MIDDLE EAR AND NASOPHARYNGEAL BACTERIAL FLORA AND THEIR SENSITIVITY IN ACTIVE STAGE OF MUCOSAL DISEASE OTITIS MEDIA: A COMPARISON

Objective: Identifying the role of nasopharyngeal bacteria in recurrent middle ear (ME) infection helps in developing an effective treatment strategy.We aimed to compare bacterial flora of ME with nasopharynx (NP) and their sensitivity patterns in active stage of mucosal disease - otitis media(CSOM).Methods: Ear and nasopharyngeal swabs from patients with active ear discharge for >3 months were processed for culture and sensitivity, theorganisms were identified using Gram-stain.Results: Twenty patients between 10 and 65 years and male:female ratio of 13:7 were enrolled. 9 had symptoms since childhood. 10 patientscomplained unilateral ear discharge; five each had discharge from the left and right ear. 11 patients had nasal symptoms; nose block due to obstruction(9), nasal discharge (8), and both symptoms were seen in eight patients. 14 patients (70.0%) had deviated nasal septum and 8 (40.0%) had dischargein the NP. Of 20 ear swabs, 19 grew bacteria; 1 was sterile (5.0%). 13 (65%) nasopharyngeal swabs grew bacteria, 7 were sterile. Culture yieldedaerobic bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterium (9/20, 45.0%) followed by Pseudomonas (7/20, 35.0%) isolated from theear. The most common nasopharyngeal isolate was S. aureus (9=45%). 10 patients had common ME and nasopharyngeal flora. Organisms weresensitive to amoxicillin+clavulanic acid, fluoroquinolones. Sensitivity was observed to polymyxin, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazole also.Conclusion: Common ME and nasopharyngeal flora with same antibiotic sensitivity pattern suggest nasopharyngeal etiology. Nasopharyngeal floramay have a role in recurrent ME infections in mucosal disease - otitis media.Keywords: Bacterial flora, Bacterial sensitivity, mucosal disease otitis media, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus

Analysis of the efficacy of a constructed wetland in treating human fecal contamination

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-63).The efficiency of a system of constructed wetlands in treating non-point source pollution, particularly, human fecal contamination, was evaluated by collecting and analyzing water samples using both conventional culture-based methods to enumerate indicator bacteria and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method to quantify the human host-specific Bacteroides 16S rRNA genetic marker. Constructed wetlands behave as sinks and transform pollutants to improve the quality of surface runoff. The Alexandra Canal constructed wetland in Singapore is a system of four wetlands, each having different retention times, where water flows in series from a sedimentation bay to a surface flow wetland, thereafter passing through a floating aquatic wetland, and finally through a subsurface wetland. Measured concentrations of total coliform ranged between 300 and 40,000 MPN/100 mL, E. coli between 1 and 1000 MPN/100 mL, enterococci between 1 and 750 MPN/100 mL, and the HF marker between 2.7 x 10³ and 4.6 x 10 CE/100 mL. The overall removals of total coliform, E. coli, and enterococci were negligible. HF marker cells were present at higher concentrations than the indicator bacteria. The concentrations of indicator bacteria were found to decrease through the wetland system until they reached the subsurface wetland, where the concentrations increased. This may be attributed to bacterial growth in the subsurface environment in the absence of sunlight which would otherwise cause bacterial die-off. The HF marker increased as water flowed through the system; however the increase was within the range of measurement variability. No significant statistical correlations were found between microbiological indicators and the HF marker. Overall, the constructed wetland is effective in that the concentrations of indicator bacteria decreased, although further research is recommended to understand the decay mechanisms of HF marker in wetlands. Also, a better understanding of the persistence of the HF marker as compared to indicator bacteria is required.by Kathyayani Shobhna Kondepudi.M.Eng

Investigation of Resources Types for OSLC domains Targeting ISO 26262 : Focus on Knowledge Representation of the Right side of the ISO 26262 Software V-model

