Purpose: This study was performed to determine the demographic profile and clinical characteristics in patients with Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) reporting to a tertiary eye care ...center in India. It is a retrospective, single-center, observational study. Methods: The study included 280 patients (559 eyes) diagnosed with FECD presenting between January 2013 and December 2020. The data was collected from the electronic medical record system of the institute. Patient data included demographic features, clinical characteristics, investigations, and surgical interventions. Results: The mean age of the patients was 62 years. Late-onset FECD (95.7%) was more common than early-onset FECD (4.3%). Male: female ratio for late-onset FECD and early-onset FECD was 1:1.65 and 3:1, respectively. More than one-third of the patients had associated systemic history. Preexisting ocular diseases were seen in 5.9% of eyes. Blurring of vision was seen in 383 eyes (68.5%), 13 eyes (2.1%) had glare, and 163 eyes (29.2%) were asymptomatic. A total of 113 surgical interventions were done in 108 eyes (including repeat transplants). Only cataract surgery was done in 40 (7.2%) eyes, whereas penetrating keratoplasty, Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty, and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty without or with cataract surgery (sequential or triple procedure) were done in 12 (2.1%), 47 (8.4%), and 14 (2.5%) eyes, respectively. Conclusion: Patients with FECD present mostly during the sixth decade. Posterior lamellar keratoplasty is the most common transplant procedure being performed on FECD patients.
•Argulosis, a disease caused by Argulus spp. of ectoparasites in scaly fish, is a global concern for aquaculture industry.•The resistance of the parasite to anti-parasitic drugs and the quantum of ...loss has been felt world-wide.•The current scenario of management and the development in vaccination are discussed herewith.
IntroductionIndia accounts for one-fourth of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden and also faces a rising burden of non-communicable diseases. Only a few have studied the association between the ...infective pathogenesis of TB and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).MethodsA cross-sectional exploratory analytical design was used to compare CVD risk factors and immunological and radiological parameters. This was a pilot study conducted in two primary health centers in urban Puducherry between February 2020 and March 2021. Household contacts (HHC) were either spouses or siblings of the newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients selected for comparison as their exposure to infection would be similar to those who were diseased yet did not develop illness. Assuming a difference of 5% in CVD risk between the general population and TB patients, with a 95% confidence interval, the sample size calculated was 153 in each group by nMaster v2.0. Considering the feasibility and resource constrain, we recruited 50 newly diagnosed PTB patients, their age- and gender-matched 50 HHC and 50 PTB patients who completed treatment a year before. CVD risk factors were compared using chi-square or Fisher exact test. Interleukins-6 (IL-6), interferon-gamma (INF-γ), highly specific - C reactive protein (hs-CRP), and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) were compared using ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test.ResultsMost participants from each group belonged to lower socio-economic strata and were males (40/50). Alcohol intake was higher among newly diagnosed and treatment-completed PTB patients (82.5% vs 72.5%). Excess salt intake (58%) was present more in newly diagnosed PTB patients. General and abdominal obesity were seen more among HHC (64% and 84%) and treatment-completed PTB patients (50% and 74%). IL-6 was higher in newly diagnosed PTB patients, whereas INF-γ and hs-CRP were higher in treatment-completed PTB patients. The largest proportion of those having high CIMT values was also in the treatment-completed PTB patients.ConclusionLevels of immune markers hint at the role of inflammation due to TB disease being related to the high CIMT values among the newly diagnosed and treatment-completed PTB patients. CVD risk was higher among TB patients even if they had completed treatment and were declared cured.
Lysozyme, an important secretory innate immune component, possesses antimicrobial activity against broad spectrum of bacteria and viruses. In the present study, complete CDs (558 bps) of g-type ...lysozyme of rohu (Labeo rohita) was amplified and translated for a putative protein of 185 amino acids. The domain architecture and tertiary structure was also predicted for the protein. Its expression profile was studied in three infection models (bacteria: Aeromonas hydrophila, poly I:C, a dsRNA viral analogue and an ectoparasite: Argulus siamensis) in liver and kidney tissues of rohu. An up-regulation of 630-fold and 420-fold of the gene was observed at 48 h in liver and anterior kidney tissues respectively, after A. hydrophila infection. Significant increase in transcript level was noticed in both liver (0.8-fold) and kidney (480-fold) after 1 h and 12 h of poly I:C induction, respectively. Similarly, expression of lysozyme g transcripts was increased 6000-fold after 7 d of A. siamensis infection in liver tissue. The recombinant protein of g-type lysozyme of rohu (rLr-lysG) of 20.19 kDa was produced in Escherichia coli system and the lysozyme activity of rLr-lysG was found to be most active at pH 6.0 and temperature 35 °C. The potential lytic activity was found to be against A. hydrophila (UL = 0.53) followed by for E. tarda (UL = 0.45) whereas the lytic activity was the least against S. aureus (UL = 0.35) and M. lysodeikticus (UL = 0.34), at pH 6.0 and temperature 35 °C. The normal serum level of protein was estimated using indirect ELISA and was found to be very low (0.12–0.15 μg/ml). These results suggested that g-type lysozyme of rohu might be a potent immunostimulant against microbial infections, with a major role in innate immunity.
•Complete CDs (558 bps) of g-type lysozyme of rohu was cloned and structurally characterized.•Its expression profile was studied in bacterial/viral/parasitic infection models.•The expression of lysozyme g transcripts was increased 6000-fold after 7 d of A. siamensis infection in liver tissue.•The rLr-lysG was found to be most active at pH 6 and temperature 35 °C.•The potential bacterial lytic activity and its normal level in serum was estimated using indirect ELISA.
