potential association in TLR4 signaling on bacterial challenge in Goat mammary epithelial cells (GMECs). The novelty in the establishment of MEC culture lies in the method that aims to enhance the viability of the cells with intact characteristics upto a higher passage number. We represent MEC culture to be used as a potential infection model for deeper understanding of animal physiology especially around the mammary gland. On E.coli challenge the expression of SCARB1 was signifcant in induced GMECs at 6 h. Endoribonuclease-esiRNA based silencing of SCARB1 affects the expression of TLR4 and its pathways i.e. MyD88 and TRIF pathways on infection. Knockdown also affected the endocytosis of E.coli in GMECs demonstrating that E.coli uses SCARB1 function to gain entry in cells. Furthermore, we predict 3 unique protein structures of uncharacterized SCARB1 (Capra hircus) protein. Overall, we highlight SCARB1 as a main participant in host defence and its function in antibacterial advances to check mammary gland infections

Functional Foods and Human Health: An Overview

Functional food is a whole ingredient or a part of food that used as food for specific therapeutic purposes. It is divided into two wide categories: Conventional and modified functional foods. Conventional functional Foods are composed of natural or whole-food ingredients that provide functional substances while modified functional is food or food products in which add additional ingredients for specific health purposes. Plant-based food such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, cereals, nuts and beans contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play a functional role in the human body against chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular and GIT-related disease. Some other foods or food products like juices, dairy products, fortified eggs and seafood are composed of functional components. Fish contain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) that are played a functional role in heart health and brain development

Ribavirin inhibits the replication of infectious bursal disease virus predominantly through depletion of cellular guanosine pool

IntroductionThe antiviral activity of different mutagens against single-stranded RNA viruses is well documented; however, their activity on the replication of double-stranded RNA viruses remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the effect of different antivirals on the replication of a chicken embryo fibroblast-adapted Infectious Bursal Disease virus, FVSKG2. This study further explores the antiviral mechanism utilized by the most effective anti-IBDV agent.MethodsThe cytotoxicity and anti-FVSKG2 activity of different antiviral agents (ribavirin, 5-fluorouracil, 5-azacytidine, and amiloride) were evaluated. The virus was serially passaged in chicken embryo fibroblasts 11 times at sub-cytotoxic concentrations of ribavirin, 5-fluorouracil or amiloride. Further, the possible mutagenic and non-mutagenic mechanisms utilized by the most effective anti-FVSKG2 agent were explored.Results and DiscussionRibavirin was the least cytotoxic on chicken embryo fibroblasts, followed by 5-fluorouracil, amiloride and 5-azacytidine. Ribavirin inhibited the replication of FVSKG2 in chicken embryo fibroblasts significantly at concentrations as low as 0.05 mM. The extinction of FVSKG2 was achieved during serial passage of the virus in chicken embryo fibroblasts at ≥0.05 mM ribavirin; however, the emergence of a mutagen-resistant virus was not observed until the eleventh passage. Further, no mutation was observed in 1,898 nucleotides of the FVSKG2 following its five passages in chicken embryo fibroblasts in the presence of 0.025 mM ribavirin. Ribavarin inhibited the FVSKG2 replication in chicken embryo fibroblasts primarily through IMPDH-mediated depletion of the Guanosine Triphosphate pool of cells. However, other mechanisms like ribavirin-mediated cytokine induction or possible inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase through its interaction with the enzyme’s active sites enhance the anti-IBDV effect. Ribavirin inhibits ds- RNA viruses, likely through IMPDH inhibition and not mutagenesis. The inhibitory effect may, however, be augmented by other non-mutagenic mechanisms, like induction of antiviral cytokines in chicken embryo fibroblasts or interaction of ribavirin with the active sites of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of the virus