Use Of Glucan From Saccharomyces Cerevisiae As An Immunostimulant In Carp: Impact On Hematology, Phagocyte Function, And Infection With Aeromonas Hydrophila

Glucan was extracted from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and subjected to chemical analy- ses. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed that glucan is primarily composed of glucose units and contains 97.2% glucose. Infrared spectrum showed a major band at 883/cm, suggest- ing that glucan is linked to β-glycosidic. Intraperitoneal administration of different doses of glu- can enhanced the survival rate of carp (Cyprinus carpio) infected by Aeromonas hydrophila. When a concentration above 500 μg glucan per fish was administered, survival relative to the uninfected control was 100%. The total leukocyte count and neutrophil and monocyte popula- tions increased after administration of the glucan. The maximum effect occurred on day 6 after injection. Macrophages of compound-administrated test animals significantly increased produc- tion of superoxide anions, efficiently killing the bacterial pathogen. This study showed that glu- can can be effective in inducing non-specific cellular defense mechanism in carp

Modernising Asthma Management: Personalised Asthma Action Plans Using a Smartphone Application

© 2018 IEEE. Asthma is a chronic disease affecting one in nine Australians. With symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Asthma can significantly impact a patient's quality of life. Asthma action plans are said to be one of the most effective asthma interventions available. However, in Australia only one in five people aged 15 and over, with asthma, have a written asthma action plan. Even less of which, refer to their plan. A review of related literature and work showed a gap regarding accessibility of information on asthma action plans in a written form. In an attempt to mitigate this problem, this paper focuses on the design and development of a smartphone application. The application is currently a high-fidelity prototype designed and built using proto.io.software. In addition to this conversion, the application incorporates aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT) whereby realtime data regarding environmental triggers such as temperature, humidity and pollen in surroundings, can be accessed from the application. The application ultimately aims to help asthmatics improve their health and quality of life by providing them, or their carer with the knowledge needed to better understand and manage their asthma, when and where they need it

A Comparison of Vitamin A and Leucovorin for the Prevention of Methotrexate-Induced Micronuclei Production in Rat Bone Marrow

INTRODUCTION: Methotrexate, a folate antagonist, is a mainstay treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is also widely used in a low dose formulation to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In rats, methotrexate is known to induce micronuclei formation, leading to genetic damage, while vitamin A is known to protect against such methotrexate-induced genetic damage. Leucovorin (folinic acid) is generally administered with methotrexate to decrease methotrexate-induced toxicity. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether vitamin A and leucovorin differed in their capacity to prevent formation of methotrexate-induced micronuclei in rat bone marrow erythrocytes. The present study also aimed to evaluate the effect of combined treatment with vitamin A and leucovorin on the formation of methotrexate-induced micronuclei. METHODS: Male and female Wistar rats (n=8) were injected with 20 mg/kg methotrexate (single i.p. dose). The control group received an equal volume of distilled water. The third and fourth groups of rats received vitamin A (5000 IU daily dose for 4 successive days) and leucovorin (0.5 mg/kg i.p. dose for 4 successive days), respectively. The fifth and sixth groups of rats received a combination of vitamin A and a single dose of methotrexate and a combination of leucovorin and methotrexate, respectively. The last group of rats received a combination of leucovorin, vitamin A and single dose of methotrexate. Samples were collected at 24 hours after the last dose of the treatment into 5% bovine albumin. Smears were obtained and stained with May-Grunwald and Giemsa. One thousand polychromatic erythrocytes were counted per animal for the presence of micronuclei and the percentage of polychromatic erythrocyte was determined. RESULTS: Comparison of methotrexate-treated rats with the control group showed a significant increase in the percentage of cells with micronuclei and a significant decrease polychromatic erythrocyte percentage. Combined methotrexate and vitamin A therapy and combined methotrexate and leucovorin therapy led to significant decreases in the micronuclei percentage and an increase in polychromatic erythrocyte percentage when compared to rats treated with methotrexate alone. Leucovorin was found to be more effective than vitamin A against the formation of methotrexate-induced micronuclei. CONCLUSIONS: Both vitamin A and leucovorin provided significant protection against genetic damage induced by methotrexate

Angiographic determinants for side branch treatment in distal unprotected left main coronary artery bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention with single stent crossover technique

