Heavy Metal Concentrations in Three Commercial Fish Species in Cuddalore Coast, Tamil Nadu, India

Three fish species samples were collected from Cuddalore along Tamil Nadu coast, Bay of Bengal, India were analyzed for the levels of heavy metals to elucidate the status of the contamination in fish meat for human consumption. Concentrations of Cu, Cr, Cd, Co, Ni and Zn were determined for the above species using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The concentrations of heavy metal in the samples were below the maximum residual level recommended by various organizations. Therefore, the fish muscles of the samples analyzed were fit for human consumption in this region

Fingerprint Verification based on Gabor Filter Enhancement

Human fingerprints are reliable characteristics for personnel identification as it is unique and persistence. A fingerprint pattern consists of ridges, valleys and minutiae. In this paper we propose Fingerprint Verification based on Gabor Filter Enhancement (FVGFE) algorithm for minutiae feature extraction and post processing based on 9 pixel neighborhood. A global feature extraction and fingerprints enhancement are based on Hong enhancement method which is simultaneously able to extract local ridge orientation and ridge frequency. It is observed that the Sensitivity and Specificity values are better compared to the existing algorithms.Comment: 7 pages IEEE format, International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, IJCSIS November 2009, ISSN 1947 5500, http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis

Efficacy of intralesional triamcinolone injection in the management of benign refractory esophageal strictures

Background: Endoscopic therapy is the mainstay in the treatment of esophageal strictures. Refractory strictures are difficult to treat with patients requiring frequent endoscopic therapy. Intralesional steroid injection combined with SG dilation has been reported to reduce the frequency of endoscopic dilation in such cases.Methods: Ten patients with benign esophageal strictures (corrosive 4, peptic 2, anastomotic 2, radiation-induced 2) were selected for this study. All of them had refractory esophageal stricture. They were being managed with intermittent endoscopic dilation by using Savary Gilliard dilators. All patients were treated by intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg in a 4-quadrant fashion after SG dilation and were followed up for a period of 1 years. At each session, SG dilation was done followed by 4 injections (4 quadrants) at the proximal margin of the stricture. The interval between dilations and frequency of dilations were calculated before and after triamcinolone injections. A periodic dilation index (PDI) (number of dilations per month) before and after the triamcinolone injections was calculated.Results: The PDI decreased significantly from 1.7 before injection to 0.6 after injection. This effect was seen irrespective of the etiology of the stricture involved.Conclusions: Intralesional triamcinolone therapy is a useful and effective therapy for symptom relief in benign refractory esophageal strictures

van der Woude syndrome- a syndromic form of orofacial clefting

van der Woude Syndrome is the most common form of syndromic orofacial clefting, accounting for 2% of all cases, and has the phenotype that most closely resembles the more common non-syndromic forms. The syndrome has an autosomal dominant hereditary pattern with variable expressivity and a high degree of penetrance with cardinal clinical features of lip pits with a cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. This case report describes van der Woude syndrome in a 19 year old male patient with a specifi c reference to the various aspects of this condition, as clinical appearance, etiological factors (genetic aspects), differential diagnosis, investigative procedures and management

2,3,6-Triphenyl­piperidin-4-one

In the title mol­ecule, C23H21NO, the piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation, with the N and carbonyl C atoms as flaps, which deviate on either side of the chair by −0.706 (3) and 0.494 (3) Å, respectively. All three phenyl rings are in equatorial positions on the piperidine ring, making angles with the puckering plane of 73.5 (1), 73.1 (1) and 67.2 (1)°. Though there is no classical hydrogen bonding, the crystal is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯π contacts and π–π stacking inter­actions involving phenyl rings [centroid–centroid distance = 4.424 (2) Å]

Oral hygiene practices and habits among dental students and staff in a dental college, India.

Introduction: Oral health is an essential component of general health in one's life. Oral self practices are very effective in keeping up one's good oral health from an individual's point of view. Such hygienic conditions prevent many oral diseases from happening or control them from damaging oral health adversely. Aim: To investigate the oral hygiene practices and habits among dental students and staff in a dental college. Materials and methods:  A survey with the aid of specially designed questionnaire was made anonymously, in order to assess the oral health behaviour among these people. Results: A number of 425 dental students as well as faculty members was investigated. Only 34.9% of students and faculty members are following oral self health habits strictly.    It was also observed that the staff members were very much concerned about oral hygiene rather than students were. Conclusion: The results show that dental students need a lot of awareness in their oral self hygiene.  Awareness programmes  must be conducted frequently to boost up the oral self hygiene practices among them for many good reasons

