Hematological profile including alkali resistant hemoglobin of neonates at birth using cord blood in relation to gestational age and maternal diseases

Background: The importance of complete hemogram along with the hematological indices in the diagnosis of neonatal health cannot be overemphasized. There is a severe paucity of relevant data regarding neonatal hematological profile in relation to gestational age and maternal diseases in this part of the country. With this perspective, the authors intended to do a pilot study to analyse the haematological profile of neonates of different gestational ages and different maternal diseases born in a teriary care hospital in Eastern India.Methods: This is a cross sectional study design based on cord blood sample of newborns and their mothers recruited from those admitted in the gynae and obstetric department in IPGME&R. The umbilical cord blood was collected from the newborn babies and then examined for different haematological parameters. The data obtained was statistically analysed.Results: While there has been a sequential rise of fetal red cell count, hemoglobin and the total white cell count neutrophils with gestational age, the mean corpuscular cell volume decreased. All these values were comprised to varying degrees in maternal diseases except for nucleated rell blood cells which conspicuously increased in neonates of diabetic mothers.Conclusions: In this study, a small attempt was made to assess the haematological profile (including alkali resistant hemoglobin) of the newborns in relation to gestational age and maternal diseases in the population attending a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India

Study of relativistic accretion flow around KTN black hole with shocks

We present the global solutions of low angular momentum, inviscid, advective accretion flow around Kerr-Taub-NUT (KTN) black hole in presence and absence of shock waves. These solutions are obtained by solving the governing equations that describe the relativistic accretion flow in KTN spacetime which is characterized by the Kerr parameter ($a_{\rm k}$) and NUT parameter ($n$). During accretion, rotating flow experiences centrifugal barrier that eventually triggers the discontinuous shock transition provided the relativistic shock conditions are satisfied. In reality, the viability of shocked accretion solution appears more generic over the shock free solution as the former possesses high entropy content at the inner edge of the disc. Due to shock compression, the post-shock flow (equivalently post-shock corona, hereafter PSC) becomes hot and dense, and therefore, can produce high energy radiations after reprocessing the soft photons from the pre-shock flow via inverse Comptonization. In general, PSC is characterized by the shock properties, namely shock location ($r_s$), compression ratio ($R$) and shock strength ($S$), and we examine their dependencies on the energy (${\cal E}$) and angular momentum ($\lambda$) of the flow as well as black hole parameters. We identify the effective domain of the parameter space in $\lambda-{\cal E}$ plane for shock and observe that shock continues to form for wide range of flow parameters. We also find that $a_{\rm k}$ and $n$ act oppositely in determining the shock properties and shock parameter space. Finally, we calculate the disc luminosity ($L$) considering free-free emissions and observe that accretion flows containing shocks are more luminous compared to the shock free solutions.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, Submitted for publication in PR

Constraints on Density Dependent MIT Bag Model Parameters for Quark and Hybrid Stars

We compute the equation of state (EoS) of strange quark stars (SQSs) with the MIT Bag model using density dependent bag pressure, characterized by a Gaussian distribution function. The bag pressure's density dependence is controlled by three key parameters namely the asymptotic value ($B_{as}$), $\Delta B(=B_0 - B_{as})$, and $\beta$. We explore various parameter combinations ($B_{as}$, $\Delta B$, $\beta$) that adhere to the Bodmer-Witten conjecture, a criterion for the stability of SQSs. Our primary aim is to analyze the effects of these parameter variations on the structural properties of SQSs. However we find that none of the combinations can satisfy the NICER data for PSR J0030+0451 and the constraint on tidal deformability from GW170817. So it can be emphasized that this model cannot describe reasonable SQS configurations. We also extend our work to calculate structural properties of hybrid stars (HSs). With the density dependent bag model (DDBM), these astrophysical constraints are fulfilled by the HSs configurations within a very restricted range of the three parameters. The present work is the first to constrain the parameters of DDBM for both SQS and HSs using the recent astrophysical constraints on tidal deformabiity from GW170817 and that on mass-radius relationship from NICER data.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics

Superoxide anion mediated mitochondrial dysfunction leads to hepatocyte apoptosis preferentially in the periportal region during copper toxicity in rats

Chronic exposure to copper induces hepatocellular apoptosis with greater injury in the periportal region compared to the perivenous region. Here we have identified the factors responsible for the development of regional damage in the liver under in vivo conditions. Enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with predominance of superoxide radical (O2•−) indicates the contribution of redox imbalance in the process. This may be linked with copper catalyzed oxidation of GSH to GSSG resulting in the generation of O2•−. Downregulation of Cu-Zn SOD in consequence of the degradation of this enzyme, causes decreased dismutation of O2•−, that further contributes to the enhanced level of O2•− in the periportal region. Decreased functioning of Mn SOD activity, reduction in mitochondrial thiol/disulphide ratio and generation of O2•− were much higher in the mitochondria from periportal region, which point to the involvement of this organelle in the regional hepatotoxicity observed during copper exposure. This was supported by copper-mediated enhanced mitochondrial dysfunction as evident from ATP depletion, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and induction of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Results suggest the active participation of O2•− in inducing mitochondrial dysfunction preferentially in the periportal region that eventually leads to the development of hepatotoxicity due to copper exposure under in vivo condition

Considering curriculum, content, and delivery for adaptive pathways: higher education and disaster resilient infrastructure in the Indian urban context