Context: ISO 26262 requires compilation of traceable work products across the application lifecycle as product based safety evidence. The compilation of such safety evidence is a time consuming and arduous task. Open Services Lifecycle Collaboration (OSLC) is an initiative that supports traceability through tool interoperability. The meta modelling of the ISO 26262 work products in the structure of Resource Description Framework (RDF) can be used for achieving interoperability. Thus, OSLC services used on the RDF exchanged between interoperating tools aids in an effective way of compiling the product based safety evidence for ISO 26262 safety case. Objectives: Representing the compilation of traceable work product types for the software testing and verification in ISO 26262, in form of a RDF-based conceptual meta-model. Testing and extending the concepts by instantiating the meta-model with work products to be represented in RDF for a case of a truck Electronic Control Unit (ECU) system. Lastly, validating the effectiveness of the conceptual meta-model for its compliance to ISO 26262. Methods: To realise the objectives, a case study was conducted at Scania CV AB, Södertälje, Sweden, a manufacturer of safety critical ECU systems used in heavy automobiles. The case study was conducted in three consecutive cycles. The first cycle of qualitative inductive content analysis of the ISO 26262 standard and its related document at the company for defining the conceptual meta model. The second cycle of qualitative deductive content analysis for testing, extending and refining the conceptual meta model. The last cycle of validating the effectiveness of the tested and extended conceptual meta model for compliance to ISO 26262. Results: The main result was the tested, extended and refined RDF based ISO 26262 conceptual meta model depicting traceable work product types for software testing and verification of a safety critical ECU system. The testing and extending of the conceptual meta model was performed with respect to the Main1 (M1) ECU system at Scania. The RDF was defined for the work products of M1 ECU system. Finally, the conceptual meta model was validated for its effectiveness in realising the criteria of abstraction, confirmability and traceability based on ISO 26262.  Conclusions: Thus, the RDF-based conceptual meta-model depicting product based safety evidence provides a structure for realising the traceability required for compiling the software testing and verification part of ISO 26262 safety case. The meta model was tested by defining the RDF for the work products of a truck ECU system that would be exchanged for achieving interoperability. Finally, the conceptual meta-model was validated for representing the knowledge required for showing traceable product based safety evidence for ISO 26262 safety case.ESPRESSO, Scania CV AB, SödertäljeGen&ReUsableSafet

Association of Insulin Based Insulin Resistance with Liver Biomarkers in Type 2 Diabetes mellitus

Aims of the study were to compare liver markers in T2DM patients with that in non-diabetic healthy volunteers and also to find the correlation between insulin resistance(IR) and liver markers. The objective of the study was also to find out whether PON1 can be an alternative liver marker. The cross-sectional study was conducted in the Clinical Biochemistry laboratory. 114 type 2 DM patients in the age group 18-65 years, diagnosed as per ADA guidelines were recruited in the study.100 age and gender-matched non-diabetics, healthy volunteers or those having health packages were taken as controls. The blood sample was collected and fasting blood glucose, transaminases and Alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin (total and direct), total protein, albumin, and insulin were assayed. HOMA-IR was calculated. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 16. A significant elevation was seen in AST, ALT, ALP, GGT, TB, DB, TP, A: G ratio in diabetics. A lowered albumin and A: G ratio were observed in diabetics as compared to controls. Fasting insulin levels were 1.7 times higher in diabetics compared controls, suggesting hyperinsulinemia in cases. Homeostatic model for assessment of insulin resistance (insulin based) was 2.7 times greater in T2DM compared to controls. A significant positive correlation was found between insulin levels and total and direct bilirubin, (r=0.279, P=0.003, and r=0.233, P=0.014 respectively). ALP, total and direct bilirubin had a significant positive correlation with HOMA-IR (r=0.228,P=0.033,; r=0.231,P=0.030 ; r=0.242. P=0.023 respectively).A very significant negative correlation was found between albumin and HOMA- IR (r= -0.306, P=0.004). A significant positive correlation was observed between PON1 and HOMA-IR (P=0.000), PON and insulin (P=0.015). It can be concluded from that diabetics had high liver enzymes as compared to non-diabetics. An association was found between T2DM, liver markers, and IR. It was observed that PON1 was not a good liver marker in T2DM

