Clinical and microscopic correlation of abnormal vaginal discharge

Background: Vaginal discharge in the reproductive age group is the most common complaint encountered everyday both by gynaecologists and general practitioners. The prevalence of vaginal discharge in India is estimated to be 30%. Bacterial vaginosis is the most common cause, followed by Candidiasis and Trichomonasis. Aims and objectives of the study were to correlate clinical and microscopic methods for diagnosing abnormal vaginal discharge and to find out the most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in our set up.Methods: The study was carried out in Gynaecological OPD of VIMS, Ballari. After thorough history and gynecological examination, three samples were collected from the posterior fornix of vagina using sterile cotton swabs. The first swab was used to detect trichomonas vaginalis using wet mount microscopy. The second swab was used to determine amine/fishy odour (Whiff test). The third swab was used for gram staining to diagnose Bacterial vaginosis and Candida. The Gram-stained slides was evaluated using Nugent’s scoring system for detection of BV.Results: Bacterial vaginosis constitutes the most common cause of vaginal discharge, followed by Candidiasis and then Trichomoniasis in our set up. The sensitivity of clinical diagnosis is 71.93%, 88.9%, and 33.3% and specificity are 54.65%, 92.15% and 99.49% for Bacterial vaginosis, Candidiasis, and Trichomoniasis respectively.Conclusions: The most ideal approach is the microbiological approach for the etiological diagnosis of symptomatic vaginal discharge. The most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge is Bacterial vaginosis followed by Candidiasis and Trichomoniasis

Assessment of drug utilization pattern in patients undergoing chemotherapy for various types of metastatic cancers in a tertiary care government hospital

Background: Cancer is one among main causes of morbidity and mortality in developing and developed countries. The World Cancer Report 2014 of World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), states that in 2012 the global incidence of cancer increased to a 14 million new cases, the figure expected to rise to an annual 19.3 million by 2025. The prescription pattern of anticancer drugs has evolved considerably in recent years because of better understanding of underlying pathophysiology of carcinomas as well as introduction of newer drugs. Methods: It was a hospital-based prospective, cross-sectional study conducted in Department of Oncology, GGH, Kakinada for a period of twelve months from February 2017 to January 2018. A total of 100 patients were enrolled using convenience sampling technique. Patient demographics like age, gender, educational level, employment status, marital status, smoking category, alcohol consumption, stage of cancer was collected. Drug utilization pattern was obtained from inpatient case reports, prescriptions and medication charts used during a chemotherapy cycle.Results: Among all anticancer drugs, cisplatin and 5-flurouracil were most commonly prescribed followed by Adriamycin. The most commonly used adjuvant drugs were B-complex, diclofenac, granisetron, ranitidine, dexamethasone. Antibiotic use was found to be very limited.Conclusions: Various anticancer drug prescription patterns are being used for treatment of patient with metastatic cancers. In this study, cisplatin and 5-flurouracil were commonly used. Injudicious antibiotic prescribing was not observed. 

Pirfenidone Induced Photosensitivity Reaction in a Patient with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Drug-induced photosensitivity refers to the development of cutaneous disease as a result of combined effects of a chemical and light. Photosensitivity reactions may result from systemic medications and topically applied compounds. Pirfenidone is known to cause photosensitivity reactions, rash, pruritus and dry skin at high doses. However, similar adverse reactions with low doses of Pirfenidone have not been reported. We report a case of photosensitivity reaction induced by low- dose Pirfenidone in a patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

Investigations on selected ecological parameters of Tuticorin Bay, Gulf of Mannar, south-east coast of India with emphasis on suitability for mariculture

A study was conducted for a period of two years from 2017 to 2018 to assess the health of Tuticorin Bay, south-east coast of India. Water and sediment quality parameters, total clam density, heavy metal content in the sediment and clam tissue samples from four sites were used as the criteria for health assessment. High values of parameters like salinity (38.3±5.04 ppt) and ammonia (0.09±0.04 mg l-1) were observed at the station close to the thermal power station and high nitrite (0.688±0.13 μg l-1) and total suspended solids (380.3±0.04 mgl-1) were observed at the station close to Koramballam freshwater creek. Most of the water quality variables were within the standard limit prescribed for aquaculture activities. The organic matter content in the sediment of the bay ranged from 0.26 to 5.17%. Comparatively low heavy metal concentration was observed both in the sediment and clam tissue samples. The metals were found accumulated in the order of Fe>Mn> Pb>Cu>Ni>Cd in the sediment samples and in the order Fe>Pb>Mn>Cu>Cd>Ni in clam tissue samples. The estimated levels were also within the permissible limits for most of the metals. The study indicated that Tuticorin Bay is suitable for mariculture activities

Over expression of anti-apoptotic gene in banana cv Rasthali enhances resistance against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 1

