Delta bloom filter compression using stochastic learning-based weak estimation

Substantial research has been done, and sill continues, for reducing the bandwidth requirement and for reliable access to the data, stored and transmitted, in a space efficient manner. Bloom filters and their variants have achieved wide spread acceptability in various fields due to their ability to satisfy these requirements. As this need has increased, especially, for the applications which require heavy use of the transmission bandwidth, distributed computing environment for the databases or the proxy servers, and even the applications which are sensitive to the access to the information with frequent modifications, this thesis proposes a solution in the form of compressed delta Bloom filter. This thesis proposes delta Bloom filter compression, using stochastic learning-based weak estimation and prediction with partial matching to achieve the goal of lossless compression with high compression gain for reducing the large data transferred frequently

Clinicopathological features of uterine fibroid in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Uterine fibroids are one of the common benign tumours of uterus seen in women of reproductive age group. These constitute 5-10% of all these tumours.Methods: Total of 56 patients above 21 years of age reporting to OPD or emergency of gynaecology department of the Mayo Institute and found to be suffering from leiomyoma of the uterus were included in the study.Results: Clinical manifestations seen in cases with uterine fibroid. Menstrual irregularities were seen in 69.64% of cases. 39.28% suffered from abdominal pain and infertility was seen in 10.71% cases. Endometrial changes during the histopathological examination. In 71.42% of cases, proliferative endometrium was found. Secretory endometrium was seen in 14.28% and atrophic in 8.92%.  Conclusions: Leiomyoma is the most well-known uterine tumor seen in gynecological practice. Feminine aggravations are the commonest manifestation of which menorrhagia is the most well-known show. The vast majority of these tumors are intramural in area. The most widely recognized example of endometrium noticed is proliferative. Hyaline degeneration, myxoid degeneration and cystic degeneration are the normal auxiliary changes found in fibroid uterus

Adverse drug reactions: a retrospective review of hospitalized psychiatric patients at tertiary care hospital

Background: Hospital data based monitoring of ADRs can shed light on their extensiveness and pattern of occurrence. Study is expected to enable us in obtaining information on the incidence and pattern of ADRs in the local population. The objective of this study was to do surveillance, detect incidence of ADR and to analyse the ADRs according to their demographic distribution, reporting, presentations and causality assessment scale.Methods: A retrospective study conducted from January 2011 to December 2014 and psychiatric hospitalized patients were analysed and ADR reports were assessed for probability, severity, psychotropic drugs involved, and preventability.Results: A total number of 101 ADRs were reported in 72 patients. Most common ADR were mainly tremor 14 (13.86%), salivation 11 (10.89%) followed by muscle rigidity 6 (5.94%) and slurring of speech 6 (5.94%). In majority of the instances, it was antipsychotic agents 41 (56.94%) followed by antidepressants 11(15.27%) and mood stabilizers 11 (15.27%). As per causality assessment, 95 (94.05%) cases were ‘possible’ in WHO-UMC criteria and 72 71.28%) cases were ‘possible’ in Naranjo scale respectively. As per Schumock and Thornton preventability assessment, 91(90.09%) of total ADRs were in the not-preventable category. As per Hartwig and seigle’s severity assessment, majority of ADRs 74 (73.26%) were mild in severity.Conclusions: ADRs were most commonly associated with antipsychotic drugs. Developing an on-going ADR reporting system with continuous motivation and creating awareness among the healthcare professionals for reporting suspecting ADR will help to continue reporting and improving the patient’s safety

Temperature has a major effect on the cuticular wax composition of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) fruit

Cuticle is the first layer protecting plants against external biotic and abiotic factors and is responsive to climatic factors as well as determined by genetic adaptations. In this study, the chemical composition of bilberry fruit cuticular wax was investigated through a latitudinal gradient from Latvia (56◦N 24◦E) through Finland (65◦N 25◦E) to northern Norway (69◦N 18◦E) in two seasons 2018 and 2019. Changes in the major cuticular wax compounds, including triterpenoids, fatty acids, alkanes, aldehydes, ketones, and primary alcohols, were detected by GC-MS analysis. Generally, a decreasing trend in the proportion of triterpenoids from southern to northern latitudes, accompanied with an increase in proportion of fatty acids, aldehydes, and alkanes, in bilberry fruit cuticular wax was observed. A correlation analysis between climatic factors with proportion of wax compounds indicated that temperature was the main factor affecting the cuticular wax composition in bilberries. A controlled phytotron experiment with southern and northern bilberry ecotypes confirmed the major effect of temperature on bilberry fruit cuticular wax load and composition. Elevated temperature increased wax load most in berries of northern ecotypes. The level of triterpenoids was higher, while levels of fatty acids and alkanes were lower, in wax of bilberry fruits ripened at 18◦C compared to 12◦C in both northern and southern ecotypes. Based on our results, it can be postulated that the predicted increase in temperature due to climate change leads to alterations in fruit cuticular wax load and composition. In northern ecotypes, the alterations were especially evident