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Not AvailableOf late, Pacific white shrimp Penaeus vannamei culture has intensified globally and is a major contributor to the cultured shrimp produced worldwide. Intensification of its culture has led to elevated ammonia concentration during grow-out. Ammonia toxicity is a function of water pH, temperature, salinity and beyond the optimum range, creates stress to cultured aquatic species which can reduce growth, increase susceptibility to diseases and eventually mortality. The present study was aimed at quantifying the toxic effect of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) (1, 3, 6 & 9 mg/l) and pH levels (6, 8 & 10) individually and in combination on median survival (50% lethal time) of shrimp (8 g) after exposure for 14 days followed by post-stress challenge with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) for 9 days. Mortality risk factor and the toxicity effect on the immune variables were evaluated. Individual stressors showed a risk factor of 1–13 times, whereas combined treatments considerably increased the risk of dying compared to control. Low survival (15%) was observed in pH6TAN9 and pH10TAN3 treatments and was substantiated by prominent histological obliteration in gills of shrimp. The cumulative mortality in post-stress WSSV challenged trials was 1–5 times and 1–35 times in individual and combination treatments, respectively compared to control. The study revealed that variations in ammonia and pH beyond the optimal range significantly influence the non-specific immune mechanisms in P.vannamei and increases the susceptibility to WSSV especially in combination treatments.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableIncreased water turbidity in the intensive farming of Penaeus vannamei is one of the environmental stressors. Investigations were carried out on the effect of inorganic clay particle induced turbidity (NTU) levels (T1-30, T2-60 and T3-120) on survival, immunological response: total hemocyte count (THC), activity of phenoloxidase (PO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and stress metabolites: Osmolality (O), glucose (G) and lactate (L) in P. vannamei exposed to 21 days. T3 and T2 registered 20 and 10% mortality respectively compared to 5% in T1 and control. Shrimp in T1, T2, and T3 showed 1.1, 1.9 and 4 times more risk of dying compared to control. THC, PO, and SOD decreased significantly (p ≤0.05) from day-1 to 21 in all the treatments compared to control. T3 showed significantly low immunological activity (THC: 119±2.8 x 105 cells ml-1 ; PO: 0.369±0.001 U ml-1 ; SOD: 0.230±0.001 U ml-1) compared to control (THC: 167±13.4 x 105 cells ml-1 ; PO: 0.546±0.002 U ml-1 ; SOD: 0.284±0.001 U ml-1 ). Physiological stress metabolites increased significantly with exposure time in T3 (G: 85.2±0.071 mg ml-1; L:8.2±0.007 mg dl-1 ) compared to control (G: 77.2.2±0.163 mg ml-1 ; L: 7.1±0.16 mg dl-1). Osmolality was high in T3 (961.7±148.6 mOsm kg-1) compared to control (858.3±3.4 mOsm kg-1). High turbidity of >60 NTU in the rearing medium caused the gills blockage apparently as a compensating reaction to the disruption of osmotic and ionic balance. Shrimps exposed to T3 treatment showed intracellular deposits of the clay particles within the filament and lamellar epithelium of gills in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. The present study concluded that <30 NTU water turbidity as safe level for P. vannameiNot Availabl

Synthesis and structural characterization of elastin-based polypentapeptide/hydroxypropylmethylcellulose blend films: Assessment of miscibility, thermal stability and surface characteristics

This work portrays the synthesis of Elastin-based polymer poly(GVGIP) (where; G-Glycine, V-Valine, I-Isoleucine, P-Proline) through the solution-phase strategy by stepwise approach followed by character-ization with modern analytical tools. The miscibility attributes of the polypeptide were explored with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) using dilute solution viscometry method, spectroscopic, thermal, SEM, and XRD analysis. Explicitly the Huggins coefficient KH], the intrinsic viscosity q], parameters such as alpha by Sun, deltaq](m) by Garcia delta B, and mu suggested by Chee, delta K, and beta advocated by Jiang and Han, recommend the miscibility up to 50% of the polypeptide. In the solid phase, DSC and TGA analysis showed that miscible blends possessed a higher glass transition temperature (T-g) and thermal stability, respec-tively. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) evinced the smooth morphology for miscible blends. Besides, XRD showed broadening of the diffraction pattern ratified the miscibility. The change in frequency and intensity of FTIR peaks demonstrated the existence of intermolecular interchanges between two polymers. Overall, the approach successfully synthesized poly(GVGIP)/HPMC miscible blends up to 50%, make it an excellent choice for biomedical and pharmaceutical purposes

