Comparative analysis and partial functional annotation of phytosterol desaturase gene in plants of different botanical families

In silico analysis and comparison of the sterol desaturase gene from different plants species like Arabidopsis, rice, tomato and castor covering wide range of botanical familieswas done. The results indicate that Arabidopsis and tomato gene share 50% homology andrice-castor share 68% homology. The homology of sequences between Arabidopsis withother plants is negligible confirming the uniqueness of the gene in every botanical family ofplants. Based on the translated amino acid sequences, the conserved domains in the proteinwere predicted by functional annotation including all enzymes in the database. Although thegenes varied, the functional domains of Arabidopsis-tomato and rice-castor were similar. Themajor domain with specific conserved score was obtained for P450 super family proteins inthe case of Arabidopsis and tomato. Rice and castor showed a conserved domain of steroldesaturase. An interior sequence of Arabidopsis and tomato showed a conserved domain forbrassinosteroid oxidase protein. Based on the annotations, tomato is predicted to producebrassinosteroid as major sterol as like Arabidopsis, which belongs to Brassicaceae family.Rice and castor are predicted to use the desaturase gene for the production of stigmasterol.The results warrant further in vitro and in planta research to understand the functional diversity of the sterol desaturase gene in these plant species

Fresh versus frozen embryo transfer: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Elective frozen embryo transfer (FET), has recently increased significantly with improvements in cryopreservation techniques. Observational studies and randomized controlled trials suggested that the endometrium in stimulated cycles is not optimally prepared for implantation; risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome reduced and pregnancy rates increased following FET and perinatal outcomes are less affected after FET. However, the evidence is not unequivocal and recent randomised control trials challenge the use of elective FET for the general IVF population. Pregnancy rates were analysed in a cohort of patients undergoing embryo transfers.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent embryo transfers from April 2018 to March 2019 at study centre in Surat.175 cycles of embryo transfers (119 fresh and 56 frozen) were included in the study. Outcomes measured were positive pregnancy, clinical pregnancy and ongoing clinical pregnancy rates achieved in the IVF-ET cycles.Results: There were no statistically significant differences between positive pregnancy rate (54.6% versus 60.7%, Odds ratio (OR) 0.78; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.41-1.49), clinical pregnancy rate (48.73% versus 57.14%, OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.1- 2.64) and ongoing clinical pregnancy rate  (45.38% versus 51.78% OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.29 - 6.67) in fresh ET and FET cycles, respectively, p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all measures.Conclusions: Despite the observed higher rates of positive biochemical, clinical and ongoing clinical pregnancy per transfer in the FET cohort, these did not reach statistical significance. Thus, both transfer strategies are reasonable options, although there is a trend favouring the freeze-all strategy

The role of gastric aspirates cytology and micro-erythrocyte sedimentation rate in predicting the early septicemia in newborn babies

Background: Sepsis is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The magnitude of problem may be reduced by early detection of amniotic fluid infections and appropriate treatment of the neonate. Objective: The objective of this study was to know the role of gastric aspirates cytology and micro-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (m-ESR) in predicting the early-onset septicemia in newborn babies. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 100 neonates with suspected septicemia and 50 normal neonates admitted to neonatology section of a tertiary care hospital. Blood sample and gastric aspirate sample were collected for sepsis screening of the neonates. All the collected data were tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS 2.0 software. Results: About 55% of neonates had positive cytology and m-ESR and 22.2% had subsequent sepsis. Combined sensitivity was 50%, specificity was 81.25%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 62.5%, and negative predictive value (NPV) was 72.2%. Of the 45% of cases with positive cytology and micro-ESR, 13.3% had septicemia, 6.6% had pneumonia, and 2.2% had meningitis. The other 55% of cases had negative cytology and m-ESR, and out of them, 9.09% had septicemia, 7.2% had pneumonia, and 1.8% had meningitis. The sensitivity of m-ESR was 60%, specificity was 62.5%, PPV was 50%, and NPV was 71.5%. The combined sensitivity was 50%, specificity was 81.25%, PPV was 62.5%, and NPV was 72.2%. Conclusion: Combined gastric aspirate and m-ESR had high percentage of specificity and NPV. No specific and significant correlation between positive gastric aspirate cytology and rural/urban area, birth weight, sex, gestation, prolong labor, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and mode of delivery was found

