Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague mainly infects rodents, while humans are the accidental host. The conventional diagnostic methods available for Y. pestis exhibit cross-reactivity with ...other enteropathogenic bacteria which makes its detection difficult. Rapid and reliable point-of-care detection of Y. pestis is essential for timely initiation of medical treatment. In the present study, a pair of loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays has been developed for rapid detection of Y. pestis. Two sets of LAMP primers, each containing 6 primers were specifically designed targeting caf1 and 3a genes located on pFra plasmid and chromosome of Y. pestis, respectively. Isothermal amplification was accomplished at 65 °C for 40 min for caf1 target, and at 63 °C for 50 min for 3a choromosomal target. The analytical sensitivity of the assay for the caf1 and 3a targets was found to be 500 fg and 100 fg genomic DNA of Y. pestis, respectively. The caf1 and 3a LAMP assays detected as few as 100 copies of caf1 and 10 copies of 3a gene targets harboured in the respective recombinant plasmids. The amplified products were detected visually under visible and UV light using SYBR Green 1 dye. The assay pair was found to be highly specific as it did not cross-react with closely related and other bacterial species.
•Plague necessitates an early stage diagnosis for timely medical management and to control spread of the disease.•Two LAMP assays in present study present simple and rapid tools for detection of Y. pestis without using a thermal cycler.•The assays are highly sensitive and specific and detected Y. pestis in artificially spiked blood samples.•The isothermal assays can be useful in detection of Y. pestis in plague endemic regions with limited laboratory resources.
•Impact flash by micron-sized particles exhibit blackbody radiation in early time•Strong dependence of plasma temperature on the impact target electrical bias•New experimental evidence on impact ...plasma production of impact flash•Impact flash temperature and optical thickness depends on impactor characteristics
Hypervelocity microparticles ( < 1 µg), traveling at speeds between 11 and 72 km/s with respect to the Earth, can impact spacecraft and form a small( ∼ 1 µm) and dense ( ∼ 1023 m−3) plasma. This plasma can generate a strong optical emission (impact flash) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which can lead to spacecraft electrical anomalies when the impacted spacecraft surface carries electrical potential due to various space weather effects. A parameter of the impact plasma that strongly determines its behavior is its temperature. In order to understand the microparticle hypervelocity impact plasma and their associated threat to spacecraft electronics, we need to determine the impact plasma temperature under different spacecraft charging conditions. A non-intrusive method to study the impact plasma is by measuring the optical emission spectrum. In this paper, we present a theory of how hypervelocity impact light flash is generated by the plasma, supported by experiments at a ground-based 3 MV electrostatic dust accelerator using three spectral photomultiplier tubes at 450, 550, and 600 nm. This paper is the first to present results on hypervelocity impacts with various target electrical biases as a control variable to study the relationship between the impact plasma and the impact flash. The impact flash continuum spectrum is suggested to be produced by the acceleration of charged particles via spacecraft surface electrical biases, the oscillating internal electric field, and/or the local recombination effects within the impact plasma. The impact flash was found to emit blackbody radiation in the early time after the impact ( ∼ 200 ns). Using blackbody spectrum to estimate the plasma temperature and optical thickness, we found that an impact velocity range of 15 to 40 km/s yielded average plasma temperatures between 3300 and 6000 K depending on the target biases. Our measurements demonstrated a strong dependence of plasma temperature on the bias, which serves as new experimental evidence to support that impact flash is produced by the impact plasma. The correlations between the impactor characteristics such as mass, velocity, and charge production are also connected with the temperature and optical thickness measurement.
Patients with cirrhosis frequently receive proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or H2-receptor antagonist therapies. We investigated whether acid-suppressive therapy is associated with spontaneous bacterial ...peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients with ascites.
We compared data from 65 hospitalized cirrhotic patients with paracentesis-proven SBP, collected from 2006 to 2009, with those of 65 contemporaneous, hospitalized cirrhotic patients without SBP (controls). We evaluated PPI use and analyzed the effects of covariates.
Patients with SBP had a significantly higher incidence of recent (past 7 days) PPI use (71%) than controls (42%). Of patients with SBP, 68% had no documented indication for PPI therapy. Based on multivariable logistic regression analysis, subjects who had not taken PPIs in the past 90 days were almost 70% less likely to develop SBP than those who had taken PPIs in the previous 7 days. Subjects who took PPIs within 8 to 90 days before hospitalization were 79% less likely to develop SBP than those who took PPIs within 7 days before hospitalization. There was no significant difference between patients who received no PPI therapy in the previous 90 days versus those who had taken PPIs in the previous 8 to 90 days (P = .58). Hyponatremia was associated significantly with SBP. There were no significant differences in length of hospital stay or 30-day survival for the SBP and control groups.
Pharmacologic acid suppression is associated with SBP in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Prospective studies are needed to determine the mechanism of this association and to determine whether reduced use of PPIs and H2-receptor antagonists reduce the incidence of SBP.
