Near infrared navigation system (NAVI) for real time visualization of blood flow

Poster presented at the 2017 Health Sciences Research Day which was organized and sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Medicine Research Council and held on November 9, 2017.Summary: A portable and economical NAVI camera system that can be utilized for intraoperative fluorescence imaging has been fabricated. The NAVI system has been validated by conducting preclinical grafting studies in swine model. Finally, the clinical translational capability of the NAVI imaging system has been established using suitable clinical studies. Future study: The NAVI imaging system is being explored for lymph node imaging and other applications

Eosinophilic pneumonia: a case of daptomycin induced lung injury

Eosinophilic pneumonia is a category of lung diseases characterized by an increased number of eosinophils in alveolar spaces and interstitium. Acute cases are often caused by fungal infections, parasites, drugs or toxins and can present with respiratory failure. Daptomycin has been identified as one of the rare causes of acute eosinophilic pneumonia. We describe a case of an elderly man on daptomycin for MRSA endocarditis treatment who presented to the hospital with fevers and dyspnea within two weeks of daptomycin initiation. As an inpatient, he developed an increasing oxygen requirement necessitating intensive care unit management. Daptomycin cessation improved his symptoms and he was placed on a steroid taper. These findings suggested a diagnosis of daptomycin-induced eosinophilic pneumonia. However, the patient deteriorated and eventually passed away despite resuscitative efforts. This case highlights the importance of prompt identification of eosinophilic pneumonia, its potential severity and the need for more exploration regarding the timing of corticosteroid taper. This in turn will inform more effective approaches to this condition in the future

Investigating design of running man in emergency signage

Emergency signages are crucial for safe evacuations but have been challenged by inconsistent and ambiguous designs. We conducted two experiments to evaluate a specific emergency signage design, i.e., running man's pictogram, in ease of conveying the direction to exit an unknown building. We compared the running man's pictogram with traditional arrow signage in exp.1, and in exp. 2, we examined the key features that contribute to the running man's composition. In both conditions, the participant's task was to determine the running man's/ arrow's orientation and press the instructed corresponding keys. We observed a faster and more accurate response for the right arrow than the right running man in experiment 1. Further, in exp. 2, the head/face component showed an advantage in identifying the running man's orientation over the leg/hand. Results suggest running man alone in emergency signage may be risky, especially when it is incomplete without a head and face

Status of TMPRSS2–ERG fusion in prostate cancer patients from India: correlation with clinico-pathological details and TMPRSS2 Met160Val polymorphism

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) shows considerable clinical heterogeneity that has been primarily attributed to variable molecular alterations. TMPRSS2–ERG fusion is one such molecular subtype that has been associated with predominantly poor prognosis. More recently, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the TMPRSS2 gene rs12329760 C>T (Met160Val) has been shown to positively correlate with the fusion status and also to be associated with increased risk for PCa. The aim of the present study is to determine the frequency of TMPRSS2–ERG fusion and association of rs12329760 in Indian PCa patients with fusion status. Methods: TMPRSS2–ERG fusion by fluorescence in situ hybridization was determined in 102 of 150 PCa biopsy-proven cases. Genotyping for rs12329760 was performed on the entire cohort of 150 cases by Sanger sequencing. Results: TMPRSS2–ERG fusion was seen in 27 of 102 (26%) cases. Fusion-positive patterns in this study showed fusion by translocation in nine of 27 cases (33.5%), by deletion in six of 27 (22%) cases, and by insertion in 12 of 27 cases (44.5%). No association of the fusion status with Gleason Score, pattern, or perineural invasion was seen. The TMPRSS2 SNP rs12329760 ‘T’ allele was prevalent with a frequency of 0.27 in the PCa patients. The SNP was significantly associated with fusion [odds ratio (OR) = 2.176, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.012–4.684, P = 0.04], more specifically fusion by deletion (P = 0.04). Conclusion: The results provided here determine the frequency of TMPRSS2–ERG fusions (26%) in a fairly large cohort of Indian PCa cases and also the association of rs12329760 SNP with TMPRSS2–ERG fusion. No association with other clinico-pathological features was observed. Future studies with clinical outcomes are warranted in this population. Keywords: Fluorescence in situ hybridization, Indians, Prostate cancer, rs12329760, Single nucleotide polymorphism, TMPRSS2–ER

Standardization and validation of PCR-fragment analysis based assay for detection of mixed donor chimerism following bone marrow transplant

