Successful use of steroids and ureteric stents in 24 patients with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis : a retrospective study

Original article can be found at : http://content.karger.com/ Copyright Karger [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]Background/Aims: Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a chronic inflammatory disorder causing obstructive nephropathy and renal failure. We reviewed our management of this condition. Method: All patients with RPF treated at a single center over a 15-year period were identified. A full review of notes and computer records was undertaken. Results: Data was available on 27 patients, 3 of which were excluded from later analysis. Diagnosis was based on clinical history and cross-sectional imaging. Retroperitoneal biopsy was undertaken in 3 patients. 96% had significant renal impairment at presentation with a mean serum creatinine of 688 μmol/l. 46% required emergency hemodialysis. All patients were treated with a combination of ureteric stents and/or steroids with an excellent clinical response. The mean best creatinine reached by the cohort was 136 μmol/l, and renal function remained stable in the long term. No patients required chronic dialysis. Ureteric stents were removed within 12 months and low-dose steroids were continued for a mean of 34 months. Recurrent disease was observed in 25% of patients, who all responded well to further steroid therapy. Mean duration of follow-up was 76 months. Conclusions: RPF is very effectively treated by a combination of ureteric stents and steroids, with excellent long-term results using this approach. Continued follow-up is advised because of the possibility of recurrent disease.Peer reviewe

In silico interaction analysis of cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1b (CRIP1b) � CB1 cannabinoid receptor

Cannabinoid Receptor Interacting Protein isoform 1b (CRIP1b) is known to interact with the CB1 receptor. Alternative splicing of the CNRIP1 gene produces CRIP1a and CRIP1b with a difference in the third exon only. Exons 1 and 2 encode for a functional domain in both proteins. CRIP1a is involved in regulating CB1 receptor internalization, but the function of CRIP1b is not very well characterized. Since there are significant identities in functional domains of these proteins, CRIP1b is a potential target for drug discovery. We report here predicted structure of CRIP1b followed by its interaction analysis with CB1 receptor by in-silico methods A number of complementary computational techniques, including, homology modeling, ab-initio and protein threading, were applied to generate three-dimensional molecular models for CRIP1b. The computed model of CRIP1b was refined, followed by docking with C terminus of CB1 receptor to generate a model for the CRIP1b- CB1 receptor interaction. The structure of CRIP1b obtained by homology modelling using RHOGDI-2 as template is a sandwich fold structure having beta sheets connected by loops, similar to predicted CRIP1a structure. The best scoring refined model of CRIP1b in complex with the CB1 receptor C terminus peptide showed favourable polar interactions. The overall binding pocket of CRIP1b was found to be overlapping to that of CRIP1a. The Arg82 and Cys126 of CRIP1b are involved in the majority of hydrogen bond interactions with the CB1 receptor and are possible key residues required for interactions between the CB1 receptor and CRIP1b. © 2017 Elsevier Inc

EFFECT OF GAMMA IRRADIATION TECHNIQUE ON THE MICROBIAL AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF EDIBLE BAMBOO SHOOT (Dendrocalamus asper) FOR SHELF-LIFE ENHANCEMENT

The present investigation was performed to evaluate the potential of gamma radiation as a postharvest technology to preserve bamboo shoots. For this, Dendrocalamus asper shoots were gamma irradiated in the dose range of 0.5 to 5.0 kGy followed by storage at 5 ± 2 °C temperature dipped into 2% NaCl solution. Acceptability of the irradiated product was assessed based on microbial, physicochemical, and organoleptic attributes as well as induced radioactivity (food safety parameter). Results of the study revealed that a dose of 2.5 kGy was sufficient to complete removal of microbial load from the bamboo shoot up to 4 log reductions when compared with the unirradiated sample. No significant changes were found in physicochemical parameters including protein, pH, moisture, HCN content, and minerals. Organoleptic evaluation for different parameters were was within the acceptable criteria up to 240 days, hence 2.5 kGy doses of irradiation had the best preservation effect on the bamboo shoots of D. asper. The result of this study suggests that irradiation could be a potential method for maintaining the quality of bamboo shoots during storage

Quantum Critical Behavior and Possible Triplet Superconductivity in Electron Doped CoO2 Sheets