TRIM2, a novel member of the antiviral family, limits New World arenavirus entry

Tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins belong to a large family with many roles in host biology, including restricting virus infection. Here, we found that TRIM2, which has been implicated in cases of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTD) in humans, acts by blocking hemorrhagic fever New World arenavirus (NWA) entry into cells. We show that Trim2-knockout mice, as well as primary fibroblasts from a CMTD patient with mutations in TRIM2, are more highly infected by the NWAs Junin and Tacaribe virus than wild-type mice or cells are. Using mice with different Trim2 gene deletions and TRIM2 mutant constructs, we demonstrate that its antiviral activity is uniquely independent of the RING domain encoding ubiquitin ligase activity. Finally, we show that one member of the TRIM2 interactome, signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPA), a known inhibitor of phagocytosis, also restricts NWA infection and conversely that TRIM2 limits phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. In addition to demonstrating a novel antiviral mechanism for TRIM proteins, these studies suggest that the NWA entry and phagocytosis pathways overlap.Peer reviewe

Book of Abstracts & Success Stories National Conference on Marine Debris COMAD 2018

Marine debris has become a global problem with considerable threats to the habitat and to the functions of marine ecosystem. One of the first reports of large areas of plastics in the ocean has been by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1988 about the Great Pacific Garbage patch or the Pacific trash vortex, where the density of litter is estimated as four numbers per cubic meter. Globally, this shocking information led to initiation of new research programs on marine litter and in India, the ICAR-CMFRI started an in house research program on this theme in 2007.Understanding the significance of this ecological problem which is purely a direct impact of anthropogenic activity, the Marine Biological Association of India decided to organise a National Conference on Marine Debris (COMAD 2018 ) with an aim to bring together researchers, planners, NGOs, entrepreneurs and local governing bodies working on this theme. Thus, this conference was planned with three main componentsunderstand the research outputs, get first- hand information on the various activities carried out by the public to reduce or recycle non degradable waste generated at various levels and also to have an exhibition of eco-friendly activities and products which would help to reduce marine debris in the long run. The response to all the three themes has been very encouraging. We have received about 50 research articles on themes ranging from micro-plastics to ghost nets and the same number of success stories which are actually details of the diverse activities carried out in different maritime states of the country to solve the issue of solid waste generated in the country. The section on success stories includes attempts by eco-clubs, individuals, schools, colleges, local governing bodies, district administrations, Institutions and NGOs. Activities by some Panchayats like banning plastics in public functions and mechanisms to collect sold waste from households are really commendable. Similarly, the efforts put in by various groups to remove marine debris from the coastal waters is something which should be appreciated. The message from these success stories is that, this problem of increasing marine debris can be resolved. We have got success stories from almost all states and these leaders of clean campaign will be presenting their work in the conference. It is well known that visuals such as photographs and videos are powerful tools of communication. In COMAD 2018, we have provided an opportunity for all across the nation to contribute to this theme through photographs and videos. Am very happy that we have received more than 300 photographs and nearly 25 videos. The MBAI will place these on the web site. It is really shocking to see the quantity of litter in the fishing ground and in the coastal ecosystem

Impact of Migration and Acculturation on Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes and Related Eye Complications in Indians Living in a Newly Urbanised Society

Background: Health of migrants is a major public health challenge faced by governments and policy makers. Asian Indians are among the fastest growing migration groups across Asia and the world, but the impact of migration and acculturation on diabetes and diabetes-related eye complications among Indians living in urban Asia remains unclear. Methodologies/Principal Findings: We evaluated the influence of migration and acculturation (i.e., migration status and length of residence) on the prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetes-related eye complications (diabetic retinopathy (DR) and cataract), among first-generation (defined as participant born in India with both parents born in India, n = 781) and second-generation (participants born in Singapore with both parents born in India, n = 1,112) Indian immigrants from a population-based study of Adult Indians in Singapore. Diabetes was defined as HbA1c≥6.5%, use of diabetic medication or a physician diagnosis of diabetes. Retinal and lens photographs were graded for the presence of DR and cataract. Compared to first generation immigrants, second generation immigrants had a higher age- and gender-standardized prevalence of T2DM (34.4% versus 29.0%, p<0.001), and, in those with T2DM, higher age- and gender-standardized prevalence of DR (31.7% versus 24.8%, p<0.001), nuclear cataract (13.6% versus 11.6%, p<0.001), and posterior sub-capsular cataract (6.4% versus 4.6%, p<0.001). Among first generation migrants, longer length of residence was associated with significantly younger age of diagnosis of diabetes and greater likelihood of having T2DM and diabetes-related eye complications. Conclusion: Second generation immigrant Indians and longer length of residence are associated with higher prevalence of diabetes and diabetes-related complications (i.e., DR and cataract) among migrant Indians living in Singapore. These data highlight potential worldwide impacts of migration patterns on the risk and burden of diabetes