 Background: The aim of this study was to analyze angiographic parameters such as bifurcation angle, diameter at the polygon of confluence (POC) and SYNTAX score in predicting the need for side branch treatment with single-stent crossover technique from distal unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) to the major side branch.Methods: This was a retrospective and observational study. A total of 83 patients with distal ULMCA lesions were enrolled. Patients who underwent provisional single-stent crossover technique were compared with patients that required side branch treatment though plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) 5 (6.0%) or stenting 7 (8.4%). Angiographic parameters, bifurcation angle, diameter at the POC and the SYNTAX score were analyzed for their ability to predict the need for side branch treatment.Results: Mean age of patients was 58.2±5.3 years. Males constituted 61 (73.5%) patients. Post main branch stenting 5 (6.0%) and 7 (8.4%) patients required side branch treatment with POBA and stent implantation, respectively. Binary regression revealed bifurcation angle (Z: 1.15, OR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.97-1.01, p=0.25), diameter at the POC (Z: 1.1, OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.32-2.13, p=0.272) and SYNTAX score (Z: 1.51, OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.95-1.45, p=0.132) did not correctly predict the requirement of side branch treatment.Conclusion: Left main coronary artery to main branch stenting can be performed safely with single-stent crossover technique, irrespective of presence of side branch disease across a wide range of bifurcation angles, diameters at the POC and SYNTAX scores.

Recovery of Non-ferrous Metallic Values from Metallurgical Wastes

With the increased industrial expansion and ever incre-asing consumption of non-ferrous metals in India, utili-sation of low grade and complex ores, recovery of metals from waste products like slag, ashes and dross, apart from conservation of the non-ferrous metals not available in the country, by their judicious uses and by substitution, wherever possible, is a matter of great importance

The Scope for Development of Magnesium Industry in India

IN THIS era of "sputniks" and "space flights", weight saving poses to be a problem of prince importance with its direct influence over increasing speed and fuel economy. Magnesium and magnesium base alloys are known to be the lightest structural materials today, and have been employed not only for space research and rocketry but for various types of aero, marine and road trans-portation vehicles

Could homocysteine, angiotensin and alamandine be used as potential biomarkers in management of COVID-19?

The corona virus is now known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Risk predictors and novel predictors associated with COVID-19 is required to enable the risk stratification, guide interventional studies to target patients at enhanced risk of developing severe disease risk and optimize the allocation of limited human and technical resources in the ongoing pandemic all over the globe. The present review focused on potential laboratory biomarkers associated with COVID-19. We carried out an electronic search in Medline (PubMed central), Scopus, Web of Science and using the keywords laboratory, biomarkers, novel biomarkers, corona virus 2019 or COVID-19. We observed that limited data were found that related to homocysteine and angiotensin II in COVID-19 patients. Hence original research on these novel biomarkers which associated with the complication of COVID-19 might be given new clues especially that mediate anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects leading to cardiovascular, renal-protective actions. The present review proposed by the available literature, these predictors might be the potent biomarkers to improve management of corona virus. Further, large cohort studies will be required to support conclusions of present review

Non-sister Sri Lankan White-eyes (genus Zosterops) are a Result of Independent Colonizations

Co-occurrence of closely related taxa on islands could be attributed to sympatric speciation or multiple colonization. Sympatric speciation is considered to be rare in small islands, however multiple colonizations are known to be common in both oceanic and continental islands. In this study we investigated the phylogenetic relatedness and means of origin of the two sympatrically co-occurring Zosterops white-eyes, the endemic Zosterops ceylonensis and its widespread regional congener Z. palpebrosus, in the island of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a continental island in the Indian continental shelf of the Northern Indian Ocean. Our multivariate morphometric analyses confirmed the phenotypic distinctness of the two species. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses with ~2000bp from two mitochondrial (ND2 and ND3) and one nuclear (TGF) gene indicated that they are phylogenetically distinct, and not sister to each other. The two subspecies of the peninsula India; Z. p. egregius of Sri Lanka and India and Z. p. nilgiriensis of Western Ghats (India) clustered within the Z. palpebrosus clade having a common ancestor. In contrast, the divergence of the endemic Z. ceylonensis appears to be much deeper and is basal to the other Zosterops white-eyes. Therefore we conclude that the two Zosterops species originated in the island through independent colonizations from different ancestral lineages, and not through island speciation or multiple colonization from the same continental ancestral population. Despite high endemism, Sri Lankan biodiversity is long considered to be a subset of southern India. This study on a speciose group with high dispersal ability and rapid diversification rate provide evidence for the contribution of multiple colonizations in shaping Sri Lanka’s biodiversity. It also highlights the complex biogeographic patterns of the South Asian region, reflected even in highly vagile groups such as birds