During neonatal period, the most common genetic disorder is haemoglobinopathy which leads to sickle cell disease or thalassemia. In the present study, we enumerate the haematological, anthropometric ...and puberty indices of three different variants of sickle-β-thalassemia such as HbS-β
0
-thalassemic, HbS-β
+
-thalassemic and HbS-β
++
-thalassemic with respect to severity of mutation of tertiary care hospital of Odisha. Standardised procedures were followed to analyse haematological and anthropometric parameters. For analysing puberty indices, Tanner staging chart was used. In the result, it is observed that there was a significant decrease in haematological parameter in the HbF, HbA
2
(%) and HbS. Delay in growth (height for age and weight for age) also fluctuates according to the variant of HbS-β-thalassemia inherited by the participant. However, when puberty indices were analysed, significant delay of sexual maturation in stage-I scale in Tanner sexual maturity index chart was observed. Hence, out of the three variants, less growth was seen in the male and female participants of HbS-β
0
thalassemia, decrease in BMI, thin frame size, decrease in body size, decrease growth of head and chest circumference than normal individual due to the marrow hyperplasia occurred in β-mutation in the locus control region of HBB gene.
Objective
Flood is an annual phenomenon in Assam. This study aims to understand the after flood effects on children in the worst flood-hit districts of Assam during the last decades most devastating ...flood where more than 1,00,000 people were affected.
Study design
A cross sectional population-based study was done covering 7512 children of 0–12 years of age in 35 worse flood-affected villages in three districts of lower Assam for nutritional risk profiling, low birth weight and morbidity pattern.
Method
Anthropometric measurements of the children were compared with standard WHO definitions for nutritional risk profiling. ANOVA was conducted to see any relationship of nutritional status between the age groups and BMI for the districts. Two-factor ANOVA to analyse the effect of ARI on the morbidity status of different districts was done. District-wise and village-wise heat maps were generated to understand different nutritional parameters for analysing which areas within each district are more affected and why.
Results
The moderate (< 2SD) and severely underweight (< 3SD) children under 5 years of age were highest in the Barpeta district (45.5% and 24.2% respectively). The moderate and severe stunting was highest in Morigaon (47.6%) and Barpeta (24.3%) respectively. The moderate and severe wasting was highest in the Morigaon district (46.1% and 20.6% respectively). All the nutritional indicators were less than the WHO standard. The age-wise and district-wise distribution of nutritional status shows variations in all three districts. Severe underweight was observed highest among 24–35 months’ children (50.9%) in Barpeta. The moderate and severe undernutrition status was found to be higher among the age group of 10–12 years of age compared to 5 to 10 years.
Conclusion
This survey has provided a comprehensive picture of the nutritional status of the targeted children in the worst flood-affected areas. However, attention to its impact on health particularly among those exposed at very early stages in life is still lacking. This kind of rapid assessment helps to understand the health and nutritional status of the vulnerable groups in a deeper way and to plan robust region-specific interventions.
Background and Objective. Acquired aplastic anemia (aAA) is a bone marrow failure disorder characterized by pancytopenia and bone marrow aplasia. Bone marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BM-MSCs) are an ...important component of BM microenvironment, associated with hematopoietic and immune homeostasis. Any alterations in BM microenvironment can disrupt the normal functioning and it needs to be assessed. Methods. In the current study, we investigated the morphological differences, proliferation capacity, population doubling time (PDT), surface marker profiling, trilineage differentiation potential, and immunosuppressive ability of BM Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BM-MSCs) from untreated aAA patients and in the same number of age- and gender-matched controls. Results. We observed similar morphology, proliferation capacity, phenotype, trilineage differentiation potential, and immunomodulatory properties of BM-MSCs in aAA patients and control subjects. Conclusion. Our results confirm that the basic and immunosuppressive properties of BM-MSCs from aAA patients do not differ from normal BM-MSCs. Our data suggest that BM-MSCs from aAA patients might not be involved in disease pathogenesis. However, owing to a smaller number of samples, it is not conclusive, and future studies with more exhaustive investigation at transcriptome level are warranted.
Hydrocyclones are used in mineral industries for classification and separation of solid particles of different sizes and densities suspended in water medium. In the present study an EulerianaEulerian ...CFD simulation of a solid-liquid hydrocyclone has been carried out taking into account two solid phases and one liquid phase. The average size of the larger particle was 0.6117 and that of the smaller particle was 0.09875 mm. Three separate momentum balance equations for the three phases have been considered unlike that in the mixture model where a single momentum equation is solved for the three phases. Two turbulent models i.e. the Reynolds stress model (RSM) and the standard kaIm model were studied. Comparison of the two turbulence models showed slight variation in prediction of the velocity profile and the separation efficiency. The maximum deviation between the two models was observed near the wall where the stress was maximum for larger size particles.
Stem cells have been used in multiple clinical trials. Tracking these transplanted cells in vivo will provide real-time information on the fate of these cells. Iron oxide labeling is one such ...uncomplicated noninvasive labeling method. These transformed nanocrystals can be used for varied applications including stem-cell tracking, magnetic resonance imaging, and theranostics. Here we elucidate the protocol for iron oxide nanoparticles synthesis (IONPS) and labeling of mesenchymal stem cells which can be used for imaging and tracking cells to understand their fate in in vivo studies.
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