Pathogenic effects of nematode parasite Eustrongylides sp. larvae on serum LH level and histology of gonads of freshwater fish, Clarias gariepinus

 Present study was conducted to known the pathological effects caused by nematode parasite, Eustrongylides sp. larvae on serum LH level and histology of gonads of freshwater fish, Clarias gariepinus. The nematode parasite Eustrongylides occurs in the body cavity of its host Clarias gariepinus and inhibits gonadal development. A significant decrease in the gonadotropin hormone (LH) in the blood stream was recorded. LH reduction was recorded to be the 50% less as compared to the normal fishes. Histopathological studies of testes revealed disorganized testicular structure, germinal epithilium was disrupted and reduction in spermatozoa was reported. Histology of infected ovaries showed the appearance of interfollicular spaces, degeneration of follicular wall tissues and their egg envelops ruptured observed

Comparison of commonly used vasopressors for treating hypotension after spinal anaesthesia in elective lower abdominal surgery: a randomized, observational, case-control study

Background: During caesarean section hypotension due to spinal block is secondary to the sympathetic blockade and aorto-caval compression by the uterus. It can have important consequences for the mother and may affect neonatal outcome. The present study was aimed to compare intravenous bolus doses of phenylephrine and ephedrine to treat maternal hypotension during spinal block for elective caesarean section.Methods: After fulfilling the inclusion criteria, 100 parturient were randomly allocated into two groups of fifty each. For spinal anesthesia lumber puncture was done and 12.5mg, 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine was given intra-thecally. In this observational study, patients who developed hypotension under spinal anesthesia were selected for the study. According to their group, patients received either ephedrine 6mg (Group E) or phenylephrine 75µg (Group P) as vasopressor. During the study, number of vasopressor boluses, hemodynamic response and time taken to recover from hypotension was noted.Results: Ephedrine and phenylephrine were used in the mean doses of 6.72±1.97mg and 91.5±31.38µg respectively. In 88% parturient single bolus dose of ephedrine was effective in treating hypotension while phenylephrine was effective in 78% parturient. There was no significant difference observed in total number of boluses used. No significant difference was seen in mean systolic blood pressure, mean diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure over a given period of time in Group E and Group P. Mean systolic BP was less than 20% when compared to baseline in both the groups at different time intervals. In Group P the mean heart rate was significantly lower as compared to the Group E (p<0.05).Conclusions: Intravenous phenylephrine and ephedrine are both similar in performance in treating hypotension after spinal anesthesia for elective caesarean section and the hypotensive control offered is comparable

Musculoskeletal Tuberculosis: Two Year Experience at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Northern India and Review of Literature

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the present trend of osteo-articular tuberculosis at a teaching hospital in North India.Methods: All the cases of skeletal tuberculosis that were diagnosed and managed either on outdoor or in-hospital stay basis over a period of two years were evaluated with respect to age, gender, anatomical location of lesion, laboratory parameters (ESR, Mantoux test, HIV screening), concomitant skeletaltuberculous lesions, associated pulmonary tuberculosis, and other associated clinical features.Results: A total of 84 skeletal tuberculous lesions in 80 patients were enrolled for the study. The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 70 years with a mean of 29.1±19.1 years. 55% patients were in second and third decade of life and 63.7% were males. ESR was elevated in 61.25% and 56.25% tested positive forMantoux skin test. 21.25% patients had associated active or healed focus of tuberculosis in the lungs. Spine was the most common site involved (58.75%) followed by hip (13.1%), knee (8.3%), foot (4.7%) and shoulder joint (3.5%). Lumbar spine was the most common site affected in the spine followed by lowerdorsal spine. 3.75% cases had multifocal skeletal tuberculous lesions.Conclusion: Prevalence of osteo-articular tuberculosis continues to be high in North India with the disease predominantly affecting young population. Spine is the most common site for skeletal tuberculosis followed by hip, knee, foot and shoulder. Lumbar region followed by lower dorsal spine is much more affected.Multifocal skeletal lesions incidence is lower than expected. And one-fifth of the patients have associated pulmonary tubercular lesion

Customized vacuum assisted closure therapy of wounds as a simple and cost-effective technique of wound closure-a prospective observational study from underdeveloped world

Background: Aim of the study was to study the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of indigenously designed customized vacuum assisted closure (VAC) of wounds in our patients. The management of difficult to heal wounds has been the main force that led to the development of advanced gadgets for their management. The technique of vacuum assisted closure has revolutionized the management of difficult to heal wounds and delivers better results as compared to conventional technique. Our aim was to assess the efficacy and cost effectiveness of customized VAC therapy.Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the department of surgery and allied specialties, GMC Srinagar, from June 2018 and September 2020. During this period, 80 patients were subjected to VAC therapy and were included in this study.Results: VAC dressing was used in 80 patients. 55 were males and 25 were females. Most of the wounds in our study were located over lower limbs (70%). RTA was the most common mode of injury followed by fall from height. After the VAC therapy, 78.8% patients were managed by STSG, 11.3% by flap cover, 6.3% by secondary suturing and 3.8% healed by secondary intention. Pain was experienced by 30% of the patients, 7.5% had hypoalbuminemia, 3.8% had surrounding skin maceration. The average total cost of the VAC therapy was 863.13 (±399.82) Indian rupees (11.76 USD). The mean duration of hospital stay for our patients was 22 days.Conclusions: Customized VAC Therapy has revolutionary potential in the management of the difficult to treat wounds as far as its safety, speed and cost effectiveness is considered especially in a setup of poor income nations like ours

