Study of p53 expression in premalignant squamous epithelial lesions of cervix

Background: Every year in India, 1,22,844 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 67,477 die from the disease. This study was done with the aim of studying the expression of p53 in pre-malignant squamous epithelial lesions of cervix.Methods: Patients coming to our institution who are undergoing biopsy for abnormal cytology/colposcopy were included in the study. Total of 39 patients were studied. Immunohistochemistry was used to study the p53 expression in cervical intra-epithelial lesions.Results: Out of 39 patients studied, p53 positivity was found in CIN 1 in38.5% cases, CIN 2 and CIN 3 in 80.75%.Conclusions: The present study has showed that p53 expression increased with increasing severity of Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and this fact can be used in clinical practice to identify those patients who require more surveillance

A study of intrauterine fetal death in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Intra uterine fetal death (IUFD) is the most traumatic event for the parents and the treating obstetrician. If the causes of IUFD can be found, an effective strategy for prevention can be formulated. This study was done to study the etiological factors and other determinants of IUFD.Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out in M. S. Ramaiah medical college and teaching hospital, Bangalore, India between December 2011 to December 2014. 120 cases of IUFD were included in this study.Results: Out of 4103 deliveries that occurred during the study period, there were 120 IUFD (2.9%). 52 cases (43.3%) were referral cases. Majority were multigravida(n=73,60.8%) aged less than 30 years (n=96,80%) with 28 to 36 weeks period of gestation(n=66,55%).91 patients had presented with absent fetal movements(75.8%).In 25% of the cases(n=30) there was preeclampsia and in 21.6% (n=26)of the cases there were no causes determined.99.1%(n=119) delivered by vaginal route.Conclusions: The leading cause of IUFD in our study was preeclampsia. Majority of the cases were referred and they did not have regular antenatal checkups. A bigger impact in reduction of IUFD can be achieved if the importance of antenatal care can be stressed upon at the community level

PUPAL EMERGENCE INHIBITION ACTIVITY OF ACALYPHA INDICA LEAF EXTRACT AGAINST DENGUE VECTOR, AEDES ALBOPICTUS MOSQUITO

Objective: To investigate the larvicidal activities of six varying extracts of Acalypha indica (A. indica) leaves from family Euphorbiaceae against the dengue mosquito vector, Aedesalbopictus (Ae. albopictus) in laboratory.Methods: Leaves from the study plants were separated, air dried in room temperature, grounded and extracted with different solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, ethanol and aqueous) by solvent apparatus and aqueous extract by maceration method. The extra solvents were evaporated to obtain crude extracts by using rotary evaporator. The crude extracts of six different solvents were dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) to prepare test dosages of 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 ppm. Third instar larvae of Ae. albopictus were exposed to 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 ppm concentrations of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, ethanol and aqueous extracts of A. indica and compared with control to determine the larvicidal effects. Larval bioassays were carriedout according to World Health Organisation (WHO) procedures. The rate of larval mortality was recorded after 24h and 48 h of time exposure. Three duplicate trials were made for each tested dosage. IC50 and IC90 values were calculated by using probit analysis.Results: Based on probit analysis result the 24h and 48h LC50 and LC90 of petroleum ether extract of A. indica against Ae. albopictus was found to be 2805.43 ppm and 2376.11 ppm, 3825.14 ppm and 3327.8 ppm, respectively. An LC50 and LC90 value of chloroform extracts of A. indicaa gainst third instar larvae was found to be 2276.5 ppm and 4015.8 ppm (24h), 2213.36 ppm and 3430.43 ppm (48h), respectively. An LC50 value of 4472.17 ppm and 2469.61 ppm, and LC90 value of 4215.84 ppm was obtained on ethylacetate extract treatment against Ae. albopictus for 24h and 48h exposure, respectively. The 24h and 48 h LC50 and LC90 values of n-butanol extracts of A. indica was found to be 2777.88 ppm and 3628.19 ppm, 2225.61 ppm and 2518.86 ppm, respectively. In the present study, the larvicidal bioassays demonstrated that the n-butanolextract was most effective with 100% mortality against larvae of Ae. albopictus at 3000, 4000 and 5000 ppm compared to other extracts. All other extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate) of A. indica at high concentration (4000 ppm and 5000 ppm) manifested a significant (P<0.01 and 0.05) knock down effect of 100% moratality after 24h and 48h exposure. While the third instar lavae of Ae. albopictus were found to be most susceptabile and produced no mortality to ethanol and aqueous extract at varying parts per million. Conclusion: A. indica leaf extract was tested for the first time against dengue vector Ae. albopictus and the results revealed that A. indica can be used to control dengue vector. Further this extract needs to be evaluated under field conditions for proper exploitation of Ae. albopictus mosquito larvae. Thus, the present study provided a first report on A. indica as a prompting mosquito larvicidal activity and can be considered for further investiagtions such as formulation of bioinsecticides to control Ae. albopictus population

