What do we know about chronic kidney disease in India: first report of the Indian CKD registry

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are no national data on the magnitude and pattern of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in India. The Indian CKD Registry documents the demographics, etiological spectrum, practice patterns, variations and special characteristics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was collected for this cross-sectional study in a standardized format according to predetermined criteria. Of the 52,273 adult patients, 35.5%, 27.9%, 25.6% and 11% patients came from South, North, West and East zones respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age was 50.1 ± 14.6 years, with M:F ratio of 70:30. Patients from North Zone were younger and those from the East Zone older. Diabetic nephropathy was the commonest cause (31%), followed by CKD of undetermined etiology (16%), chronic glomerulonephritis (14%) and hypertensive nephrosclerosis (13%). About 48% cases presented in Stage V; they were younger than those in Stages III-IV. Diabetic nephropathy patients were older, more likely to present in earlier stages of CKD and had a higher frequency of males; whereas those with CKD of unexplained etiology were younger, had more females and more frequently presented in Stage V. Patients in lower income groups had more advanced CKD at presentation. Patients presenting to public sector hospitals were poorer, younger, and more frequently had CKD of unknown etiology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This report confirms the emergence of diabetic nephropathy as the pre-eminent cause in India. Patients with CKD of unknown etiology are younger, poorer and more likely to present with advanced CKD. There were some geographic variations.</p

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations at large transverse momenta in p+pp+p and Au+Au collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}= 200 GeV

Results on high transverse momentum charged particle emission with respect to the reaction plane are presented for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$= 200 GeV. Two- and four-particle correlations results are presented as well as a comparison of azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions to those in $p+p$ at the same energy. Elliptic anisotropy, $v_2$, is found to reach its maximum at $p_t \sim 3$ GeV/c, then decrease slowly and remain significant up to $p_t\approx 7$ -- 10 GeV/c. Stronger suppression is found in the back-to-back high-$p_t$ particle correlations for particles emitted out-of-plane compared to those emitted in-plane. The centrality dependence of $v_2$ at intermediate $p_t$ is compared to simple models based on jet quenching.Comment: 4 figures. Published version as PRL 93, 252301 (2004

Azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV

The results from the STAR Collaboration on directed flow (v_1), elliptic flow (v_2), and the fourth harmonic (v_4) in the anisotropic azimuthal distribution of particles from Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV are summarized and compared with results from other experiments and theoretical models. Results for identified particles are presented and fit with a Blast Wave model. Different anisotropic flow analysis methods are compared and nonflow effects are extracted from the data. For v_2, scaling with the number of constituent quarks and parton coalescence is discussed. For v_4, scaling with v_2^2 and quark coalescence is discussed.Comment: 26 pages. As accepted by Phys. Rev. C. Text rearranged, figures modified, but data the same. However, in Fig. 35 the hydro calculations are corrected in this version. The data tables are available at http://www.star.bnl.gov/central/publications/ by searching for "flow" and then this pape

The Hubbard model within the equations of motion approach

The Hubbard model has a special role in Condensed Matter Theory as it is considered as the simplest Hamiltonian model one can write in order to describe anomalous physical properties of some class of real materials. Unfortunately, this model is not exactly solved except for some limits and therefore one should resort to analytical methods, like the Equations of Motion Approach, or to numerical techniques in order to attain a description of its relevant features in the whole range of physical parameters (interaction, filling and temperature). In this manuscript, the Composite Operator Method, which exploits the above mentioned analytical technique, is presented and systematically applied in order to get information about the behavior of all relevant properties of the model (local, thermodynamic, single- and two- particle ones) in comparison with many other analytical techniques, the above cited known limits and numerical simulations. Within this approach, the Hubbard model is shown to be also capable to describe some anomalous behaviors of the cuprate superconductors.Comment: 232 pages, more than 300 figures, more than 500 reference

Optimized Hydrophobic Interactions and Hydrogen Bonding at the Target-Ligand Interface Leads the Pathways of Drug-Designing

Weak intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions are key players in stabilizing energetically-favored ligands, in an open conformational environment of protein structures. However, it is still poorly understood how the binding parameters associated with these interactions facilitate a drug-lead to recognize a specific target and improve drugs efficacy. To understand this, comprehensive analysis of hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding and binding affinity have been analyzed at the interface of c-Src and c-Abl kinases and 4-amino substituted 1H-pyrazolo [3, 4-d] pyrimidine compounds.In-silico docking studies were performed, using Discovery Studio software modules LigandFit, CDOCKER and ZDOCK, to investigate the role of ligand binding affinity at the hydrophobic pocket of c-Src and c-Abl kinase. Hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions of docked molecules were compared using LigPlot program. Furthermore, 3D-QSAR and MFA calculations were scrutinized to quantify the role of weak interactions in binding affinity and drug efficacy.The in-silico method has enabled us to reveal that a multi-targeted small molecule binds with low affinity to its respective targets. But its binding affinity can be altered by integrating the conformationally favored functional groups at the active site of the ligand-target interface. Docking studies of 4-amino-substituted molecules at the bioactive cascade of the c-Src and c-Abl have concluded that 3D structural folding at the protein-ligand groove is also a hallmark for molecular recognition of multi-targeted compounds and for predicting their biological activity. The results presented here demonstrate that hydrogen bonding and optimized hydrophobic interactions both stabilize the ligands at the target site, and help alter binding affinity and drug efficacy

