Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Glioblastoma: A Review

INTRODUCTION In 2017, it is estimated that 26,070 patients will be diagnosed with a malignant primary brain tumor in the United States, with more than half having the diagnosis of glioblas- toma (GBM).1 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely utilized examination in the diagnosis and post-treatment management of patients with glioblastoma; standard modalities available from any clinical MRI scanner, including T1, T2, T2-FLAIR, and T1-contrast-enhanced (T1CE) sequences, provide critical clinical information. In the last decade, advanced imaging modalities are increasingly utilized to further charac- terize glioblastomas. These include multi-parametric MRI sequences, such as dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE), dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), functional imaging, and spectroscopy (MRS), to further characterize glioblastomas, and significant efforts are ongoing to implement these advanced imaging modalities into improved clinical workflows and personalized therapy approaches. A contemporary review of standard and advanced MR imaging in clinical neuro-oncologic practice is presented

Effect of remdesivir on mortality rate, need of intubation and mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 positive patients: a retrospective observational study

Background: The symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection vary widely, from asymptomatic disease to pneumonia and life-threatening complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome, multisystem organ failure, and ultimately, death. Remdesivir has broad spectrum of activity against members of several virus families, including filoviruses and coronaviruses. Remdesivir is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 replication in human nasal and bronchial cells. Methods: This is a prospective and observational study conducted in patients of either gender, age more than 18 years with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 by RT-PCR. A predesigned, pretested and semi structured questionnaire containing socio demographic details like age, sex, BMI, comorbidities, findings of systemic examination of the cases, dose and duration of Remdesivir received and adverse effect due to therapy was used to collect the data. Results: Mean age of the patients were 56.19±10.93 years. Male patients were 66% and 34% patients were female. After receiving the remdesivir, 43% of the patients needed bag mask and 27% of the patients maintained on room air oxygen. Non-invasive ventilation required in 19% of the patients and 11% of the patient required mechanical ventilation. s14% of the patients needed admission in the ICU. 3.5% of the patients were died and 96.5% patients were discharged from the hospital. Conclusions: Remdesivir reduces the need of non-invasive oxygenation and mechanical ventilation. Mortality was seen in 3.5% patients, henceforth remdesivir, is an effective drug for moderate to severe COVID-19, if given in early stages of infection

An outbreak of Fall Armyworm in Indian Subcontinent : A New Invasive Pest on Maize

The Fall armyworm (Spodopterafrugiperda, J.E. Smith), an economically crucial polyphagous insect pest native totropical and subtropical regions of America has reached Asia and noticed first time in maize fields South Karnatakain the Indian subcontinent during May 2018, causing substantial damage to the crop. The pest has invaded mostof the maize growing area in India within a short period of two months posing a severe threat to maize growers,challenges to the scientific community and administrators. In the context of its economic importance and destructivenature, the identification, biology and life cycle, nature of damage and extent of yield loss, and managementof fall armyworm through cultural practices, mechanical and local controls, biological and synthetic pesticideshave been reviewed in detail in the present manuscript. Early planting and intercropping with non-host crops areessential cultural practices to reduce pest incidence. The crop which was monitored during the early vegetativestage showed a good response for synthetic pesticides, while crop damage was largest in late vegetative andpre-flowering stages. The pathways of the introduction of fall armyworm into Indian sub-continent are subjectto speculations, however considering the lack of diapause mechanisms, its high spreading ability, and wide hostplant range it is likely that the pest will soon be able to colonize most of tropical Asia. Hence, there is an urgentneed for developing ecologically sustainable, economically profitable, and socially acceptable integrated pestmanagement strategies to mitigate the impact of the fall armyworm in India and Asia

A preliminary study on perioperative hemostatic effect of spray dried powder of <i>Chromolaena odorata</i> leaf extract

547-555Accidents or surgery often cause internal haemorrhage in liver and arteries which may lead to patient morbidity and mortality. The current hemostatic agents used for treatment like collagen, oxidized cellulose, and chitosan suffer from side effects which include infection, inflammation and even sepsis. In the present study, we studied the spray dried powder (SDP) of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., commonly known as Siam weed or Common floss flower and also Christmas bush, for its hemostatic efficacy in two experimental models of surgery. Firstly, the SDP was screened through standard pharmacognostical parameters, and a part of the liver was lacerated in rats and femoral artery was transected in rabbits to assess the blood loss in pre-weighed gauze with and without treatment. In the liver laceration model, an effective blood loss reduction of 54.30 % was observed with oral administration of SDP 7 days prior to surgery. Similarly, application of SDP at the site of artery transection caused 70.36% reduction in blood loss as compared to the control rabbit artery. The results suggest that oral delivery and/or application of SDP of C. odorata by formulating it in a suitable drug delivery tool could minimize perioperative bleeding in hepatic and arterial tissue and improve recovery

Utilizing associational resistance for biocontrol: impacted by temperature, supported by indirect defence

201

A General Strategy to Endow Natural Fusion-protein-Derived Peptides with Potent Antiviral Activity

Fusion between the viral and target cell membranes is an obligatory step for the infectivity of all enveloped virus, and blocking this process is a clinically validated therapeutic strategy

The influence of metabolically engineered glucosinolates profiles in Arabidopsis thaliana on Plutella xylostella preference and performance

The oviposition preference and larval performance of the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella, was studied using Arabidopsis thaliana plants with modified glucosinolate (GS) profiles containing novel GSs as a result of the introduction of individual CYP79 genes. The insect parameters were determined in a series of bioassays. The GS content of the plants as well as the number of trichomes were measured. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the possible relationships among insect and plant variables. The novel GSs in the tested lines did not appear to have any unequivocal effect on the DBM. Instead, the plant characteristics that affected larval performance and larval preference did not influence oviposition preference. Trichomes did not affect oviposition, but influenced larval parameters negatively. Although the tested A. thaliana lines had earlier been shown to influence disease resistance, in this study no clear results were found for P. xylostella

The use of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ) traditional varieties and their mixtures with commercial varieties to manage bean fly (Ophiomyia spp .) infestations in Uganda

The bean fly (Ophiomyia spp.) is considered the most economically damaging field insect pest of common beans in Uganda. Despite the use of existing pest management approaches, reported damage has remained high. Forty-eight traditional and improved common bean varieties currently grown in farmers’ fields were evaluated for resistance against bean fly. Data on bean fly incidence, severity and root damage from bean stem maggot were collected. Generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) revealed significant resistance to bean fly in the Ugandan traditional varieties. A popular resistant traditional variety and a popular susceptible commercial variety were selected from the 48 varieties and evaluated in pure and mixed stands. The incidence of bean fly infestation on both varieties in mixtures with different arrangements (systematic random versus rows), and different proportions within each of the two arrangements, was measured and analysed using GLMMs. The proportion of resistant varieties in a mixture and the arrangement type significantly decreased bean fly damage compared to pure stands, with the highest decrease in damage registered in the systematic random mixture with at least 50 % of resistant variety. The highest reduction in root damage, obvious 21 days after planting, was found in systematic random mixtures with at least 50 % of the resistant variety. Small holder farmers in East Africa and elsewhere in the world have local preferences for growing bean varieties in genetic mixtures. These mixtures can be enhanced by the use of resistant varieties in the mixtures to reduce bean fly damage on susceptible popular varieties