Abstract
In Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET), topology varies very frequently because vehicles move in high speed. VANET is deployed on road. In GPSR Protocol, as the data packets are forwarded ...depending upon on the beacon information sent by neighboring nodes, which contain the location of neighbors. Hence nodes move in mobile nature as they change their positions. Mobile pattern of node is reflected by Mobility Models, as they characterize the movement of users who are mobile on the road, with respect to their direction, velocity and location over a period of time. Mobility models are practiced in implementation of protocols and the pattern by which the mobility models reflect real world practices of vehicles on the roads. Using simple pattern randomly, graph constrained mobility models are common practices while doing research. These models donot describe mobility of vehicles in realistic manner. For instance while accelerating and decelerating in the presence of nearby vehicles, these situations greatly affect the Network performance. Selecting the mobility model which is realistic one is the main focus of this paper. To address the challenges such as high mobility of vehicle nodes on the road and random topology, VANET needs a suitable mobility model to obtain improved Packet Delivery Ratio, Throughput, End to End Delay etc. This paper first implements the GPSR Protocol and then GPSR is analyzed by applying different mobility models such as Random Way Point, Gauss Markov, Manhattan Grid, Reference Point Group and Random direction. Results are analyzed by taking the following parameters: Routing overhead, Throughput, PDR and End to End Delivery. The implementation is carried out using NS—2.35 and Bonmotion is used to create mobility models.
It has been appreciated over the past two decades that arterial remodelling, in addition to intimal hyperplasia, contributes significantly to the degree of restenosis that develops following ...revascularization procedures. Remodelling appears to be an adventitia-based process that is contributed to by multiple factors including cytokines and growth factors that regulate extracellular matrix or phenotypic transformation of vascular cells including myofibroblasts. In this review, we summarize the currently available information from animal models as well as clinical investigations regarding arterial remodelling. The factors that contribute to this process are presented with an emphasis on potential therapeutic methods to enhance favourable remodelling and prevent restenosis.
Abstract
Pneumonia is one of the most prominent basis of premature death globally, according to some of the major health institutions like WHO more than 1 billion people around the world get infected ...and more than 4 million people die prematurely due to pneumonia lung infection. Detection of pneumonia infection requires a lot of medical tests, which can be expensive and time consuming. Deep Learning, the technology which gives computer systems the ability to learn and adapt through unstructured data in order to complex solve real world problems has the potential to make the detection of pneumonia easier, cost effective and less time consuming. The motivation behind this paper is to grasp the criticalness and utilizations of deep computational learning and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) by executing it so as to recognize Pneumonia by examining a patient’s chest x-beam pictures.
Parasitic infection of the central nervous system could be fatal, and its incidence is rising due to increasing worldwide travel. Amongst the various nematodes, Angiostrongylus contonensis is the ...commonest and causes eosinophilic meningitis. It is a zoonotic disease produced due to the ingestion of raw or undercooked snails or slugs. Most cases of angiostrongyliasis are mild and self-limiting, but death can occur in severe cases lacking timely and proper treatment. Very few autopsy cases of A. cantonensis are reported. We present the case of a 32-year-old mentally challenged orphan male with eosinophilic meningitis at autopsy.
Bacillus anthracis
, the causative agent of anthrax is one of the most potent listed biological warfare agents. The conventional microbiological methods of its detection are labor intensive and time ...consuming, whereas molecular assays are fast, sensitive and specific. PCR is one of the most reliable diagnostic tools in molecular biology. The combination of PCR with lateral flow strips can reduce the diagnostic/detection time. It gives an alternative to gel electrophoresis and offers easy and clear interpretation of results. In the present study, a PCR Lateral flow (PCR-LF) assay targeting
cya
gene present on pXO1 plasmid of
B. anthracis
has been developed. The forward and reverse primers were tagged with 6-carboxyflourescein (6-FAM) and biotin, respectively, at 5′ end. The dual labeled PCR products were detected using lateral flow (LF) strips developed in this study. The PCR-LF assay could detect ≥ 5 pg of genomic DNA and ≥ 500 copies of target DNA harboured in a recombinant plasmid. The assay was able to detect as few as 10
3
and 10 CFU/mL of
B. anthracis
Sterne cells spiked in human blood after 6 and 24 h of enrichment
,
respectively.
When meteoroids and orbital debris hit satellites or surfaces of other objects in space, an optical flash is generated. Measuring properties of this impact flash can reveal several important ...properties of the impact phenomenon. In this paper, we present results from hypervelocity impact tests that were carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. Spherical iron projectiles were shot at targets comprising tungsten, copper, spacecraft solar cells, solar panel substrate and optical solar reflectors. The impactors had masses ranging from 35 pg to 0.15 fg and speeds ranging from 2.8 km/s to 67 km/s. The impact flash generated was measured using a photomultiplier tube and scaling laws were generated to study the dependence of observed luminosity on the mass and velocity of the impactor. Efforts to determine the mass and velocity exponents independently were successful for all targets except solar cells. The mass exponent was found to lie in the range between 0.38 and 0.64 for various targets, which is significantly lower than the value of 1 often assumed in literature. Observations made from different angles were compared and the difference in the optical yields was found to be insignificant. The rise time of the integrated signal was found to have a negative correlation with the velocity of the impactor only for particles with speed greater than 8 km/s, which is contrary to what was observed in previous research. The correlation is however weak, with an R2 value of 0.026 and could not be reproduced using a matched filter approach. A support vector regression based scheme was developed for estimating the velocity of the impactor, using temporal characteristics of the optical flash. The algorithm was able to estimate the velocity with a mean estimation error of 6.56 km/s.
•We present hypervelocity impact flash data for large variety of targets.•We present scaling laws to study the dependence on mass and velocity of the impactor.•We analyze the variation of optical yield with observation angle.•We examine the correlation between impact speed and rise time of the signal.•We develop a scheme to estimate impact speed from temporal characteristics of signal.
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