Organo-Fluorine Compounds as Artificial Blood Substitute

The rate of fluoro-carbon compounds as artificial substitute for blood has been discussed. Blood is a complicated body fluid. At first glance it seems impossible that such a complicated body fluid can be replaced by artificial synthesized fluids or any substitute for this can be synthesized. Fluoro-carbon compounds however have advanced research in this area because a number of fluoro-carbon have been found to be highly inert and have high solubility for O/sub 2/CO/sub 2/ and are able to transport O/sub 2/ CO/sub 2/ in vivo

RESPONSE CONTROL IN NONLINEAR SYSTEMS WITH NOISE

Noise is unavoidable and/or present in a wide variety of engineering systems. Although considered to be undesirable from certain viewpoints, it can play a useful role in influencing the behavior of nonlinear mechanical and structural systems that have multiple solutions in the form of equilibrium points, periodic solutions, and aperiodic (including chaotic) solutions. The aim of this dissertation work is to discover clues related to noise enabled steering or control for engendering desirable changes in system behavior. A combination of experimental, analytical, and numerical studies have been undertaken on the following: i) shifting of jump-up and jump-down frequencies leading to an eventual collapse of hysteresis observed in the response of a nonlinear oscillator, ii) influence of noise on the chaotic response of a nonlinear system, and iii) noise-induced escape route from a chaotic-attractor. Furthermore, a combination of analytical and numerical studies have been undertaken to understand an extended Jeffcott rotor-stator system and the influence of noise on the system dynamics. Additionally, this dissertation includes work on partial control of chaotic systems under the influence of noise, wherein the trajectories are confined inside a particular region (chaotic attractor) despite the presence of white noise. Maintaining chaotic behavior in systems in the presence of an external disturbance may be desirable and important for the dynamics of certain systems. The proposed algorithm has been shown to be effective for systems with different dimensions. The dissertation outcomes provide answers to the following fundamental questions: i) how can noise influence the long-time responses of mechanical and structural systems and ii) how can noise be used to steer a system response to avoid an undesirable dynamical state. These answers can serve as an important foundation for many industrial applications (e.g., applications with rotor-stator systems) as well

Genetic Predisposition for Dermal Problems in Hexavalent Chromium Exposed Population

We studied the effect of genetic susceptibility on hexavalent chromium induced dermal adversities. The health status of population was examined from the areas of Kanpur (India) having the elevated hexavalent chromium levels in groundwater. Blood samples were collected for DNA isolation to conduct polymorphic determination of genes, namely: NQO1 (C609T), hOGG1 (C1245G), GSTT1, and GSTM1 (deletion). Symptomatic exposed subjects (n=38) were compared with asymptomatic exposed subjects (n=108) along with asymptomatic controls (n=148) from a non contaminated reference community. Exposed symptomatic group consisted of 36.8% subjects who were GSTM1 null genotyped as compared to asymptomatic where only 19.4% subjects were null. The exposed subjects with GSTM1 null genotype were more susceptible to dermal adversities in comparison with wild genotyped subjects (OR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.071–5.451). Age, smoking, gender or duration of residence were not found to have any confounding effect towards this association. Association with other genes was not statistically significant, nonetheless, possible contribution by these genes cannot be ruled out. In conclusion, variation in the polymorphic status of GSTM1 gene may influence dermal outcomes among residents from Cr(VI) contaminated areas. Further studies are therefore, needed to examine these observations among different population groups

PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION AND NEW ONSET OF DIABETES IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION IN RURAL POPULATION OF HARYANA

Objective: We conducted a well-designed prevalence study in a rural population of Haryana in Mullana rural area to find out the latest prevalence of essential hypertension, the prescription pattern of antihypertensive drugs and the associated risk of new onset of diabetes.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on the patient data (2672 patients) from the years 2009 to 2013 at OPD of M. M. University hospital, Mullana to find the previous year's prevalence of different diseases, including essential hypertension, new onset of diabetes and associated risk factors, prescription pattern of antihypertensive drug therapy. Based on the above results, a prospective study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2016 and total 510 patients (270 essential hypertension and 240 essential hypertension with new onset of diabetes) and 270 normal individuals were recruited in the study.Results: The retrospective study, a total of 2672 patients' data was evaluated which showed 41.21% prevalence of essential hypertension, 11.83% new onset of diabetes in Essential hypertension patients and 15.87% diabetic patients. Antihypertensive monotherapy was prescribed to 59.85% patients and combination therapy to 40.15% patients while that of a prospective study showed 40.37% patients of monotherapy and 59.63% patients of combination therapy. The prospective study also showed that different anthropometric parameters were significantly associated with risk of hypertension and new onset of diabetes except for age and height.Conclusion: An increase in the prevalence of essential hypertension and associated risk factors was observed when compared with previous studies and retrospective study. It is clearly seen by the change in drug therapy pattern and different anthropometric parameters. Implementation of a large scale awareness program is needed to combat these metabolic diseases

PAIN with and without PAR: variants for third-spin assisted heteronuclear polarization transfer

In this article, we describe third-spin assisted heteronuclear recoupling experiments, which play an increasingly important role in measuring long-range heteronuclear couplings, in particular 15N-13C, in proteins. In the proton-assisted insensitive nuclei cross polarization (PAIN-CP) experiment (de Paëpe et al. in J Chem Phys 134:095101, 2011), heteronuclear polarization transfer is always accompanied by homonuclear transfer of the proton-assisted recoupling (PAR) type. We present a phase-alternating experiment that promotes heteronuclear (e.g. 15N→13C) polarization transfer while simultaneously minimizing homonuclear (e.g.13C→13C) transfer (PAIN without PAR). This minimization of homonuclear polarization transfer is based on the principle of the resonant second-order transfer (RESORT) recoupling scheme where the passive proton spins are irradiated by a phase-alternating sequence and the modulation frequency is matched to an integer multiple of the spinning frequency. The similarities and differences between the PAIN-CP and this het-RESORT experiment are discussed her