Comparison of long-term mortality risk following normal exercise vs adenosine myocardial perfusion SPECT

A higher frequency of clinical events has been observed in patients undergoing pharmacological vs exercise myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). While this difference is attributed to greater age and co-morbidities, it is not known whether these tests also differ in prognostic ability among patients with similar clinical profiles. We assessed all-cause mortality rates in 6,069 patients, followed for 10.2 ± 1.7 years after undergoing exercise or adenosine SPECT. We employed propensity analysis to match exercise and adenosine subgroups by age, gender, symptoms, and coronary risk factors. Within our propensity-matched cohorts, adenosine patients had an annualized mortality rate event rates that was more than twice that of exercise patients (3.9% vs 1.6%, P &lt; .0001). Differences in mortality persisted among age groups, including those &lt;55 years old. In the exercise cohort, mortality was inversely related to exercise duration, with comparable mortality noted for patients exercising &lt;3 min and those undergoing adenosine testing. Among patients with normal stress SPECT tests, those undergoing adenosine testing manifest a mortality rate that is substantially higher than that observed among adequately exercising patients, but comparable to that observed among very poorly exercising patients. This elevated risk underscores an important challenge for managing patients undergoing pharmacological stress testing

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Effects of luteectomy in early pregnancy on the maintenance of gestation and plasma progesterone concentrations in the viviparous temperate lizard Barisia imbricata imbricata

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have shown that the corpus luteum is the principal source of progesterone during the gravidity period in reptiles; however, its participation in the maintenance of gestation in the viviparous squamata is in dispute. The effects of ovariectomy or luteectomy vary according to the species and the time at which the procedure is performed. In this paper, we describe the effects of luteectomy during early pregnancy on the maintenance of gestation and progesterone concentrations in the temperate Mexican viviparous lizard <it>Barisia imbricata imbricata.</it></p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-four lizards were subjected to three different treatments: luteectomy, sham luteectomy or non-surgical treatment, and blood samples were obtained before and after surgical treatment at different stages of gestation to determine the effects of luteectomy on the maintenance of gestation and progesterone concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spontaneous abortion was not observed in any of the females. However, luteectomy provoked abnormal parturition and a significant reduction in the number of young born alive. Parturition was normal in untreated females as well as those submitted to sham luteectomy. The surgical treatment also caused a significant reduction in progesterone concentrations in luteectomised females during early and middle gestation. However, no significant differences in hormone concentrations were observed among the three groups during late gestation or immediately post-parturition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our observations indicate that the presence of the corpus luteum is not necesary for the maintenance of gestation, but that it does participate in parturition control. Moreover, the corpus luteum of the viviparous lizard <it>B. i. imbricata</it> produces progesterone, at least during the first half of pregnancy, and that an extra-ovarian source of progesterone must maintain gestation in the absence of luteal tissue.</p

Evaluation of a combined index of optic nerve structure and function for glaucoma diagnosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The definitive diagnosis of glaucoma is currently based on congruent damage to both optic nerve structure and function. Given widespread quantitative assessment of both structure (imaging) and function (automated perimetry) in glaucoma, it should be possible to combine these quantitative data to diagnose disease. We have therefore defined and tested a new approach to glaucoma diagnosis by combining imaging and visual field data, using the anatomical organization of retinal ganglion cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from 1499 eyes of glaucoma suspects and 895 eyes with glaucoma were identified at a single glaucoma center. Each underwent Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph (HRT) imaging and standard automated perimetry. A new measure combining these two tests, the structure function index (SFI), was defined in 3 steps: 1) calculate the probability that each visual field point is abnormal, 2) calculate the probability of abnormality for each of the six HRT optic disc sectors, and 3) combine those probabilities with the probability that a field point and disc sector are linked by ganglion cell anatomy. The SFI was compared to the HRT and visual field using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The SFI produced an area under the ROC curve (0.78) that was similar to that for both visual field mean deviation (0.78) and pattern standard deviation (0.80) and larger than that for a normalized measure of HRT rim area (0.66). The cases classified as glaucoma by the various tests were significantly non-overlapping. Based on the distribution of test values in the population with mild disease, the SFI may be better able to stratify this group while still clearly identifying those with severe disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The SFI reflects the traditional clinical diagnosis of glaucoma by combining optic nerve structure and function. In doing so, it identifies a different subset of patients than either visual field testing or optic nerve head imaging alone. Analysis of prospective data will allow us to determine whether the combined index of structure and function can provide an improved standard for glaucoma diagnosis.</p

Mitotic catenation is monitored and resolved by a PKCε-regulated pathway.

Exit from mitosis is controlled by silencing of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). It is important that preceding exit, all sister chromatid pairs are correctly bioriented, and that residual catenation is resolved, permitting complete sister chromatid separation in the ensuing anaphase. Here we determine that the metaphase response to catenation in mammalian cells operates through PKCε. The PKCε-controlled pathway regulates exit from the SAC only when mitotic cells are challenged by retained catenation and this delayed exit is characterized by BubR1-high and Mad2-low kinetochores. In addition, we show that this pathway is necessary to facilitate resolution of retained catenanes in mitosis. When delayed by catenation in mitosis, inhibition of PKCε results in premature entry into anaphase with PICH-positive strands and chromosome bridging. These findings demonstrate the importance of PKCε-mediated regulation in protection from loss of chromosome integrity in cells failing to resolve catenation in G2