In the context of urbanisation in the Global South and increasing climate-induced disaster events, fostering resilience in infrastructure systems is critical to delivering on goals of economic development, poverty reduction, and climate action. Adaptive pathways, given its inherent consideration of uncertainty and an embedded feedback mechanism, becomes a necessary conceptual underpinning to deliver on the resilient infrastructure challenge. We argue that knowledge and iterative learning are key components that enable the flexibility of adaptive pathways. Higher education (HE) plays a critical role in influencing knowledge that is adaptive and dynamic to respond to this challenge. This study adopts a qualitative approach with a case study design to identify gaps in how urban resilient infrastructure is conceptualised and taught in HE institutions. The study finds that interdisciplinarity, when reflected in the elements of content, pedagogy, and delivery would foster substantial critical thinking and reflexivity required to address the resilient infrastructure challenge

Cryptococcal meningitis patients associated with HIV co-infection admitted in tertiary care hospital–A Case Series

Meningitis is a significant infection of the central nervous system that is followed by inflammation of the meninges, resulting in catastrophic neurologic consequences. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, fungi, or other microorganisms and less commonly by certain drugs. Meningitis can be life-threatening because of the inflammation’s proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency. In the present case series, we encompass patient demographics, initial clinical symptoms, physical examinations, laboratory results, cerebrospinal fluid examination findings, treatment side effects, the occurrence of complications, and hospital outcomes. Furthermore, documented were any instances of recurrent cryptococcal meningitis (CM) during follow-up, along with the potential causes of recurrence, the treatment modalities administered, any complications that arose, and the ultimate outcomes. This series reveals CM can manifest alongside HIV co-infection in male patients. Therefore, it is essential to consider the possibility of CM when an immune-compromised patient presents with symptoms such as headaches and other indications of central nervous system involvement. These cases reveal cryptococcosis with HIV-infected patients for rapid and early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of opportunistic infections

STATUS OF SERUM MAGNESIUM, ZINC & COPPER IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM TYPE -2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Alterations in serum concentrations of several trace elements including copper, zinc, manganese, and the macroelement magnesium have been reported to occur in type-2 diabetes mellitus. This study is done to evaluate copper, zinc and magnesium status in diabetic and nondiabetic human subjects. In this comparative analysis, the serum concentration of copper, zinc and magnesium was estimated in 60 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without complication and 40 healthy non-diabetic subjects.  The data was analyzed by students’t’ test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test.Mean serum concentration of copper was significantly elevated in diabetic patients compared to control subjects.  Serum zinc levels were significantly low (p < 0.001) in diabetic subjects compared to controls . There were no significant differences in serum magnesium between groups. Fasting plasma glucose level has significant positive correlation with serum level of copper (r = 0.567; p < 0.001), while zinc has negative correlation (r = -0.311; p < 0.047), but there is no significant correlation of plasma glucose level with serum magnesium level. Diabetic patients have signiï¬cantly lower mean serum zinc levels and significantly higher serum copper concentration compared with healthy controls respectively. Along with antidiabetic therapy, supplementation of zinc and magnesium and chelation of copper can red

Electroceutical fabric lowers zeta potential and eradicates coronavirus infectivity upon contact

Coronavirus with intact infectivity attached to PPE surfaces pose significant threat to the spread of COVID-19. We tested the hypothesis that an electroceutical fabric, generating weak potential difference of 0.5 V, disrupts the infectivity of coronavirus upon contact by destabilizing the electrokinetic properties of the virion. Porcine respiratory coronavirus AR310 particles (105) were placed in direct contact with the fabric for 1 or 5 min. Following one minute of contact, zeta potential of the porcine coronavirus was significantly lowered indicating destabilization of its electrokinetic properties. Size-distribution plot showed appearance of aggregation of the virus. Testing of the cytopathic effects of the virus showed eradication of infectivity as quantitatively assessed by PI-calcein and MTT cell viability tests. This work provides the rationale to consider the studied electroceutical fabric, or other materials with comparable property, as material of choice for the development of PPE in the fight against COVID-19

Computational infrared and Raman spectra by hybrid QM/MM techniques: a study on molecular and catalytic material systems

Vibrational spectroscopy is one of the most well-established and important techniques for characterizing chemical systems. To aid the interpretation of experimental infrared and Raman spectra, we report on recent theoretical developments in the ChemShell computational chemistry environment for modelling vibrational signatures. The hybrid quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical approach is employed, using density functional theory for the electronic structure calculations and classical forcefields for the environment. Computational vibrational intensities at chemical active sites are reported using electrostatic and fully polarizable embedding environments to achieve more realistic vibrational signatures for materials and molecular systems, including solvated molecules, proteins, zeolites and metal oxide surfaces, providing useful insight into the effect of the chemical environment on the signatures obtained from experiment. This work has been enabled by the efficient task-farming parallelism implemented in ChemShell for high-performance computing platforms.  This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Supercomputing simulations of advanced materials'

Computational infrared and Raman spectra by hybrid QM/MM techniques: a study on molecular and catalytic material systems

Vibrational spectroscopy is one of the most well-established and important techniques for characterizing chemical systems. To aid the interpretation of experimental infrared and Raman spectra, we report on recent theoretical developments in the ChemShell computational chemistry environment for modelling vibrational signatures. The hybrid quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical approach is employed, using density functional theory for the electronic structure calculations and classical forcefields for the environment. Computational vibrational intensities at chemical active sites are reported using electrostatic and fully polarizable embedding environments to achieve more realistic vibrational signatures for materials and molecular systems, including solvated molecules, proteins, zeolites and metal oxide surfaces, providing useful insight into the effect of the chemical environment on the signatures obtained from experiment. This work has been enabled by the efficient task-farming parallelism implemented in ChemShell for high-performance computing platforms. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Supercomputing simulations of advanced materials’