Gender Differences in Body Mass Index, Body Weight Perception, weight satisfaction, disordered eating and Weight control strategies among Indian Medical and Nursing Undergraduates

Objective. To assess gender disparity in body weight perception, Body Mass Index (BMI),  eight satisfaction and role of depression among undergraduate Medical and Nursing  students.Methods. A descriptive cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in conveniently selected medical (n=241) and nursing (n=213) students of Bangalore, South India. Data was collected using self-administered SCOFF questionnaires.Results. Our findings revealed that men had a significantly higher BMI than women (t=5.403, p<0.001). More number of women compared to men, perceived themselves as ver  weight (74.8%) and not satisfied with their weight status (81.6%). More men than women  cored positively for disordered eating behaviors on SCOFF (45.4% vs. 31.1%) and EAT scale (16.5% vs. 8.7%). While, 48.2% of the women practice binge eating, 41.2% of the men practice it (p<0.004); more men (47.4%) than women (25.4%) exercised for more than sixty minutes (p<0.001) to control their weight.Conclusion.Findings indicate small differences between the genders that have to be taken in  consideration in planning interventional programs to prevent eating disorders in this copulation. Descriptors: body mass index; weight perception; cross-sectional studies;  students, nursing; students, medical; feeding and eating disorders.Objetivo. Avaliar a disparidade por sexo no índice de massa corporal, percepção do peso corporal, satisfação com o peso, desordens da alimentação e estratégias para o controle de peso em estudantes de medicina e enfermagem da Índia. Métodos. Se realizou um estudo descritivo de corte transversal com uma amostra tomada a conveniência de estudantes de Medicina (n=241) e de Enfermagem (n=213) de Bangalore, no sul da Índia. Os dados foram coletados usando os instrumentos auto-administrados SCOFF e EAT-26. Resultados. Os homens tinham um IMC significativamente maior que as mulheres (t=5.403, p<0.001), mas um maior número de mulheres em comparação com os homens, percebiam que pesavam mais (74.8%) e não estavam satisfeitas com seu peso (81.6%). Os homens e as mulheres tiveram pontuações que mostravam risco de ter transtornos de condutas alimentar no SCOFF (45.4% vs. 31.1%) e no EAT (16.5% vs. 8.7%). Enquanto que 48.2% das mulheres praticavam o excesso, já os homens 41.2% (p <0.004); mais homens (47.4%) do que mulheres (25.4%) se exercitavam por mais de sessenta minutos (p<0.001) para controlar seu peso. Conclusão. As descobertas indicam pequenas diferenças por sexo que devem ser tidas em conta no planejamento de programas de intervenção para prevenir os transtornos na alimentação nesta população.Objetivo. Evaluar la disparidad por sexo en el índice de masa corporal, la percepción del peso corporal, la satisfacción con el peso, los desórdenes de la alimentación y estrategias para el control de peso en estudiantes de medicina y enfermería de la India. Métodos. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal con una muestra tomada a conveniencia de estudiantes de Medicina (n=241) y de Enfermería (n=213) de Bangalore, en el sur de India. Los datos se recolectaron usando los instrumentos autoadministrados SCOFF y EAT-26. Resultados. Los hombres tenían un IMC significativamente mayor que las mujeres (t=5.403, p<0.001); un mayor porcentaje de mujeres, en comparación con los hombres, percibía que pesaba más (74.8%), sin embargo, no estaban satisfechas con su peso (81.6%). Los hombres y las mujeres tuvieron puntajes que mostraban riesgo de tener trastornos de conductas alimentarias en el SCOFF (45.4% vs. 31.1%) y en el EAT (16.5% vs. 8.7%). Mientras que el 48.2% de las mujeres practicaba el atracón, el 41.2% de los hombres lo tenía (p <0.004); más hombres (47.4%) que mujeres (25.4%) se ejercitaban por más de sesenta minutos (p<0.001) para controlar su peso. Conclusión. Los hallazgos indican pequeñas diferencias por sexo que deben ser tenidas en cuenta en la planeación de programas de intervención para prevenir los trastornos en la alimentación en esta población