Three-dimensional deuterium-carbon correlation experiments for high-resolution solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy of large proteins

Well-resolved 2H-13C correlation spectra, reminiscent of 1H-13C correlations, are obtained for perdeuterated ubiquitin and for perdeuterated outer-membrane protein G (OmpG) from E. coli by exploiting the favorable lifetime of 2H double-quantum (DQ) states. Sufficient signal-to-noise was achieved due to the short deuterium T 1, allowing for high repetition rates and enabling 3D experiments with a 2H-13C transfer step in a reasonable time. Well-resolved 3D 2HDQ-13C-13C correlations of ubiquitin and OmpG were recorded within 3.5days each. An essentially complete assignment of 2HDQα shifts and of a substantial fraction of 2HDQβ shifts were obtained for ubiquitin. In the case of OmpG, 2HDQα and 2HDQβ chemical shifts of a considerable number of threonine, serine and leucine residues were assigned. This approach provides the basis for a general heteronuclear 3D MAS NMR assignment concept utilizing pulse sequences with 2HDQ-13C transfer steps and evolution of deuterium double-quantum chemical shift

Arid ecosystem: future option for carbon sinks using microbial community intelligence

Desert, comprising one-third of the Earth’s surface, was a synonym for ‘no life’ as it supports very less or no life due to nutritional stress and extreme weather. Microbial autotrophic biochemistry is the principal source of carbon in arid environment, but understanding of these processes in arid ecosystem is limited. Emerging molecular tools have identified associations of phototrophic and chemolithoautotrophic communities often termed as ‘biological soil crust’ or ‘microbiotic crust’. They are the sole sources of carbon and nitrogen, collectively providing soil stability to support vegetation. Here the curiosity arises, whether this phenomenon could be exploited in deserts for carbon sink using microbial community intelligence. By following the precipitation event under regulated nutrient supply that promotes the soil microbial intelligence for autotrophy would enrich soil carbon and nitrogen which in turn support plant growth in desert. Additionally, bioaugmentation of rhizobacteria could enhance the process. This will enable us to refine and formulate our strategies to exploit CO2-fixing microorganisms in such niches vis-à-vis supporting the carbon sink using microbial community intelligence

Causal relationships between lipid and glycemic levels in an Indian population: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia and abnormal glycemic traits are leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Although the association between the two traits is well established, there still exists a gap in the evidence for the direction of causality. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the direction of the causal relationship between lipids and glycemic traits in an Indian population using bidirectional Mendelian randomization (BMR). METHODS: The BMR analysis was conducted on 4900 individuals (2450 sib-pairs) from the Indian Migration Study. Instrument variables were generated for each lipid and glycemic trait (fasting insulin, fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, HOMA-?, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides) to examine the causal relationship by applying two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression in both directions. RESULTS: Lipid and glycemic traits were found to be associated observationally, however, results from 2SLS showed that only triglycerides, defined by weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) of 3 SNPs (rs662799 at APOAV, rs780094 at GCKR and rs4420638 at APOE/C1/C4), were observed to be causally effecting 1.15% variation in HOMA-IR (SE = 0.22, P = 0.010), 1.53% in HOMA- ? (SE = 0.21, P = 0.001) and 1.18% in fasting insulin (SE = 0.23, P = 0.009). No evidence for a causal effect was observed in the reverse direction or between any other lipid and glycemic traits. CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that triglycerides may causally impact various glycemic traits. However, the findings need to be replicated in larger studies

High risk of tuberculosis during infliximab therapy despite tuberculosis screening in inflammatory bowel disease patients in India

Background/Aims The data on the risk of tuberculosis (TB) reactivation with infliximab (IFX) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from TB endemic countries, like India, is limited. The risk of TB reactivation on IFX and its predictors in patients with IBD was assessed. Methods This retrospective review included consecutive patients with IBD who received IFX, and were on follow-up from January 2005 to November 2017. The data was recorded on age/disease duration, indications for IFX, screening for latent tuberculosis (LTB) before IFX, response to IFX, incidence and duration when TB developed after IFX, and type of TB (pulmonary [PTB]/extra-pulmonary [EPTB]/disseminated). Results Of 69 patients (22 ulcerative colitis/47 Crohn’s disease; mean age, 35.6±14.5 years; 50.7% males; median follow-up duration after IFX, 19 months [interquartile range, 5.5–48.7 months]), primary non-response at 8 weeks and secondary loss of response at 26 and 52 weeks were seen in 14.5%, 6% and 15% patients respectively. Prior to IFX, all patients were screened for LTB, 8 (11.6%) developed active TB (disseminated, 62.5%; EPTB, 25%; PTB, 12.5%) after a median of 19 weeks (interquartile range, 14.0–84.5 weeks) of IFX. Of these 8 patients’ none had LTB, even when 7 of 8 were additionally screened with contrast-enhanced chest tomography. Though not statistically significant, more patients with Crohn’s disease than ulcerative colitis (14.9% vs. 4.5%, P=0.21), and those with past history of TB (25% vs. 9.8%, P=0.21), developed TB. Age, gender, disease duration, or extraintestinal manifestations could not predict TB reactivation. Conclusions There is an extremely high rate of TB with IFX in Indian patients with IBD. Current screening techniques are ineffective and it is difficult to predict TB after IFX