In vitro assessment of Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles cytotoxicity

Background:Silver (Ag) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are the most eminent nanoproducts. Due to their antimicrobial and antifungal activity, they have been the well commercialized nanosubstances. The hazards associated with human exposure to Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles should be investigated, and hence both the nanoparticles were synthesized to facilitate the risk assessment process.  Methods:Prior to the cytotoxic studies, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were carried out to ensure the particle size. Glutathione (GSH), Nitric Oxide (NO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) estimated by ELISA method.Results:In the present study, the cytotoxicity of Ag and TiO2 were investigated by using the glutathione (GSH), Nitric Oxide (NO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) by incubating various concentration of silver (0.25 to 76 mg/mL) and titanium dioxide (0.25 to 2 mg/mL) nanoparticles in different incubation periods (24, 48 and 74 hours at 37°C) in plasma.  Results observed that significant decrease (P <0.0001) in the concentration of GSH associated with increased concentration of NO (P <0.0001) and SOD (P <0.0001) after incubation with silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles at 24hrs at 37°C, however at 48 hours and 74 hours there is not much change.  Conclusion:The results indicate that silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles exhibits, nanoparticles mediated cytotoxicity by induction of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses and clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with immune-suppressive disease

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immune responses and infection outcomes were evaluated in 2,686 patients with varying immune-suppressive disease states after administration of two Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Overall, 255 of 2,204 (12%) patients failed to develop anti-spike antibodies, with an additional 600 of 2,204 (27%) patients generating low levels (&lt;380 AU ml−1). Vaccine failure rates were highest in ANCA-associated vasculitis on rituximab (21/29, 72%), hemodialysis on immunosuppressive therapy (6/30, 20%) and solid organ transplant recipients (20/81, 25% and 141/458, 31%). SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses were detected in 513 of 580 (88%) patients, with lower T cell magnitude or proportion in hemodialysis, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and liver transplant recipients (versus healthy controls). Humoral responses against Omicron (BA.1) were reduced, although cross-reactive T cell responses were sustained in all participants for whom these data were available. BNT162b2 was associated with higher antibody but lower cellular responses compared to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. We report 474 SARS-CoV-2 infection episodes, including 48 individuals with hospitalization or death from COVID-19. Decreased magnitude of both the serological and the T cell response was associated with severe COVID-19. Overall, we identified clinical phenotypes that may benefit from targeted COVID-19 therapeutic strategies

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Cuticular wax of Nordic berries:focus on composition, biosynthesis, and the effect of environmental factors