Haematopoietic Stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the treatment of choice for number of haematological disorders like Beta Thalassemia and certain type of leukemias, which is accomplished by either peripheral blood stem cell transplantation or most commonly by bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Although a promising therapy, disease remission or graft failure has been a major concern following transplant. PCR - fragment analysis based detection using short tandem repeat (STR) markers has been helpful in accurately measuring the percentage of healthy donor cells in the recipient's blood and can be instrumental in early diagnosis of disease relapse as well as graft versus host disease (GVHD). The aim of the present study was to standardize and validate the assay for detection of mixed donor chimerism following BMT. Sample collection: For standardization of the assay, blood samples were collected from four healthy volunteers and artificial chimeric samples with different grades of donor cell population (ranging from 1%-90% donor cells) were generated. For validation, blood samples from haploidentical donors and recipients collected pre-BMT were used for STR baseline analysis. For screening of mixed donor chimerism, blood samples from two patients for 6 intervals following autologous BMT were used. Baseline screening for informative STR markers was done for all the samples by PCR amplification for 9 STR loci viz. D3S3045, D4S2366, D12S1064, D16S539, D17S1290, SE33, FGA, D20S481 and AME, along with GAPDH as an internal control. The products were subjected to capillary electrophoresis using 3500 Genetic Analyser and the data were analysed using GeneMapper software. Further, PCR - fragment analysis was carried out for specific informative markers across all the artificial chimeric samples as well as post-BMT samples. For validation, the data was compared with another referral laboratory for inter laboratory comparison. For standardization, results for chimeric samples from healthy volunteers showed 99% accuracy for detection of expected donor chimerism values. For validation, results of inter-laboratory comparison using post-BMT samples from patients were in concordance (%CV≤5%). Accurate estimation of donor status in the post-BMT samples could be achieved upto 1% of donor cells

A Mini Review on Osteoporosis: From Biology to Pharmacological Management of Bone Loss

Osteoporosis refers to excessive bone loss as reflected by the deterioration of bone mass and microarchitecture, which compromises bone strength. It is a complex multifactorial endocrine disease. Its pathogenesis relies on the presence of several endogenous and exogenous risk factors, which skew the physiological bone remodelling to a more catabolic process that results in net bone loss. This review aims to provide an overview of osteoporosis from its biology, epidemiology and clinical aspects (detection and pharmacological management). The review will serve as an updated reference for readers to understand the basics of osteoporosis and take action to prevent and manage this disease

VibhavDeo/FitnessApp: Release v4.0.0

<p>-Bug fixes -Enhacements: UI changes</p&gt

1360119047/calorieApp_server: calorieApp_server 4.0

<p>https://github.com/1360119047/calorieApp_server/blob/main/docs/CHANGELOG.md</p&gt

Effects of E’Jiao on Skeletal Mineralisation, Osteocyte and WNT Signalling Inhibitors in Ovariectomised Rats

E’Jiao is a traditional Chinese medicine derived from donkey skin. E’Jiao is reported to suppress elevated bone remodelling in ovariectomised rats but its mechanism of action is not known. To bridge this research gap, the current study aims to investigate the effects of E’Jiao on skeletal mineralisation, osteocyte and WNT signalling inhibitors in ovariectomised rats. Female Sprague–Dawley rats (3 months old) were ovariectomised and supplemented with E’Jiao at 0.26 g/kg, 0.53 g/kg and 1.06 g/kg, or 1% calcium carbonate (w/v) in drinking water. The rats were euthanised after two months of supplementation and their bones were collected for Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, histomorphometry and protein analysis. Neither ovariectomy nor treatment affected the skeletal mineral/matrix ratio, osteocyte number, empty lacunar number, and Dickkopf-1 and sclerostin protein levels (p > 0.05). Rats treated with calcium carbonate had a higher Dickkopf-1 level than baseline (p = 0.002) and E’Jiao at 0.53 g/kg (p = 0.002). In conclusion, E’Jiao has no significant effect on skeletal mineralisation, osteocyte and WNT signalling inhibitors in ovariectomised rats. The skeletal effect of E’Jiao might not be mediated through osteocytes

aditicsalunkhe/Simplii-Group74-2023: Simplii-2023-Proj3 4.0

<p>This release has setup.py file and the discussion forum module implemented as a new addition to the existing application.</p&gt