Polymorphisms in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and vascular endothelial growth factor may cross talk in preeclampsia: a pilot study of maternal and fetal dyads in Indian population

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a multi-system disorder complicating 5-7% pregnancies and one of the leading causes of fetal/maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide.Methods: We have analyzed the association of common genetic polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and angiogenesis pathway in preeclamptic/eclamptic mother-fetal dyad samples, as we have hypothesized that there is a cross-talk between the maternal and fetal genotypes. Maternal venous and fetal umbilical vein blood of 50 primigravidae with preeclampsia /eclampsia and 100 matched normotensive controls of north Indian origin were collected.Results: A significant association was observed in the prevalence of VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor) polymorphism (rs25648 T>C) with PE. Moreover, difference in the prevalence of the AGT (rs7079 A>C) polymorphism was observed between mild vs. severe PE. Fetal genotypes showed a strong association with respect to RENIN (rs11240688 A>G) and AGT (rs11122576 G>A) to preeclampsia.Conclusions: Preeclamptic mothers and their fetuses have shown association with genes that are interacting partners in the regulation of angiogenesis and it would be interesting to expand the study to include more genes and connected pathways for the better understanding of the interplay of the biological process that goes dysregulated in this multi-systemic disorder.  

Analytical study of electro-osmosis modulated capillary peristaltic hemodynamics

A mathematical model is developed to analyse electro-kinetic effects on unsteady peristaltic transport of blood in cylindrical vessels of finite length. The Newtonian viscous model is adopted. The analysis is restricted under Debye-Hückel linearization (i.e. wall zeta potential less than or equal to 25mV is sufficiently small). The transformed, non-dimensional conservation equations are derived via lubrication theory and long wavelength and the resulting linearized boundary value problem is solved exactly. The case of a thin electric double layer (i.e. where only slip electro-osmotic velocity considered) is retrieved as a particular case of the present model. The response in pumping characteristics (axial velocity, pressure gradient or difference, volumetric flow rate, local wall shear stress) to the influence of electro-osmotic effect (inverse Debye length) and Helmholtz-Smoluchowski velocity is elaborated in detail. Visualization of trapping phenomenon is also included and the bolus dynamics evolution with electro-kinetic effects examined. A comparative study of train wave propagation and single wave propagation is presented under the effects of thickness of EDL and external electric field. The study is relevant to electrophoresis in haemotology, electrohydrodynamic therapy and biomimetic electro-osmotic pumps

Influence of parameters on mechanical and micro-structural properties of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welded joint of 1 mm thin Inconel 625 plates

Inconel 625 (IN625), since its invention, has been a material of choice for industries where components in service conditions are exposed to extremely high temperatures, corrosion, and oxidation environments. As per the American welding society for butt-joining such alloys in sheets, non-traditional techniques are the best means for producing permanent joints. These techniques require high-cost setup and high maintenance costs which are only economical for high-volume assembly line fabrication in mass-production facilities. Therefore, Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding is highly suitable for producing defect-free autogenous weldments in high-strength alloy sheets with a thickness below 3mm. The current work focuses on the experimental investigation of the TIG welding of Inconel 1mm sheets. In this work, mechanical properties and microstructure are studied for controlled heat input of TIG welding. Current is varied from 40A to 65A and voltage from 10V to 12V. Only three combinations of parameters show sound weld visually and are analyzed by performing various testing. The main objective of the study is to find the feasible process parameters for the micro joining of IN625 sheets. From this discussion, it appears that arc energy, welding current, and voltage significantly affect the quality of the weld

A preliminary investigation on AFLP marker-wood density trait association in teak (Tectona grandis L. f.)

Association between 276 AFLP loci and wood density of 46 teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) genotypes was evaluated, confirming the genetic structure among the genotypes and significant (p &lt; 0.01) linkage disequilibrium between 9.4% loci-pair. AFLP markers with Bayesian correction for inbreeding coefficient detected a low genetic structure vis-à-vis high genetic diversity (0.23) and high polymorphism (57.41 ± 9.62%). AMOVA allocated 26.34% variation among the populations and 73.65% variation among the genotypes with FST = 0.16. The wood density with 8.71% variation displayed significant normal distribution. The careful control of statistical estimates incorporating Q and K to avoid the false discovery resulted in four AFLP loci significantly associated with the wood density trait. This is the first report dealing with marker-trait association in teak against the scarcity of background genomic information in this species. The AFLP markers associated with the wood density trait may be developed into STSmarkers for marker-assisted selection and breeding for genetic improvement of the species.</p

Transverse magnetic field driven modification in unsteady peristaltic transport with electrical double layer effects

The influence of transverse magnetic field on time-dependent peristaltic transport of electrically-conducting fluids through a microchannel under an applied external electric field with induced electric field effect is considered, based on lubrication theory approximations. The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) problem is also simplified under the Debye linearization. Closed-form solutions for the linearized dimensionless boundary value problem are derived. With increasing Hartmann number, the formation of bolus in the regime (associated with trapping) is inhibited up to a critical value of magnetic field. Flow rate, axial velocity and local wall shear stress are strongly decreased with greater Hartmann number whereas pressure difference is enhanced with higher Hartmann number at low time values but reduced with greater elapse in time. With greater electro-osmotic parameter (i.e. smaller Debye length), maximum time-averaged flow rate is enhanced, whereas the axial velocity is reduced. An increase in electrical field parameter (i.e. maximum electro-osmotic velocity) causes an increase in maximum time-averaged flow rate. The simulations find applications in electromagnetic peristaltic micro-pumps in medical engineering and also “smart” fluid pumping systems in nuclear and aerospace industries

Analytical approach for entropy generation and heat transfer in CNT-nanofluid dynamics through a ciliated porous medium

The transportation of biological and industrial nanofluids by natural propulsion like cilia movement and self-generated contraction-relaxation of flexible walls has significant applications in numerous emerging technologies. Inspired by multi-disciplinary progress and innovation in this direction, a thermo-fluid mechanical model is proposed to study the entropy generation and convective heat transfer of nanofluids fabricated by the dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) nanoparticles in water as the base fluid. The regime studied comprises heat transfer and steady, viscous, incompressible flow, induced by metachronal wave propulsion due to beating cilia, through a cylindrical tube containing a sparse (i.e. high permeability) homogenous porous medium. The flow is of the creeping type and is restricted under the low Reynolds number and long wavelength approximations. Slip effects at the wall are incorporated and the generalized Darcy drag-force model is utilized to mimic porous media effects. Cilia boundary conditions for velocity components are employed to determine analytical solutions to the resulting non-dimensionalized boundary value problem. The influence of pertinent physical parameters on temperature, axial velocity, pressure rise and pressure gradient, entropy generation function, Bejan number and stream-line distributions are computed numerically. A comparative study between SWCNT nanofluids and pure water is also computed. The computations demonstrate that axial flow is accelerated with increasing slip parameter and Darcy number and is greater for SWCNT- nanofluids than for pure water. Furthermore the size of the bolus for SWCNT-nanofluids is larger than that of the pure water. The study is applicable in designing and fabricating nanoscale and microfluidics devices, artificial cilia and biomimetic micro-pump

Peristaltic pumping through porous medium in presence of electric double layer

The present paper investigates the peristaltic flow of Newtonian fluids through the porous medium. The effects of electroosmosis mechanism on peristaltic pumping are also considered. An analytical solution is obtained under lubrication approach. Poisson Boltzmann equations are also simplified using Debye linearization. The effects of permeability parameter, electrical double layer thickness and electro-osmotic parameter on the flow characteristics, pressure distribution and shear stress distributions are computed. Numerical computations reveal that electroosmosis and permeability play vital role in peristaltic pumping. The findings of present study may be applicable in biomedical engineering and chemical engineering where peristaltic micropumps may be designed

