Photo-initiated cross-linked polyacrylamide gels for microdevice electrophoresis

Photo-polymerized cross-linked polyacrylamide gels are becoming increasingly important for use in micro-fabricated DNA electrophoresis systems because they allow a concentrated sieving matrix to be precisely positioned at any location within a complex micro-channel network. The rate of photo-initiation in the free radical gel polymerization reaction, however, can exert a strong influence on the resulting gel structure. Experimental data on separation resolution of single stranded DNA (ssDNA) in photoinitiated polyacrylamide gels is very sparse. In this study, we investigate the performance of ssDNA electrophoresis in an ALF Express automated DNA sequencer using various photo-initiation chemistries. Cross-linked polyacrylamide gels with concentrations ranging from 6 to 12 %T were prepared using riboflavin, methylene blue, irgacure 651 and ReproGel (AP Biotech) photo-initiators. Separation resolution is compared with that attained in cross-linked polyacrylamide gels prepared using conventional chemical initiators (e.g. ammonium persulfate/ Tetramethylethylenediamine) in order to determine the polymerization conditions necessary for optimum performance

Leveraging Explainable AI to Analyze Researchers' Aspect-Based Sentiment about ChatGPT

The groundbreaking invention of ChatGPT has triggered enormous discussion among users across all fields and domains. Among celebration around its various advantages, questions have been raised with regards to its correctness and ethics of its use. Efforts are already underway towards capturing user sentiments around it. But it begs the question as to how the research community is analyzing ChatGPT with regards to various aspects of its usage. It is this sentiment of the researchers that we analyze in our work. Since Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis has usually only been applied on a few datasets, it gives limited success and that too only on short text data. We propose a methodology that uses Explainable AI to facilitate such analysis on research data. Our technique presents valuable insights into extending the state of the art of Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis on newer datasets, where such analysis is not hampered by the length of the text data

Ascorbic acid as an effective alternative for treatment of dapsone poisoning in a child: A case report

Dapsone (DDS – Diamino diphenyl sulfone), a sulfonamide derivative acts by inhibiting PABA incorporation into folic acid. It is commonly used in treating skin diseases. Accidental poisoning in children is uncommon. It results in methaemoglobinemia by causing oxidative stress. Principle of treatment relies on treating methemoglobinemia by using reducing agents like methylene blue or ascorbic acid. Due to the long half-life, dapsone provides a continuing oxidative stress that can cause a recurrence of clinically significant methaemoglobinaemia and hence takes long to treat. Ascorbic acid is effective in treating methemoglobinemia associated with dapsone poisoning as demonstrated in this case report of a four and half year old child’s accidental ingestion of dapsone tablets and presenting with cyanosis. The child was managed successfully with ascorbic acid and supportive treatment

The technological growth in eHealth services

The infusion of information communication technology (ICT) into health services is emerging as an active area of research. It has several advantages but perhaps the most important one is providing medical benefits to one and all irrespective of geographic boundaries in a cost effective manner, providing global expertise and holistic services, in a time bound manner. This paper provides a systematic review of technological growth in eHealth services. The present study reviews and analyzes the role of four important technologies, namely, satellite, internet, mobile, and cloud for providing health services.Web of Scienceart. no. 89417

Chronic abruption in early second trimester mimicking partial mole - A rare case report

Placental abruption is known as one of the most serious complications in pregnancy with detrimental effect on both the mother and the fetus. The clinical presentation and the ultrasound findings of this condition vary to a large extent as can be depicted from our case report. We report a rare case of a 30-year-old, G3P2L2 at 4 months of gestation, who presented with the complaints of dark altered bleeding along with pain lower abdomen for 1 day. Ultrasound findings were a dead fetus of 19 weeks 2 days with diffusely enlarged placenta with multiple cystic areas suggestive of intrauterine demise with partial mole. This case report is important as chronic placental abruption in the second trimester is rare, and a high index of suspicion is imperative to differentiate it from other conditions such as partial mole

Variations in anesthetic requirements with body mass index in patients undergoing trans vaginal oocyte retrieval

Background: Various techniques have been described for ultrasound guided trans-vaginal oocyte retrieval (TVOR). No single technique has been found to be superior to others. In many centers, paracervical block (PCB) is used, either alone or in conjunction with sedation for pain relief during TVOR. This aim of this study is to evaluate the variations in anaesthetic requirements with body mass index (BMI) in patients undergoing transvaginal oocyte retrieval (TVOR).Methods: This study comprised of 70 women aged between 20 to 40 years. All patients were classified according to WHO classification into four groups on the basis of their BMI. Parameters like effectiveness of paracervical block (PCB), requirement of additional anesthetic drug (propofol), time required for surgery and numbers of oocytes retrieved were studied for each group. The correlation of all these parameters with BMI was noted and statistically evaluated.Results: PCB alone was not sufficient and all patients required additional propofol for successfully completing the procedure. The requirement of propofol increased with increase in BMI of the patients. The amount of rescue propofol required in patients with BMI>30 was significantly higher as compared to females with BMI<30, irrespective of the time taken during the procedure or the oocyte retrieved. A positive correlation was also observed between number of oocyte retrieved and time taken for surgery.Conclusions: PCB is quite useful in patients with normal BMI, but it proved to be totally ineffective in obese patients (BMI>30) undergoing TVOR. The requirement of additional propofol and time taken to successfully conduct the procedure is significantly high in patients with high BMI. These alterations in anesthetic parameters with change in BMI have vital implications and they should be taken into consideration while managing obese patients undergoing TVOR

HIV-1 gp120 Induces Expression of IL-6 through a Nuclear Factor-Kappa B-Dependent Mechanism: Suppression by gp120 Specific Small Interfering RNA

In addition to its role in virus entry, HIV-1 gp120 has also been implicated in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, the mechanism(s) responsible for gp120-mediated neuroinflammation remain undefined. In view of increased levels of IL-6 in HIV-positive individuals with neurological manifestations, we sought to address whether gp120 is involved in IL-6 over-expression in astrocytes. Transfection of a human astrocyte cell line with a plasmid encoding gp120 resulted in increased expression of IL-6 at the levels of mRNA and protein by 51.3±2.1 and 11.6±2.2 fold respectively; this effect of gp120 on IL-6 expression was also demonstrated using primary human fetal astrocytes. A similar effect on IL-6 expression was observed when primary astrocytes were treated with gp120 protein derived from different strains of X4 and R5 tropic HIV-1. The induction of IL-6 could be abrogated by use of gp120-specific siRNA. Furthermore, this study showed that the NF-κB pathway is involved in gp120-mediated IL-6 over-expression, as IKK-2 and IKKβ inhibitors inhibited IL-6 expression by 56.5% and 60.8%, respectively. These results were also confirmed through the use of NF-κB specific siRNA. We also showed that gp120 could increase the phosphorylation of IκBα. Furthermore, gp120 transfection in the SVGA cells increased translocation of NF-κB from cytoplasm to nucleus. These results demonstrate that HIV-1 gp120-mediated over-expression of IL-6 in astrocytes is one mechanism responsible for neuroinflammation in HIV-infected individuals and this is mediated by the NF-κB pathway

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries