Enhanced biomass production study on probiotic Bacillus subtilis SK09 by medium optimization using response surface methodology

The culture conditions of lactose fermenting, spore forming probiotic Bacillus subtilis SK09 isolated from dairy effluent were optimized by response surface methodology to maximize the biomass production. The student’s t-test of the Placket-Burman screening design revealed that the effects of pH, ammonium citrate and peptone were more significant and these variables were further optimized using central composite design. The various effects of the variables were studied using Fisher’s F-test for analysis of variance and a second order polynomial model was developed which fitted well with high statistical reliability and significance. The optimal value of significant variables was found to be pH (6.72), ammonium citrate (0.164%) and peptone (0.85%). At these optimized conditions, the maximum biomass yield was estimated to be 10.051*109 CFU/ml. By employing this statistical design, enhanced yield of probiotic biomass B. subtilis SK09 was achieved using cost-effective medium.Key words: Probiotics, response surface methodology, central composite design, Bacillus subtilis SK09, lactose intolerance disorder

A rare case of sigmoid volvulus complicating pregnancy in a Tertiary care centre: a case report

Intestinal obstruction complicating pregnancy is an extremely rare complication during pregnancy. Volvulus of the sigmoid colon is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction complicating pregnancy accounting for upto 44% of the aetiology. We report a case of sigmoid volvulus complicating pregnancy in a woman with 34 weeks amenorrhoea which was diagnosed early in spite of its late presentation and successfully managed with resection and primary anastamosis. Sigmoid volvulus complicating pregnancy carries a high maternal mortality and morbidity, fetal mortality and needs a high index of suspicion and early surgical intervention

Enforcing Behavioral Constraints in Evolving Aspect-Oriented Programs

Reasoning, specification, and verification of Aspect-Oriented (AO) programs presents unique challenges especially as such programs evolve over time. Components, base-code and aspects alike, may be easily added, removed, interchanged, or presently unavailable at unpredictable frequencies. Consequently, modular reasoning of such programs is highly attractive as it enables tractable evolution, otherwise necessitating that the entire program be reexamined each time a component is changed. It is well known, however, that modular reasoning about AO programs is difficult. In this paper, we present our ongoing work in constructing a rely-guarantee style reasoning system for the Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) paradigm, adopting a trace-based approach to deal with the plug-n-play nature inherent to these programs, thus easing AOP evolution

Validity of point-of-care device for diagnosing anemia in workers exposed to lead

Detecting anemia in occupational health settings is critical in a high-risk population for anemia like the lead-exposed. Whether the point-of-care devices are sensitive to detect anemia in individuals with high levels of lead exposure is unknown. We compared hemoglobin (Hb) levels from HemoCue® Hb 301 System and standard analyzer, Mindrey-BC 5300, in individuals (n=58) exposed to lead (mean levels = 44.9 ?g/dL) for a chronic period (mean duration of exposure = 105 months). We observed high sensitivity (0.95), specificity(0.95) in detecting anemia by hemocue, and high agreement between the methods. The significant difference in Hb values between the methods (0.171g/dL, p=0.018) was clinically minimal. We conclude that hemocue is a good method for rapidly detecting anemia and estimating Hb levels among the lead-exposed in resource-limited settings

Retrospective study factors related to preterm birth in Government Raja Mirasudar hospital and obstetric and perinatal outcome

Background: Preterm birth is a leading cause of perinatal mortality and long-term morbidity as well as the long-term health consequences and cognitive outcomes. Present study was conducted to determine prevalence and risk factors and obstetric & perinatal outcome associated with preterm birth in Rajamirasudar Hospital, Thanjavur.Methods: A case control study was conducted between Mar 2015 - Sep 2015 in Rajamirasudar Hospital, Thanjavur. All the live new-borns during the study period were investigated. Of 6805 live births during the study period 356 births occurred in <37 weeks were taken as a case and 579 term neonates were taken as a control group. Data were obtained through review of prenatal and hospital delivery records. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to obtain magnitude of association between independent variables and preterm birth.Results: The prevalence rate of preterm birth was 5.6%. History of previous preterm birth (OR=12.7,CI: 3.9-40.4, p<0.001), hypertension (OR=7.3, CI: 2.1-25.4, p=0.002), oligohydramnios (OR=3.9, CI:1.6-9.5, p=0.002), diabetics (OR=3.7, CI: 1.1-11.8, p=0.024),  premature rupture of membrane (OR=3.1, CI:1.9-4.9, p=0.000), hypothyroid (OR=2.0, CI: 1.0-3.8, p=0.037), prepregnancy low BMI (OR=2.0, CI: 1.1-3.8, p=0.015), urinary tract infection in 26-30 weeks , (OR=1. 8 CI:1.0-3.2, p=0.04) were determined as significant risk factors for preterm birth.Conclusions: Early detection and treatment of diseases or disorders among pregnant women especially hypertension, Oligohydramnios, diabetics, hypothyroid, urinary tract infection, pre pregnancy low BMI as well as the improving health care quality delivered to pregnant women may reduce preterm prevalence rate and also reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality

Network-Based Analysis of Early Pandemic Mitigation Strategies: Solutions, and Future Directions

Despite the large amount of literature on mitigation strategies for pandemic spread, in practice, we are still limited by na\ ive strategies, such as lockdowns, that are not effective in controlling the spread of the disease in long term. One major reason behind adopting basic strategies in real-world settings is that, in the early stages of a pandemic, we lack knowledge of the behavior of a disease, and so cannot tailor a more sophisticated response. In this study, we design different mitigation strategies for early stages of a pandemic and perform a comprehensive analysis among them. We then propose a novel community-based isolation method and show its efficacy in reducing the speed of the spread by a large margin as compared to current methods. We also show that the test-trace-isolation strategy can outperform lockdown and random test-trace in reducing the economic impact and spread of the disease if combined with k-hop neighborhood ranking. The novelty of our work lies in using network structural properties (local and global) to design a strategy for the early stages of a pandemic. Our results encourage further investigation into community-based mitigation strategies and shed more light on the differences between current methods of choice in practical setting

Effects of ICI 182780 on estrogen receptor expression, fluid absorption and sperm motility in the epididymis of the bonnet monkey

BACKGROUND: The importance of estrogen in regulation of fluid absorption and sperm maturation in the rodent epididymis has been established from studies on estrogen receptor-alpha knockout mice. However, functional studies on the role of estrogen in primate epididymis have been few. The main objective of this study was therefore to extend these observations and systematically analyze the presence and function of estrogen receptors in modulating the function of the primate epididymis, using the bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata) as a model system. METHODS: A steroidal estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist, ICI 182780 (ICI), was administered to adult male bonnet monkeys via mini-osmotic pumps for a duration of 30 to 180 days. The expression of key estrogen-regulated genes (ER-alpha, Na-K ATPase alpha-1 and Aquaporin-1) was examined at specific time points. Further, the effect of ICI in modulating fluid reabsorption in efferent ductules was monitored, and critical sperm-maturation parameters were also analyzed. RESULTS: Our studies in the bonnet monkey revealed that both ER-alpha and ER-beta were expressed in all the three regions of the epididymis. We observed an increase in ER-alpha mRNA and protein in the caput of ICI-treated monkeys. Steady state mRNA levels of the water-channel protein, Aquaporin-1, was significantly lower in the caput of ICI-treated monkeys compared to controls, whereas the mRNA levels of Na-K ATPase alpha-1 remained unchanged. In vitro incubation of efferent ductules with ICI resulted in two-fold increase in tubular diameter, indicating affected fluid reabsorption capacity. Furthermore, sperm from ICI-treated monkeys were immotile. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results point to an integral role for estrogen in modulating the functions of the bonnet monkey epididymis. This study also demonstrates possible differences in the epididymal physiology of rodents and non-human primates, and thus underscores the significance of reports such as these, that examine the physiology of non-human primates (as opposed to rodents), in an attempt to understand similar events in the human

Cebrap-IHD Research Project on Labour Market Inequality in Brazil and India

There are many sources of income inequality – production structures, the distribution of assets, the relative power of capital and labour, political forces and social hierarchy, as well as differences in education and capability. But among these, labour market structures and institutions are of central importance. This research aims to address these issues and their implications for development policies in both Brazil and India. Policy choices in the two countries intersect, but operate in different historical and social contexts, and have had differing degrees of success