ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India: a modular quotient

The study aims to develop a quotient towards a methodology wherein standards of web-based ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India can be codified in a broad-based model. This in turn could result in evaluating the current skill-sets and identify ICT requirements for future development in LIS areas. This is also an attempt to design a webbased platform for LIS professionals in ICT competencies in India. The modular web-based framework could be used in the national programme for continuing education of librarians as a tool to adapt curricula to the expectations of professionals in university libraries; foster career-long education and lifelong learning of librarians; support assessment according to the professional development plan and to enhance ICT competencies of university personnel

Determinants Outside the DevR C-Terminal Domain Are Essential for Cooperativity and Robust Activation of Dormancy Genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Background: DevR (also called as DosR) is a two-domain response regulator of the NarL subfamily that controls dormancy adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). In response to inducing signals such as hypoxia and ascorbic acid, the N-terminal receiver domain of DevR (DevRN) is phosphorylated at Asp54. This results in DevR binding to DNA via its C-terminal domain (DevRC) and subsequent induction of the DevR regulon. The mechanism of phosphorylation-mediated activation is not known. The present study was designed to understand the role of the N- and C-terminal domains of DevR in DevR regulon genes activation. Methodology/Principal Findings: Towards deciphering the activation mechanism of DevR, we compared the DNA binding properties of DevRC and DevR and correlated the findings with their ability to activate gene expression. We show that isolated DevRC can interact with DNA, but only with the high affinity site of a representative target promoter. Therefore, one role of DevR N is to mask the intrinsic DNA binding function of DevR C. However, unlike phosphorylated DevR, isolated DevR C does not interact with the adjacent low affinity binding site suggesting that a second role of DevRN is in cooperative binding to the secondary site. Transcriptional analysis shows that consistent with unmasking of its DNA binding property, DevRC supports the aerobic induction, albeit feebly, of DevR regulon genes but is unable to sustain gene activation during hypoxia

Study of antepartum haemorrhage and its maternal and perinatal outcome

Background: Antepartum haemorrhage (APH) is defined as bleeding from or into the genital tract after the period of viability until delivery of fetus. Etiology includes placenta previa, abruptio placentae, local causes, systemic causes and idiopathic origin. Objective of this study was to identify factors associated with APH, and to quantitate maternal morbidity, mortality and perinatal outcome in patients with APH at a tertiary care center in India.Methods: The study was a retrospective observational study and patient information was obtained from delivery records of 100 women presenting at gestational age of 28 weeks and above with APH. All patients with bleeding per vagina after 28 weeks of gestation were included in the study and were grouped as – Placenta Previa (PP), Abruptio Placenta (AP) or unknown causes.Results: Out of total 100 cases of APH, placenta previa contributed to 80%, abruptio placenta 19% and 1% unknown causes. Overall maternal mortality was 6%. Perinatal mortality was 42%. Prevalence of low birth weight and preterm babies was high.Conclusions: APH is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality which could be prevented by early registration, regular antenatal care, early detection of high risk cases, and early referral to higher center. Good facilities for caesarean section, availability of blood banks and multidisciplinary approach with a good NICU can improve maternal and perinatal outcome of APH. The results of this study were found in good agreement with previous studies

Transfusion practices in obstetrics and gynaecology in a tertiary care center

Background: This study was an effort to identify and highlight existing transfusion practices in our hospital, including the indications of various blood components used and the allergic reaction encountered. Obstetric hemorrhage remains major cause of maternal mortality worldwide and Blood transfusion can be a lifesaving intervention.Methods: This was a prospective cross- sectional study conducted on 172 patients who underwent blood and blood component transfusion. Hb concentration <7g/dL was determined to be an indication for blood product transfusion.Results: In this study the most common indication for blood transfusion was antenatal patient with anemia (32.8%) followed by ruptured ectopic pregnancy (19.5%) and postpartum hemorrhage (18.8%). Amongst gynecological patients, the most common cause for transfusion was abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) (61.4%). Majority patients were given single unit transfusion. Adverse reactions found in our study were not statistically significant.Conclusions: Therefore this study concludes that we still need to go a long way in order to train the medical fraternity at all levels to learn to identify the valid indications for transfusion and select appropriate component for management

Immuno-transcriptomic profiling of extracranial pediatric solid malignancies.

We perform an immunogenomics analysis utilizing whole-transcriptome sequencing of 657 pediatric extracranial solid cancer samples representing 14 diagnoses, and additionally utilize transcriptomes of 131 pediatric cancer cell lines and 147 normal tissue samples for comparison. We describe patterns of infiltrating immune cells, T cell receptor (TCR) clonal expansion, and translationally relevant immune checkpoints. We find that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and TCR counts vary widely across cancer types and within each diagnosis, and notably are significantly predictive of survival in osteosarcoma patients. We identify potential cancer-specific immunotherapeutic targets for adoptive cell therapies including cell-surface proteins, tumor germline antigens, and lineage-specific transcription factors. Using an orthogonal immunopeptidomics approach, we find several potential immunotherapeutic targets in osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma and validated PRAME as a bona fide multi-pediatric cancer target. Importantly, this work provides a critical framework for immune targeting of extracranial solid tumors using parallel immuno-transcriptomic and -peptidomic approaches

Universal Plant DNA Barcode Loci May Not Work in Complex Groups: A Case Study with Indian Berberis Species

