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Screening, Isolation, and Enzyme Kinetics of Bacterial Amylase collected from Rhizosphere soil

Rhizosphere is a region where microbial communities are in complex association with the roots of plants where the activity of microbes and their enzymes are greatly influenced by root exudates. Amylase enzyme has great importance in biotechnology, with enormous utilization in food, fermentation, textile, and paper industries. They are produced intracellularly and extracellularly by different life forms including microorganisms. Microbial amylases are preferred over other sources because of their vast availability and it also meets the growing needs of industry. The present investigation deals with the isolation, screening, and enzyme kinetics of bacterial amylase from the rhizosphere soil samples collected from a fertile field. Soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere and amylase-producing bacteria screening was carried out by using a starch agar plate. Extracellular amylase was extracted from fermentation broth followed by quantification by starch-iodine assay. Bacterial amylase enzyme kinetics were determined by changing enzyme/substrate concentrations and incubation time. We successfully screened and isolated out starch hydrolyzing colonies from the rhizosphere soil samples. Studies on enzyme kinetics indicate that the activity of amylase increased initially as substrate and enzyme concentrations increased. If we kept enzyme concentration constant, to a certain point, there was no change in enzyme activity as the enzyme was saturated and no more enzyme was available to react with the excess substrate. Initially, enzyme activity increased as enzyme volume increased, but since substrate concentration was kept constant, higher volumes of the enzyme could not speed up the reaction. Further, under a prolonged incubation period, less amount of substrate was available at the end of a reaction. Therefore, it is concluded that the reaction velocity increases

Vitamin D Deficiency Eradication: A National Priority

Vitamin D Deficiency Eradication: A National Priorit

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Accuracy, Precision, Sensitivity, and Patient Preferences of Accu-Chek® Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Meters: A Targeted Literature Review

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) using blood glucose monitoring (BGM) devices is recommended for people withdiabetes to improve glycemic control and to detect and prevent episodes of hypoglycemia in these patients. The InternationalOrganization for Standardization (ISO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have defined specific criteria for accuracy,precision, user evaluation, and interfering agents for the quality of these devices. In this targeted literature review, Accu-Chek®devices (Instant®, Guide®, Active®) were found to have stable results with appropriate accuracy and precision and did notrespond to interfering agents. The devices were also found to be cost-effective and ranked high on patient preference

Substitution of a single non-coding nucleotide upstream of TMEM216 causes non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa and is associated with reduced TMEM216 expression

Genome analysis of individuals affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) identified two rare nucleotide substitutions at the same genomic location on chromosome 11 (g.61392563 [GRCh38]), 69 base pairs upstream of the start codon of the ciliopathy gene TMEM216 (c.−69G>A, c.−69G>T [GenBank: NM_001173991.3]), in individuals of South Asian and African ancestry, respectively. Genotypes included 71 homozygotes and 3 mixed heterozygotes in trans with a predicted loss-of-function allele. Haplotype analysis showed single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) common across families, suggesting ancestral alleles within the two distinct ethnic populations. Clinical phenotype analysis of 62 available individuals from 49 families indicated a similar clinical presentation with night blindness in the first decade and progressive peripheral field loss thereafter. No evident systemic ciliopathy features were noted. Functional characterization of these variants by luciferase reporter gene assay showed reduced promotor activity. Nanopore sequencing confirmed the lower transcription of the TMEM216 c.−69G>T allele in blood-derived RNA from a heterozygous carrier, and reduced expression was further recapitulated by qPCR, using both leukocytes-derived RNA of c.−69G>T homozygotes and total RNA from genome-edited hTERT-RPE1 cells carrying homozygous TMEM216 c.−69G>A. In conclusion, these variants explain a significant proportion of unsolved cases, specifically in individuals of African ancestry, suggesting that reduced TMEM216 expression might lead to abnormal ciliogenesis and photoreceptor degeneration