Density functional calculations are used to investigate the doping dependence of the electronic structure and magnetic properties in hexagonal Na$_x$CoO$_2$. The electronic structure is found to be highly two dimensional, even without accounting for the structural changes associated with hydration. At the local spin density approximation level, a weak itinerant ferromagnetic state is predicted for all doping levels in the range $x=0.3$ to $x=0.7$, with competing but weaker itinerant antiferromagnetic solutions. The Fermi surface, as expected, consists of simple rounded hexagonal cylinders, with additional small pockets depending on the $c$ lattice parameter. Comparison with experiment implies substantial magnetic quantum fluctuations. Based on the Fermi surface size and the ferromagnetic tendency of this material,it is speculated that a triplet superconducting state analogous to that in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ may exist here.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Metamaterial Polarization Converter Analysis: Limits of Performance

In this paper we analyze the theoretical limits of a metamaterial converter that allows for linear-to- elliptical polarization transformation with any desired ellipticity and ellipse orientation. We employ the transmission line approach providing a needed level of the design generalization. Our analysis reveals that the maximal conversion efficiency for transmission through a single metamaterial layer is 50%, while the realistic re ection configuration can give the conversion efficiency up to 90%. We show that a double layer transmission converter and a single layer with a ground plane can have 100% polarization conversion efficiency. We tested our conclusions numerically reaching the designated limits of efficiency using a simple metamaterial design. Our general analysis provides useful guidelines for the metamaterial polarization converter design for virtually any frequency range of the electromagnetic waves.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

Violation of the Wiedemann-Franz Law in a Large-N Solution of the t-J Model

We show that the Wiedemann-Franz law, which holds for Landau Fermi liquids, breaks down in a large-n treatment of the t-J model. The calculated ratio of the in-plane thermal and electrical conductivities agrees quantitatively with experiments on the normal state of the electron-doped Pr_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4 (x = 0.15) cuprate superconductor. The violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the uniform phase contrasts with other properties of the phase that are Fermi liquid like.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Typos corrected, one added reference, revised discussion of experiment on 214 cuprate material (x = 0.06

Dynamical Structure Factor for the Alternating Heisenberg Chain: A Linked Cluster Calculation

We develop a linked cluster method to calculate the spectral weights of many-particle excitations at zero temperature. The dynamical structure factor is expressed as a sum of exclusive structure factors, each representing contributions from a given set of excited states. A linked cluster technique to obtain high order series expansions for these quantities is discussed. We apply these methods to the alternating Heisenberg chain around the dimerized limit ($\lambda=0$), where complete wavevector and frequency dependent spectral weights for one and two-particle excitations (continuum and bound-states) are obtained. For small to moderate values of the inter-dimer coupling parameter $\lambda$, these lead to extremely accurate calculations of the dynamical structure factors. We also examine the variation of the relative spectral weights of one and two-particle states with bond alternation all the way up to the limit of the uniform chain ($\lambda=1$). In agreement with Schmidt and Uhrig, we find that the spectral weight is dominated by 2-triplet states even at $\lambda=1$, which implies that a description in terms of triplet-pair excitations remains a good quantitative description of the system even for the uniform chain.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figure

Correlation effects and the high-frequency spin susceptibility of an electron liquid: Exact limits

Spin correlations in an interacting electron liquid are studied in the high-frequency limit and in both two and three dimensions. The third-moment sum rule is evaluated and used to derive exact limiting forms (at both long- and short-wavelengths) for the spin-antisymmetric local-field factor, $\lim_{\omega \to \infty}G_-({\bf q, \omega})$. In two dimensions $\lim_{\omega \to \infty}G_-({\bf q, \omega})$ is found to diverge as $1/q$ at long wavelengths, and the spin-antisymmetric exchange-correlation kernel of time-dependent spin density functional theory diverges as $1/q^2$ in both two and three dimensions. These signal a failure of the local-density approximation, one that can be redressed by alternative approaches.Comment: 5 page

Magneto-Acoustic Wave Oscillations in Solar Spicules

Some observations suggest that solar spicules show small amplitude and high frequency oscillations of magneto-acoustic waves, which arise from photospheric granular forcing. We apply the method of MHD seismology to determine the period of kink waves. For this purposes, the oscillations of a magnetic cylinder embedded in a field-free environment is investigated. Finally, diagnostic diagrams displaying the oscillatory period in terms of some equilibrium parameters are provided to allow a comparison between theoretical results and those coming from observations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 fig