Box–Behnken Response Surface Design of Polysaccharide Extraction from Rhododendron arboreum and the Evaluation of Its Antioxidant Potential

© 2020 by the authors. In the present investigation, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions and optimization of Rhododendron arboreum polysaccharide (RAP) yield were studied by a Box–Behnken response surface design and the evaluation of its antioxidant potential. Three parameters that affect the productivity of UAE, such as extraction temperature (50–90 ◦C), extraction time (10–30 min), and solid–liquid ratio (1–2 g/mL), were examined to optimize the yield of the polysaccharide percentage. The chromatographic analysis revealed that the composition of monosaccharides was found to be glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose, and fucose. The data were fitted to polynomial response models, applying multiple regression analysis with a high coefficient of determination value (R2 = 0.999). The data exhibited that the extraction parameters have significant effects on the extraction yield of polysaccharide percentage. Derringer’s desirability prediction tool was attained under the optimal extraction conditions (extraction temperature 66.75 ◦C, extraction time 19.72 min, and liquid–solid ratio 1.66 mL/g) with a desirability value of 1 yielded the highest polysaccharide percentage (11.56%), which was confirmed through validation experiments. An average of 11.09 ± 1.65% of polysaccharide yield was obtained in optimized extraction conditions with a 95.43% validity. The in vitro antioxidant effect of polysaccharides of R. arboreum was studied. The results showed that the RAP extract exhibited a strong potential against free radical damage

Drug-Induced Hand-Foot Syndrome in Cancer Patients Receiving Capecitabine in A Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective: To determine the frequency of hand-foot syndrome and associated factors among patients receiving Capecitabine for the management of cancer in a tertiary care setting. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Oncology Department Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan from Dec 2020 to May2021. Methodology: One hundred patients with malignant conditions taking Capecitabine for more than two weeks were included in the study. A detailed relevant dermatological examination was carried out on all the patients to diagnose hand-foot syndrome based on the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Version 4.0 Grading of Hand-Foot Syndrome. Results: Out of 100 cancer patients using Capecitabine for more than two weeks included in the study. Sixty-eight showed the presence of hand-foot syndrome, while 32 did not show any features of hand-foot syndrome. Combination treatment was statistically significantly associated with hand-foot syndrome among the patients included in our study (p-value<0.001). Conclusion: Hand-foot syndrome was a common side effect seen in patients managed with Capecitabine for their cancerous condition. Patients using other chemotherapeutic agents along with Capecitabine were more at risk of having hand-foot syndrome than those taking Capecitabine alone

Photocatalytic and biomedical investigation of green synthesized NiONPs: Toxicities and degradation pathways of Congo red dye

In this study the biomedical and catalytic ability of green synthesized nickel Oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) was investigated. The extract of medicinal plant Tribulus terrestris were used to synthesized NiONPs. The as-synthesized NiONPs were in nano scale and were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The synthesis of NiONPs was ensured with surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) at 425 nm and the strong EDX. The effect of different concentrations of plant extract on the size of NiONPs was evaluated. The HRTEM results showed particle size between 60 - 90 nm. The study showed that lesser the extract concentration, more spherical and small sized particles were obtained without aggregation. The biological applications of NiONPs were evaluated against different fungal species like Asper gillusflavus, Asper gillusfumigatus, Asper gillusniger and standard medicine Terbinafine. A. niger, A. flavus and A. fumigatus exhibited 57, 63 and 52 % inhibition compared with inhibition of the reference medicine which is 98, 100 and 100%. NiONPs have been shown to be more effective against gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative bacteria like E. Coli 9(±0.7) and S. aureus13 (±0.8). Moreover, antioxidant properties of the as-synthesized NiONPs were evaluated with 2, 2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH). The catalytic ability of green synthesized of NiONP was investigated for the degradation of Congo red dye (CR) as a hazardous environmentally contaminations in water. The biosynthesized NiONPs were found to be active catalytic for the degradation toxic dyes like CR. the catalytic activity of NiONPs can be explained by its small size compared with balk material. Mechanisms for CR degradation have been proposed. The Ecotoxicity of CR and components derived from dye was investigated with Ecological Structure Activity Relationship (ECOSAR) program

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

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Research paperThe existing land of the experimental site had three types of land problems namely: degraded underutilized (scrub dominated), degraded pastures/grazing lands, barren rocky/stony waste. Therefore, Two planting seasons, three planting intervals and four nitrogen levels were analyzed for survival and growth of plantation. The autumn planting was better with respect to survival and growth parameters compared to the spring planting. The planting interval I (15 Nov. to 30 Nov., 2013 in autumn planting and 15 Feb. to 28 Feb., 2014 in spring planting) showed better results for survival and growth compared to II and III. Survival and growth was higher in N @ 150 Kg/ha compared to100 and 200 kg/ha.Not Availabl