Clinical practice recommendations for the detection and management of hyperglycemia in pregnancy from South Asia, Africa and Mexico during COVID‑19 pandemic

CITATION: Priya G, Bajaj S, Kalra B, Coetzee A, Kalra S, Dutta D, et al. Clinical practice recommendations for the detection and management of hyperglycemia in pregnancy from South Asia, Africa and Mexico during COVID‑19 pandemic. J Family Med Prim Care 2021;10:4350-63. doi.10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_653_21The original publication is available at: lww.comThe human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) pandemic has affected overall healthcare delivery, including prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care. Hyperglycemia in pregnancy (HIP) is the most common medical condition encountered during pregnancy. There is little guidance for primary care physicians for providing delivery of optimal perinatal care while minimizing the risk of COVID‑19 infection in pregnant women. This review aims to describe pragmatic modifications in the screening, detection and management of HIP during the COVID‑ 19 pandemic. In this review, articles published up to June 2021 were searched on multiple databases, including PubMed, Medline, EMBASE and ScienceDirect. Direct online searches were conducted to identify national and international guidelines. Search criteria included terms to extract articles describing HIP with and/or without COVID‑19 between 1st March 2020 and 15th June 2021. Fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and random plasma glucose could be alternative screening strategies for gestational diabetes mellitus screening (at 24–28 weeks of gestation), instead of the traditional 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. The use of telemedicine for the management of HIP is recommended. Hospital visits should be scheduled to coincide with obstetric and ultrasound visits. COVID‑19 infected pregnant women with HIP need enhanced maternal and fetal vigilance, optimal diabetes care and psychological support in addition to supportive measures. This article presents pragmatic options and approaches for primary care physicians, diabetes care providers and obstetricians for GDM screening, diagnosis and management during the pandemic, to be used in conjunction with routine antenatal care.Publisher’s versio

Modification of mesoporous silicas

Mesoporous silicas were post-synthetically modified with organometallic complexes in order to produce well defined supported meal centres.The first part of this thesis describes the synthesis of mesoporous silicas MCM-41(A), MCM-41(B) and A1MCM-41 using surfactant templates, MESLC using liquid crystal templates and KMES from an aged gel mixture. The mesoporous materials were characterised by a combination of methods (PXRD, IR spectrometry, MAS NMR, TEM and BET surface area measurements) which resulted in the identification of porous silicas with a hexagonal lattice of pores of 22 - 36 Å and internal surface areas of 848 - 1646 m2g-1. The second part of this thesis describes the post-synthetic modification of mesoporous silicas with the organometallic species trimethylgallium, diethylzinc, Pd(allyl)cp, Pd(CH3CN)2(NO2)Cl and Pd(PPh3)3. MCM-41(A) was modified with trimethylgallium in a direct and indirect vapour phase reaction. MCM-41(B), KMES and MESLC were modified with trimethylgallium via vapour phase reactions. The interaction of trimethylgallium with mesoporous silicas was monitored by EXAFS and led to the loss of one methyl group and surface attachment of diemthylgallium via two silanol groups for MCM-41(A) at 100°C, and MCM-41(B) and KMES at 200°C, and via two silanol groups for MESLC at 200°C. The modification of MCM-41(A), MCM-41(B), KMES and MESLC by diethylzinc resulted in the loss of one ethyl group and interaction of the monoethylzinc species with the silica surface via three silanol groups for MCM-41(A), MCM-41(B) and KMES, and via two silanol groups for MESLC.MCM-41(A), KMES AND MESLC were modified by Pd(allyl)cp leading to the formation of Pd-cp subunits attached to the silica surface via two silanol groups for MCM-41(A) and KMES, and via one silanol group for MESLC. MCM-41(A) was also modified with Pd(CH3CN)2(NO2)Cl leading to the loss of two acetonitrile groups and the anchoring of a Pd(NO2)Cl subunit to the surface of the silica via two silanol groups.</p