Abstract Berries have an outer layer of hydrophobic cuticular wax which plays a role in preventing non-stomatal water loss and protection against UV-B radiation. In this thesis, the chemical composition and morphology of cuticular wax in the fruit of Nordic wild berry species, namely bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea L.), bog bilberry (V. uliginosum L.), and crowberry (Empetrum nigrum L.) were explored. In bilberry, glossy type (GT) mutant and wild-type (WT) fruits at different developmental stages were investigated for the chemical composition, morphology, and biosynthesis of cuticular wax. Further, the effect of temperature and precipitation on the chemical composition of cuticular wax of bilberry fruit was studied through a latitudinal gradient from Latvia to Finland and Norway. The effect of temperature on the cuticular wax of bilberries was investigated through phytotron experiments. Results showed that triterpenoids were the dominant compound class in the cuticular wax of bilberry and lingonberry, whereas fatty acids and alkanes dominated in bog bilberry and crowberry, respectively. During bilberry fruit development, a decrease in the proportion of triterpenoids was observed with an increase in total aliphatic compounds. A higher proportion of triterpenoids along with a lower proportion of fatty acids and ketones was found in GT fruit cuticular wax compared with WT. A lower density of crystalloid structures on GT fruit than on WT fruit could be attributed to a lower content of ketones and fatty acids. Wax biosynthetic genes CER26-like, FAR2, CER3-like, LTP, MIXTA, and BAS exhibited prevalent expression in bilberry fruit skin, indicating their role in cuticular wax biosynthesis and secretion. Generally, through the latitudinal gradient, a decrease in the proportion of triterpenoids was observed in cuticular wax of bilberry fruit in the studied seasons. In phytotron studies, an increase in temperature led to an increase in the proportion of triterpenoids, as well as decrease in fatty acids, alkanes and ketones in bilberry fruit cuticular wax in both southern and northern clones. This thesis brings new insights into the composition and biosynthesis of cuticular wax in Nordic wild berries. These findings serve as a stepping stone for future berry wax research and the results could have applications in the food industry.Tiivistelmä Pohjoisessa kasvavia marjoja ympäröi uloimpana hydrofobinen vahakerros, kutikulaarinen vaha, joka ehkäisee veden haihtumista ja suojaa marjoja UV-B-säteilyltä. Tässä väitöstyössä tutkittiin mustikan (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), puolukan (V. vitis-idaea L.), juolukan (V. uliginosum L.) ja variksenmarjan (Empetrum nigrum L.) kypsien marjojen vahakerroksen morfologiaa ja kemiallista koostumusta. Mustikan osalta sekä villityypin marjan että kiiltävän mutantin vahakerroksen koostumusta, morfologiaa ja biosynteesiä tutkittiin myös marjan kehityksen eri vaiheissa. Lisäksi ympäristötekijöiden vaikutusta mustikan vahakerrokseen tutkittiin eri leveyspiireiltä kerätyissä marjoissa. Näytteitä kerättiin Latviasta, Suomesta ja Norjasta. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös ilmastotekijöiden vaikutusta mustikan pohjoisten ja eteläisten ekotyyppien vahakerroksen koostumukseen käyttäen hyväksi suljettuja tutkimuskasvihuoneita eli fytotroneja. Tutkimuksessa saatiin selville, että mustikoiden ja puolukoiden marjan vahakerros koostuu pääosin triterpenoideista, kun taas juolukalla ja variksenmarjalla se koostuu pääosin rasvahapoista. Mustikan marjan kehityksen aikana triterpenoidien määrän havaittiin vähenevän ja alifaattisten yhdisteiden määrän kasvavan. Kiiltävän mutanttimarjan vahakerroksen havaittiin sisältävän villityypin musikkaan verrattuna suhteessa enemmän triterpenoideja, mutta vähemmän ketoneja ja rasvahappoja. Myös kristalloidirakenteiden määrä oli kiiltävässä marjassa alhaisempi. Vahan biosynteesiin osallistuvien geenien CER26-like, FAR2, CER3-like, LTP, MIXTA ja BAS havaittiin ilmentyvän vahvasti mustikan kehityksen eri vaiheissa, mikä viittaa niiden olevan tärkeässä roolissa kutikulaarisen vahakerroksen synteesissä. Perustuen väitöstyön aikana eri leveyspiireillä tehtyihin keräyksiin, triterpenoidien osuuden mustikan vahakerroksessa havaittiin laskevan etelästä pohjoiseen mentäessä. Fytotronikokeet osoittivat, että lämpötilan nousu johtaa triterpenoidien määrän ja osuuden kasvuun, mutta toisaalta rasvahappojen, alkaanien ja ketonien määrän laskuun sekä eteläisten että pohjoisten mustikkakloonien vahakerroksessa. Väitöstyö tuo uutta tietoa liittyen pohjoisten marjojen vahakerroksen kemialliseen koostumukseen ja biosynteesiin. Tutkimuksen tulokset luovat pohjaa tulevaisuuden vahatutkimukselle, minkä lisäksi niitä voidaan hyödyntää mustikan osalta myös elintarviketeollisuudessa

Interactive effect of oral anti-hyperglycaemic or anti-hypertensive drugs on the inhibitory and bactericidal activity of first line anti-TB drugs against M. tuberculosis.

Co-existence of life style disorders, like, Diabetes or Hypertension, increases risk of, treatment failure, deaths and developing drug-resistant TB. Concomitant administration of drugs to treat dual/multi-morbidities may alter their effectiveness, in additive/synergistic or adverse/antagonistic manner. We evaluated interactive effect of 7 anti-hyperglycaemic (HG) and 6 anti-hypertensive (HT) drugs on the inhibitory (MICs) and bactericidal (% killing of intracellular bacilli) activities of anti-TB drugs, Isoniazid (INH), Rifampicin (RFM), Ethambutol (EMB) and Streptomycin (STR) against M. tuberculosis. Five anti-HG drugs, namely, Acarbose, Acetohexamide, Glyburide, Repaglinide and Sitagliptin imparted either 'additive' or 'no effect' on the activities (inhibition or % killing) of all the four anti-TB drugs, as evident by their lower FICs (Fractional Inhibitory concentrations) and higher bacterial killing in combination. Metformin and Rosiglitazone, however, exerted adverse effect on the Ethambutol (FICs >2.0). All the six anti-HT drugs, namely, Atenolol, Hydrochlorothiazide, Ramipril, Valsartan, Nifedipine and Verapamil exerted either 'additive'/'synergistic' or 'no effect' on the activities of anti-TB drugs. These findings may help clinicians to select safe and helpful anti-HG or anti-HT drugs for TB patients, if, suffering with diabetes or hypertension like co-morbidities and receiving DOTs (a set regimen for the treatment of TB based on the WHO guidelines)