Expression of Bcl-2 marker in premalignant lesions of cervical cancer

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancers in women of developing countries. HPV DNA testing is preferred cervical screening method for woman 30-65 years old as HPV is the proved causative agent of cervical carcinoma. Due to the high costs involved in doing HPV DNA test there is a need for a biomarker such as Bcl-2 which can indicate the initiation of carcinogenic process of HPV infection and thus can be used to identify those woman who will need more surveillance.Methods: Specimens of cervical biopsy retrieved from incident cases for routine histopathological evaluation from the Department of Obstetrics and gynecology, M.S. Ramaiah hospital, Bangalore, India from March 2013 to September 2015 formed the source of data for the study.Results: In this study total of 46 cases were studied which included 9 cases of CIN-1, 8 cases of CIN-2, 7 cases of CIN-3, 12 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 10 cases of on specific cervicitis. Higher number of malignant lesions (75%) expressed Bcl-2 positivity as compared to premalignant lesions (62.5%). In case of CIN lesions, Bcl-2 positivity increased as the grade increased (CIN-1- 55.56%; CIN-2 - 62.5%; CIN-3 -71.43%).Conclusions: Bcl-2 which is an intracellular membrane protein which prevents apoptotic cell death can be used as a biomarker to know the severity of the CIN lesion and hence help in identifying the high risk CIN lesions which need further surveillance and treatment

Implementation of Ac Power Stand by Switch-Off Outlets using Arduino mega2560

As more and more domestic appliances and consumer electronics are installed, house usage electronic devices tends to grow rapidly. A large number of electronic devices increase power consumption in two features, standby power and normal operation power. These two types of power consumption are proportional to the number of domestic devices. As a result, operational cost in household areas is also increasing. To achieve efficient domestic energy management in addition to the technology of standby power reduction

Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception in rural India: a necessary step in achieving population control

Background: India’s projected population will be 1.53 Billion by the year 2050. Every fifth birth in the world is an Indian, and 50% percent of the Indian population are of reproductive age. Objective of present work was to study the knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception among rural women.Methods: 100 rural women in the study were evaluated with the help of a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire for the knowledge regarding contraception.Results: Though all women were aware of at least one contraceptive method, 11% never used contraception. The most commonly used contraceptive was condom 59%, followed by 41% CU-T, 27% tubectomy, 18% pills, 10% injectable and 3% emergency contraception.Conclusions: Though knowledge about at least one contraceptive method existed, there is a strong need for motivational strategies to make people accept the methods. Furthermore, there needs to be more educational programs to increase awareness about the existence of various family planning methods.

Dissecting the rural Indian women’s knowledge, attitude and practice about infertility

Background: Objective of present study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of rural women regarding infertility.Methods: A field tested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 100 rural women in Kaiwara village, Karnataka, India to study their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding infertility.Results: Majority (84%) did not know the reason for infertility. 7% felt that the cause of infertility was due to problems with eggs, 6% felt it to be tubal factors and only 3% felt it to be due to male factor.Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the importance of spreading the awareness and inculcating the right attitude and approach to infertility.

Fatal case of acute necrotic pancreatitis secondary to chronic abuse of acetaminophen: a case report

Acetaminophen is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic. It is also known to cause hepatotoxicity and is rarely associated with acute pancreatitis due to overdose. We report the case of a 55-year-old man with no known comorbidities, who presented with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. His medication history revealed chronic abuse of a fixed-dose combination containing 37.5 mg of tramadol hydrochloride and 325 mg acetaminophen 3-6 tablets per day for over 20 years for general body pain without a specific diagnosis. He was diagnosed with acetaminophen-induced acute necrotic pancreatitis after ruling out gallstones and other factors such as alcohol consumption, and family history. Although he got discharged against medical advice, follow-up revealed that he had succumbed to his illness within 15 days. This was a fatal case of acetaminophen-induced pancreatitis due to chronic abuse for over 20 years at a dose of less than 2 g/day. This case highlights the need for periodic monitoring of patients taking acetaminophen at doses within the recommended daily dose

Nitrile hydratase of Rhodococcus erythropolis: characterization of the enzyme and the use of whole cells for biotransformation of nitriles

The intracellular cobalt-type nitrile hydratase was purified from the bacterium Rhodococcuserythropolis. The pure enzyme consisted of two subunits of 29 and 30 kDa. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 65 kDa. At 25 °C the enzyme had a half-life of 25 h. The Michaelis–Menten constants K(m) and v(max) for the enzyme were 0.624 mM and 5.12 μmol/min/mg, respectively, using 3-cyanopyridine as the substrate. The enzyme-containing freely-suspended bacterial cells and the cells immobilized within alginate beads were evaluated for converting the various nitriles to amides. In a packed bed reactor, alginate beads (2 % alginate; 3 mm bead diameter) containing 200 mg/mL of cells, achieved a conversion of >90 % for benzonitrile and 4-cyanopyridine in 38 h (25 °C, pH 7.0) at a feed substrate concentration of 100 mM. The beads could be reused for up to six reaction cycles