High prevalence of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas infections among cage cultured Pangas catfish from the reservoirs of Maharashtra, India

Cage farming of Pangas catfish (Pangasionodon hypophthalmus) in small reservoirs is primarily profitable. Still, sustainability in terms of disease and environmental impact issues remains unsolved. In the present study, Pangas catfish from selected farms were screened for bacteria and parasites from 2017-18. In the present study, several Gram-negative bacterial species, including Edwardsiella tarda, Aeromonas hydrophila, A. veronii, Pseudomonas putida, Enterobacter cloacae, and Plesiomonas shigelloides, were isolated. A high prevalence of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas infections was noticed in cage farms. The most prevalent isolate was A. veronii (9 isolates), followed by P. aeruginosa and P. putida, revealing the presence of biotic stress. Furthermore, potential human pathogenic bacteria, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Citrobacter freundii, and Morganella morganii, were isolated. Histopathological analysis of the vital organs concluded the extent of damage caused due to the biotic stress in the cage culture system. The antibiotic sensitivity test implied resistance of bacteria for Sulphamethoxazole and Tetracycline. Some of them were resistant to multiple drugs, the risk for public health. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, and Plesiomonas were identified by principal component analysis as significant abiotic and biotic stress factors. This information helps design predictive disease models

<span style="font-weight:normal; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Genetic variability among <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Jatropha</i> species as revealed by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers </span>

496-501There is a mounting interest in Jatropha species as a biodiesel tree to lessen the energy crisis and generate income in rural areas of developing countries. The present study was conducted on 23 accessions of Jatropha belonging to seven species, comprising 6 accessions of J. curcas and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">J. integerrima each, 4 accessions of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">J. gossypifolia, 2 accessions of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">J. dioca, J. podagrica, J. tanjorensis each and 1 accession of J. glandulifera. These different species were used to determine the genetic diversity based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Four AFLP primer combinations produced a total of 369 fragments with an average of 92.25 fragments per primer combination. A total of 361 (97.54%) fragments showed polymorphism in the germplasm analyzed. In order to access the discriminatory power of four primer combination used, a variety of marker attributes like polymorphic information content (PIC), marker index (MI) and resolving power (RP) values were calculated. The PIC (0.331), RP (45.18) and MI (42.659) showed the efficiency of used primer combinations. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 0.165 to 0.993. Genotyping data obtained from all 361 polymorphic fragments were used to group the accessions using the UPGMA-phenogram and principal component analysis (PCA). Majority of group obtained in phenogram and PCA contained accessions as per their species. AFLP is reliable molecular technique and provides one of the most informative approaches to establish genetic relatedness in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Jatropha, which may also be true for other related species

Polymorphisms in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and vascular endothelial growth factor may cross talk in preeclampsia: a pilot study of maternal and fetal dyads in Indian population

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a multi-system disorder complicating 5-7% pregnancies and one of the leading causes of fetal/maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Methods: We have analyzed the association of common genetic polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and angiogenesis pathway in preeclamptic/eclamptic mother-fetal dyad samples, as we have hypothesized that there is a cross-talk between the maternal and fetal genotypes. Maternal venous and fetal umbilical vein blood of 50 primigravidae with preeclampsia /eclampsia and 100 matched normotensive controls of north Indian origin were collected. Results: A significant association was observed in the prevalence of VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor) polymorphism (rs25648 T>C) with PE. Moreover, difference in the prevalence of the AGT (rs7079 A>C) polymorphism was observed between mild vs. severe PE. Fetal genotypes showed a strong association with respect to RENIN (rs11240688 A>G) and AGT (rs11122576 G>A) to preeclampsia. Conclusions: Preeclamptic mothers and their fetuses have shown association with genes that are interacting partners in the regulation of angiogenesis and it would be interesting to expand the study to include more genes and connected pathways for the better understanding of the interplay of the biological process that goes dysregulated in this multi-systemic disorder. [Int J Res Med Sci 2016; 4(5.000): 1666-1672