In utero optical coherence tomography reveals changes in murine embryonic brain vasculature after prenatal cannabinoid exposure

Prenatal substance abuse is a major public health concern. Much research has been focused on alcohol and other drug use, but there is a lack of information about prenatal cannabinoid use. Nevertheless, marijuana use during pregnancy increases the risk of a stillbirth by approximately 2.3X. Synthetic cannabinoids (SCB) are a group of heterogeneous compounds which were developed to understand the endogenous cannabinoid system and as potential therapeutics. SCBs are legally available for purchase in several places, and the use of natural and synthetic cannabinoids is high among women of reproductive age. Combined with the prevalence of unplanned pregnancies, the high use of cannabinoids may lead to an increase in prenatal exposure to cannabinoids. Early studies have shown morphological and behavioral anomalies similar to fetal alcohol syndrome. Even though the mechanisms of Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 -THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana, and SCB are similar, there are several important differences. Subsequently, some SCBs have a 40 to 600 fold higher potency than Δ9 -THC. However, there is paucity of research focused on the prenatal effects of SCBs. This study uses correlation mapping optical coherence tomography (cm-OCT) to evaluate acute changes in the murine fetal brain vasculature in utero after exposure to CP-55,940, a well-characterized and commonly used reference compound in cannabinoid research. Our results showed a rapid decrease in parameters quantifying vasculature, i.e., vessel area density, and vessel length fraction, as compared to the sham group, demonstrating a dramatic and rapid effect of cannabinoids on fetal brain vasculature. Our work shows the need for further research on the effects of cannabinoids on fetal development

Assessment of phototherapy-induced hypocalcemia and its correlation with urinary calcium excretion in term and preterm newborns with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A cross-sectional study with controls

Introduction: Although hypocalcemia is often proposed to be associated with phototherapy in both term and preterm newborns,&nbsp;its exact incidence, clinical significance, and underlying mechanism still remain to be elucidated. Objective: The objective&nbsp;of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypocalcemia and its etiopathogenesis in terms of urinary calcium excretion.&nbsp;Methods: This study was carried out in a tertiary care center in North India with 50 neonates (29 term and 21 preterm) in the&nbsp;test group receiving single surface phototherapy. The other 50 age, sex, and gestational age-matched neonates were taken as&nbsp;controls who did not receive phototherapy. Serum calcium levels at 0 and 48 h and urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (mg/mg) at0 and 24 h of starting phototherapy were determined in both the groups and compared. Results: Total 12 preterm (57.1%) and&nbsp;9 term newborns (31%) developed hypocalcemia after 48 h of phototherapy. The mean difference of serum ionized calcium&nbsp;between two groups was statistically significant at 48 h (4.58 mg/dl in the test group vs. 4.94 mg/dl in the control group,&nbsp;p&lt;0.001). Percentage change in mean of urinary calcium/creatinine ratio at 24 h from baseline was 1.39% in the control&nbsp;group while it was 60.7% in the test group with statistically significant difference (p&lt;0.001) between two groups. Only a&nbsp;weak negative correlation between serum ionized calcium and urinary calcium/creatinine ratio with correlation coefficient&nbsp;r=−0.316 could be established in the study among both term and preterm neonates. Conclusion: Both preterm and termneonates undergoing phototherapy are at increased risk for hypocalcemia and increased urinary calcium excretion. A universal&nbsp;recommendation regarding calcium supplementation in neonates undergoing phototherapy is yet to be established but seems&nbsp;like a reasonable intervention.&nbsp

In utero optical coherence tomography to evaluate vasculature changes in the murine embryonic brain due to prenatal alcohol and nicotine exposure