The most popular banana cv Rasthali was transformed with anti-apoptotic gene, AtBAG4 regulated with two different promoters viz., ZmBgl and ubiquitin to enhance the tolerance levels to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 1 (FOC1). The differences in gene expression driven by two promoters revealed that stronger expression of AtBAG4 gene under the ubiquitin promoter suppressed the infection and spreading processes of FOC1 in transgenic banana under standard bioassay systems. Analysis using the real time PCR showed the varying levels of AtBAG4 gene expression under two promoters. It was evident that ZmBgl driven AtBAG4 lead to lower gene expression in leaves which correlated with lesser levels of resistance to FOC1. Constitutive expression of AtBAG4 under the control of ubiquitin promoter showed increased transgene transcripts which directly correlated with the enhanced tolerance against FOC1 from seedlings stage to active vegetative phases. This study reveals the importance of constitutive expression of anti-apoptotic gene showing enhanced tolerance against the most dreaded FOC1 in highly susceptible variety Rasthali

Oxygen Activation and Radical Transformations in Heme Proteins and Metalloporphyrins

As a result of the adaptation of life to an aerobic environment, nature has evolved a panoply of metalloproteins for oxidative metabolism and protection against reactive oxygen species. Despite the diverse structures and functions of these proteins, they share common mechanistic grounds. An open-shell transition metal like iron or copper is employed to interact with O_2 and its derived intermediates such as hydrogen peroxide to afford a variety of metal–oxygen intermediates. These reactive intermediates, including metal-superoxo, -(hydro)peroxo, and high-valent metal–oxo species, are the basis for the various biological functions of O_2-utilizing metalloproteins. Collectively, these processes are called oxygen activation. Much of our understanding of the reactivity of these reactive intermediates has come from the study of heme-containing proteins and related metalloporphyrin compounds. These studies not only have deepened our understanding of various functions of heme proteins, such as O2 storage and transport, degradation of reactive oxygen species, redox signaling, and biological oxygenation, etc., but also have driven the development of bioinorganic chemistry and biomimetic catalysis. In this review, we survey the range of O_2 activation processes mediated by heme proteins and model compounds with a focus on recent progress in the characterization and reactivity of important iron–oxygen intermediates. Representative reactions initiated by these reactive intermediates as well as some context from prior decades will also be presented. We will discuss the fundamental mechanistic features of these transformations and delineate the underlying structural and electronic factors that contribute to the spectrum of reactivities that has been observed in nature as well as those that have been invented using these paradigms. Given the recent developments in biocatalysis for non-natural chemistries and the renaissance of radical chemistry in organic synthesis, we envision that new enzymatic and synthetic transformations will emerge based on the radical processes mediated by metalloproteins and their synthetic analogs

Curcumin supplementation could improve diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction associated with decreased vascular superoxide production and PKC inhibition

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Curcumin, an Asian spice and food-coloring agent, is known for its anti-oxidant properties. We propose that curcumin can improve diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction through superoxide reduction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Diabetes (DM) was induced in rats by streptozotocin (STZ). Daily curcumin oral feeding was started six weeks after the STZ injection. Twelve weeks after STZ injection, mesenteric arteriolar responses were recorded in real time using intravital fluorescence videomicroscopy. Superoxide and vascular protein kinase C (PKC-βII) were examined by hydroethidine and immunofluorescence, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The dilatory response to acetylcholine (ACh) significantly decreased in DM arterioles as compared to control arterioles. There was no difference among groups when sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was used. ACh responses were significantly improved by both low and high doses (30 and 300 mg/kg, respectively) of curcumin supplementation. An oxygen radical-sensitive fluorescent probe, hydroethidine, was used to detect intracellular superoxide anion (O₂^●-) production. O₂^●-production was markedly increased in DM arterioles, but it was significantly reduced by supplementation of either low or high doses of curcumin. In addition, with a high dose of curcumin, diabetes-induced vascular PKC-βII expression was diminished.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Therefore, it is suggested that curcumin supplementation could improve diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction significantly in relation to its potential to decrease superoxide production and PKC inhibition.</p

Prevailing charge transfer in the reaction of protonated and neutral nitric oxide: A theoretical and experimental study

The thermal gas-phase reaction of [NOH]+ with nitric oxide (NO) has been studied using FT-ICR mass spectrometry complemented by high level quantum chemical calculations. Among different competitive paths that may be envisioned, using D- and 15N labelling in the reagent species has allowed to unequivocally observe an exclusive electron transfer (ET) reactivity. This outcome is well accounted by the energy profile for the envisioned plausible pathways calculated at UCCSD(T)/aug-ccpVTZ//UB3LYP/def2-TZVP level of theory. The seemingly barrierless ET process (as predicted by classical Marcus theory) is exoergonic by 20.8 kcal/mol. The two reaction partners may alternatively yield an adduct, where a large extent of charge transfer has taken place. This [HNO⋅⋅⋅NO]+ adduct may proceed by undergoing transfer of hydrogen, entailing largely hydride character. However, in agreement with a calculated barrier of ca. 12 kcal/mol, no experimental evidence is obtained for the occurrence of this alternative route