BACKGROUND: The concept of DNA barcoding for species identification has gained considerable momentum in animals because of fairly successful species identification using cytochrome oxidase I (COI). In plants, matK and rbcL have been proposed as standard barcodes. However, barcoding in complex genera is a challenging task. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the species discriminatory power of four reportedly most promising plant DNA barcoding loci (one from nuclear genome--ITS, and three from plastid genome--trnH-psbA, rbcL and matK) in species of Indian Berberis L. (Berberidaceae) and two other genera, Ficus L. (Moraceae) and Gossypium L. (Malvaceae). Berberis species were delineated using morphological characters. These characters resulted in a well resolved species tree. Applying both nucleotide distance and nucleotide character-based approaches, we found that none of the loci, either singly or in combinations, could discriminate the species of Berberis. ITS resolved all the tested species of Ficus and Gossypium and trnH-psbA resolved 82% of the tested species in Ficus. The highly regarded matK and rbcL could not resolve all the species. Finally, we employed amplified fragment length polymorphism test in species of Berberis to determine their relationships. Using ten primer pair combinations in AFLP, the data demonstrated incomplete species resolution. Further, AFLP analysis showed that there was a tendency of the Berberis accessions to cluster according to their geographic origin rather than species affiliation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We reconfirm the earlier reports that the concept of universal barcode in plants may not work in a number of genera. Our results also suggest that the matK and rbcL, recommended as universal barcode loci for plants, may not work in all the genera of land plants. Morphological, geographical and molecular data analyses of Indian species of Berberis suggest probable reticulate evolution and thus barcode markers may not work in this case

ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India: a modular quotient

170-176The study aims to develop a quotient towards a methodology wherein standards of web-based ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India can be codified in a broad-based model. This in turn could result in evaluating the current skill-sets and identify ICT requirements for future development in LIS areas. This is also an attempt to design a web-based platform for LIS professionals in ICT competencies in India. The modular web-based framework could be used in the national programme for continuing education of librarians as a tool to adapt curricula to the expectations of professionals in university libraries; foster career-long education and lifelong learning of librarians; support assessment according to the professional development plan and to enhance ICT competencies of university personnel

Study of antepartum haemorrhage and its maternal and perinatal outcome

Background: Antepartum haemorrhage (APH) is defined as bleeding from or into the genital tract after the period of viability until delivery of fetus. Etiology includes placenta previa, abruptio placentae, local causes, systemic causes and idiopathic origin. Objective of this study was to identify factors associated with APH, and to quantitate maternal morbidity, mortality and perinatal outcome in patients with APH at a tertiary care center in India.Methods: The study was a retrospective observational study and patient information was obtained from delivery records of 100 women presenting at gestational age of 28 weeks and above with APH. All patients with bleeding per vagina after 28 weeks of gestation were included in the study and were grouped as – Placenta Previa (PP), Abruptio Placenta (AP) or unknown causes.Results: Out of total 100 cases of APH, placenta previa contributed to 80%, abruptio placenta 19% and 1% unknown causes. Overall maternal mortality was 6%. Perinatal mortality was 42%. Prevalence of low birth weight and preterm babies was high.Conclusions: APH is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality which could be prevented by early registration, regular antenatal care, early detection of high risk cases, and early referral to higher center. Good facilities for caesarean section, availability of blood banks and multidisciplinary approach with a good NICU can improve maternal and perinatal outcome of APH. The results of this study were found in good agreement with previous studies

Citizen science facilitates first ever genetic detection of wolf‐dog hybridization in Indian savannahs

Abstract Human demographic expansion has confined wildlife to fragmented habitats, often in proximity to human‐modified landscapes. Such interfaces facilitate increased interactions between feral or domesticated animals and wildlife, posing a high risk to wild species. This is especially relevant for free‐ranging dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and wild canids like gray wolves (Canis lupus) and golden jackals (Canis aureus). Wolf–dog hybridization may lead to a significant reduction of specific adaptations in wolves that could result in the decline of wolf populations. Detection and genetic discrimination of hybrids between dogs and wolves are challenging because of their complex demographic history and close ancestry. Citizen scientists identified two phenotypically different‐looking individuals and subsequently collected non‐invasive samples that were used by geneticists to test wolf‐dog hybridization. Genomic data from shed hair samples of suspected hybrid individuals using double‐digest restriction‐site‐associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing resulted in 698 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. We investigated the genetic origin of these two individuals analyzed with genetically known dogs, wolves, and other canid species including jackals and dholes (Cuon alpinus). Our results provide the first genetic evidence of one F2 hybrid and the other individual could be a complex hybrid between dogs and wolves. Our results re‐iterate the power of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) for non‐invasive samples as an efficient tool for detecting hybrids. Our results suggest the need for more robust monitoring of wolf populations and highlight the tremendous potential for collaborative approaches between citizens and conservation scientists to detect and monitor threats to biodiversity

Transfusion practices in obstetrics and gynaecology in a tertiary care center

Background: This study was an effort to identify and highlight existing transfusion practices in our hospital, including the indications of various blood components used and the allergic reaction encountered. Obstetric hemorrhage remains major cause of maternal mortality worldwide and Blood transfusion can be a lifesaving intervention.Methods: This was a prospective cross- sectional study conducted on 172 patients who underwent blood and blood component transfusion. Hb concentration &lt;7g/dL was determined to be an indication for blood product transfusion.Results: In this study the most common indication for blood transfusion was antenatal patient with anemia (32.8%) followed by ruptured ectopic pregnancy (19.5%) and postpartum hemorrhage (18.8%). Amongst gynecological patients, the most common cause for transfusion was abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) (61.4%). Majority patients were given single unit transfusion. Adverse reactions found in our study were not statistically significant.Conclusions: Therefore this study concludes that we still need to go a long way in order to train the medical fraternity at all levels to learn to identify the valid indications for transfusion and select appropriate component for management