Shear Wave Elastography of Liver: Measurement of normal liver stiffness in healthy population and factors affecting it

Background: Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) is a recent non-invasive method for determining liverstiffness. SWE is a two-dimensional elastography technique in which an amplitude-modulated beamof focused ultrasound is used to generate shear waves which are then transmitted by the transducerto the region of interest (ROI), where the propagation speed of shear waves is measured. Thepresent study is the first attempt to measure the normal range of liver stiffness using SWE in ahealthy population from North India and to study the effect of age, gender, and BMI on the liverstiffness values in the healthy population. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study wasconducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Government Medical College, Jammuon 117 healthy subjects without any known liver pathology or history of any liver disease. B-ModeUltrasound scan, followed by SWE Examination was performed on all subjects using SAMSUNGRS80EVO using CA1-7A convex array probe with a frequency of 1 to 7 MHz. Results: Successfulresults were obtained in 98.2%. The mean value of liver stiffness in 115 healthy subjects was 4.74± 0.91 kPa, and the 95% confidence interval was 4.58-4.91 kPa. (Range: 2.7-7.8 kPa). There wereno statistically significant differences in liver stiffness values regarding age, gender and BMI in thehealthy population (all p> 0.05)

Iterative IDMA Receivers with Random and Tree Based Interleavers

In recent days, on the horizon of wireless world, newly proposed multiple access scheme known as Interleave-Division Multiple-Access (IDMA) has made its remarkable impact. Researchers all over world, are making hard marks to establish the scheme to establish its claim as potential candidate for 4th generation wireless communication systems. This paper is concerned with the performance enhancement of iterative IDMA systems under coded & uncoded environment. The performance of an interleave division multiple access (IDMA) system can be improved by the optimized power allocation techniques. Based on the optimized power allocation technique we compare the performance of coded & uncoded IDMA system with random interleaver & tree based interleaver. During the simulation, it has been observed that tree based interleaver demonstrate the similar bit error rate (BER) performance to that of random interleaver however on other fronts including bandwidth and memory requirement at transmitter and receiver ends, it outperforms the random interleavers. Keywords: Tree Based Interleaver, Random Interleaver, IDMA, linear programming, power allocation, BER

Rosiglitazone synergizes anticancer activity of cisplatin and reduces its nephrotoxicity in 7, 12-dimethyl benz{a}anthracene (DMBA) induced breast cancer rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antineoplastic drug cisplatin remains the drug of choice for various solid tumours including breast cancer. But dose dependent nephrotoxicity is the major drawback in majority of platinum based chemotherapy regimens. Recent reports have shown that inflammatory pathways are the main offender for cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity. The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of rosiglitazone, a PPARγ agonist and an anti-inflammatory agent, on cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity, and its anticancer activity in DMBA induced breast cancer rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mammary tumours were induced in female Sprague-Dawley rats by feeding orally with dimethylbenz [a]anthracene (DMBA) (60 mg/kg). Cisplatin induced nephropathy was assessed by measurements of blood urea nitrogen, albumin and creatinine levels. Posttranslational modifications of histone H3, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase p38 expression and PPAR-γ expression were examined by western blotting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our data shows involvement of TNF-α in preventing cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity by rosiglitazone. Rosiglitazone pre-treatment to cisplatin increases the expression of p38, PPAR-γ in mammary tumours and shows maximum tumour reduction. Furthermore, cisplatin induced changes in histone acetylation, phosphorylation and methylation of histone H3 in mammary tumours was ameliorated by pre-treatment of rosiglitazone. Suggesting, PPAR-γ directly or indirectly alters aberrant gene expression in mammary tumours by changing histone modifications.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To best of our knowledge this is the first report which shows that pre-treatment of rosiglitazone synergizes the anticancer activity of cisplatin and minimizes cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in DMBA induced breast cancer.</p

Comparative evaluation of severity of COVID-19 pneumonia on computed tomography of the chest in vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals : an observational study

Purpose: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus causing an infectious disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Computed tomography (CT) of the chest plays a significant role in the diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19 using computed tomography severity scoring (CT-SS). Numerous vaccines are being made available in the world to lessen the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the current study is to compare the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia using CT-SS in COVID-19-positive vaccinated (Covishield/Oxford-AstraZeneca) and non-vaccinated individuals and to compare the final outcome wherever possible. Material and methods: This observational study was carried out from March 2021 to April 2021. Forty vaccinated and 40 non-vaccinated RT-PCR-positive COVID-19 patients who underwent CT chest during the 4-12th day of illness formed the material of the study. Semi-quantitative scoring was used, and CT-SS was calculated based on the extent of lobar involvement in all the patients. CT-SS was then compared between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups and the results analysed. Results: CT scans were performed in 80 patients (40 patients each in the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups). The majority of patients in the vaccinated group had mild (42.5%) and moderate (37.5%) CT-SS while the majority of patients in the non-vaccinated group had moderate (52.5%) and severe (27.5%) CT-SS score on chest CT. Also, no mortality was observed in the vaccinated group, with 2 deaths in the non-vaccinated group. Conclusions: Covishield vaccine administration reduces the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia as compared to the nonvaccinated group, with a marked reduction in mortality

Crosstalk between Different DNA repair pathways contributes to neurodegenerative diseases

Genomic integrity is maintained by DNA repair and the DNA damage response (DDR). Defects in certain DNA repair genes give rise to many rare progressive neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), such as ocular motor ataxia, Huntington disease (HD), and spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). Dysregulation or dysfunction of DDR is also proposed to contribute to more common NDDs, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Here, we present mechanisms that link DDR with neurodegeneration in rare NDDs caused by defects in the DDR and discuss the relevance for more common age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, we highlight recent insight into the crosstalk between the DDR and other cellular processes known to be disturbed during NDDs. We compare the strengths and limitations of established model systems to model human NDDs, ranging from C. elegans and mouse models towards advanced stem cell-based 3D models