This study uses speckle variance optical coherenc

Ultra-fast line-field low coherence holographic elastography using spatial phase shifting

Optical coherence elastography (OCE) is an emerging technique for quantifying tissue biomechanical properties. Generally, OCE relies on point-by-point scanning. However, long acquisition times make point-by-point scanning unfeasible for clinical use. Here we demonstrate a noncontact single shot line-field low coherence holography system utilizing an automatic Hilbert transform analysis based on a spatial phase shifting technique. Spatio-temporal maps of elastic wave propagation were acquired with only one air-pulse excitation and used to quantify wave velocity and sample mechanical properties at a line rate of 200 kHz. Results obtained on phantoms were correlated with data from mechanical testing. Finally, the stiffness of porcine cornea at different intraocular pressures was also quantified in situ

Evaluation of posterior porcine sclera elasticity in situ as a function of IOP

The biomechanical properties of the sclera could provide key information regarding the progression and etiology of ocular diseases. For example, an elevated intraocular pressure is one of the most common risk factors for glaucoma and can cause pathological deformations in the tissues of the posterior eye, such as the sclera, potentially damaging these vital tissues. Previous work has evaluated scleral biomechanical response to global displacements with techniques such as inflation testing. However, these methods cannot provide localized biomechanical assessments. In this pilot work, we induce low amplitude (< 10 μm) elastic waves using acoustic radiation force in posterior scleral tissue of fresh porcine eyes (n=2) in situ. The wave propagation induced using an ultrasound transducer was detected across an 8 mm region using a phase-sensitive optical coherence elastography system (PhS-OCE). The elastographic measurements were taken at various artificially controlled intraocular pressures (IOP). The IOP was pre-cycled before being set to 10 mmHg for the first measurement. Subsequent measurements were taken at 20 mmHg and 30 mmHg for each sample. The results show an increase in the stiffness of the sclera as a function of IOP. Furthermore, we observed a variation in the elasticity based on direction, suggesting that the sclera has anisotropic biomechanical properties. Our results show that OCE is an effective method for evaluating the mechanical properties of the sclera, and reveals a new area for our future work

Assessing the effects of riboflavin/UV-A crosslinking on porcine corneal mechanical anisotropy with optical coherence elastography

In this work we utilize optical coherence elastography (OCE) to assess the effects of UV-A/riboflavin corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) on the mechanical anisotropy of in situ porcine corneas at various intraocular pressures (IOP). There was a distinct meridian of increased Young’s modulus in all samples, and the mechanical anisotropy increased as a function of IOP and also after CXL. The presented noncontact OCE technique was able to quantify the Young’s modulus and elastic anisotropy of the cornea and their changes as a function of IOP and CXL, opening new avenues of research for evaluating the effects of CXL on corneal biomechanical properties

Paecilomyces lilacinus causing debilitating sinusitis in an immunocompetent patient: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Since the discovery of the first documented case of <it>Paecilomyces </it>in 1963, only five cases of <it>Paecilomyces </it>sinusitis have been described to date and all of them have predisposing factors such as immunocompromised status or prior nasal surgery. We present the first case of <it>Paecilomyces lilacinus </it>sinusitis in a fit young woman with no identified predisposing factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first known case in the UK and in Europe.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 20-year-old Iraqi woman who has lived in the UK for the past five years presented with rhinorrhea, hyposmia, and nasal obstruction. She was previously fit and well and had no significant medical history. Imaging revealed a fungal infection that was eventually revealed on cytological examination to be <it>P. lilacinus</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>P. lilacinus </it>is both a difficult and important organism to identify because it has intrinsic anti-fungal resistance. In our case, the infection was severe and recurrent, and the organism demonstrated resistance to common oral anti-fungal agents. There was a delay in its diagnosis, owing to its similarity in appearance to <it>Penicillium </it>and a difficulty in distinguishing between the two without specialized knowledge of fungal taxonomy. In the field of otolaryngology, <it>Paecilomyces </it>is relatively unknown. Our intention is to raise awareness of this organism as well as to describe the challenges in its management.</p