Seroreactivity of HIV among patients attending a tertiary care hospital in North India: a retrospective analysis

Background: HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the causative agent of AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). It belongs to the lentivirus subgroup of the family Retroviridae. The HIV/AIDS is spreading worldwide at an alarming rate. India has the third largest number of estimated people living with HIV/AIDS. Most common mode of HIV transmission is through heterosexual contact, blood transfusion, percutaneous, mucosal and perinatal mode. The present study was done to evaluate the seroreactivity of HIV among patients attending Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) of our Tertiary care hospital.  Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on data of patients who had attended ICTC and undergone HIV testing from January 2017 to January 2019. A total of 4519 patients were included in the study who gave their consent followed by pre-test and post-test counseling and were screened for HIV antibody by using rapid kit Comb-Aids.Results: Out of 4519 samples tested, 23 were reactive to HIV screening test, hence sero-reactivity of HIV was found to be 0.50%. Higher seroreactivity was seen among males (56.5%, 13/23), and patients aged 31-40 years (39.1%, 9/23). Maximum seroreactivity was found among patients of rural areas (73.9%, 17/23), indoor patients (91.3%, 21/23) and married patients (73.9%, 17/23).Conclusions: In this study the seroreactivity of HIV was found to be low among patients attending ICTC but still HIV continues to be a major contributor to the global burden of disease. ICTC data can be used as an important tool for planning and improving the national HIV/AIDS intervention strategy.

Genetic dissection of grain iron and zinc concentrations in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are wide spread in South Asia and Africa. Biofortification of food crops is a viable means of addressing micronutrient deficiencies. Lentil is an important pulse crop that provides affordable source of proteins, minerals, fibre and carbohydrates for micronutrient deficient countries. An association mapping (AM) panel of 96 diverse lentil genotypes fromIndia and Mediterranean region was evaluated for three seasons and genotyped using 80 polymorphic simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers for identification of the markers associated with grain Fe and Zn concentrations. A Bayesian model based clustering identified five subpopulations, adequately explaining the genetic structure of the AM panel. The linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis usingmixed linear model (MLM) identified two SSR markers, GLLC106 and GLLC108, associated with grain Fe concentration explaining 17% and 6% phenotypic variation, respectively and three SSR markers (PBALC 364, PBALC 92 and GLLC592) associated with grain Zn concentration, explaining 6%, 8% and 13% phenotypic variation, respectively. The identified SSRs exhibited consistentperformance across three seasons and have potential for utilization in lentil molecular breeding programme.

Practical to Demonstrate Electromyographic Changes Associated With Phenomena of Fatigue Due to Isometric Exercise

Purpose of the study: Teaching the physiology of motor unit recruitment as a strategy for force generationand changes in the recruitment patterns as a consequence of fatigue.Methodology: A protocol was designed to study fatigue developed as a consequence of graded isometricexercise and the surface electromyographic (sEMG) features associated with development of fatigue.Main findings: Fatigue can be quantified by reduction in grip force in isometric hand grip. During maximalexercise, sEMG amplitude declined with time as a consequence of fatigue. The sEMG amplitude wasobserved to increase in the case of submaximal exercise representing recruitment of additional motor unitsto compensate for declining force production in fatigued motor units.Conclusion: The proposed practical exercise fulfils the teaching goal of acquainting the students with themotor unit recruitment patterns as reflected in sEMG associated with fatigue development.

Tagging and mapping of SSR marker for rust resistance gene in lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris).

Lentil, as an economical source of protein, minerals and vitamins, plays important role in nutritional security of the common man. Grown mainly in West Asia, North Africa (WANA) region and South Asia, it suffers from several biotic stresses such as wilt, rust, blight and broomrape. Lentil rust caused by autoecious fungus Uromyces viciae fabae (Pers.) Schroet is a serious lentil disease in Algeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Italy, Morocco, Pakistan and Nepal. The disease symptoms are observed during flowering and early podding stages. Rust causes severe yield losses in lentil. It can only be effectively controlled by identifying the resistant source, understanding its inheritance and breeding for host resistance. The obligate parasitic nature of pathogen makes it difficult to maintain the pathogen in culture and to apply it to screen segregating progenies under controlled growth conditions. Hence, the use of molecular markers will compliment in identification of resistant types in different breeding programs. Here, we studied the inheritance of resistance to rust in lentil using F1, F2 and F2:3 from cross PL 8 (susceptible) x L 4149 (resistant) varieties. The phenotyping of lentil population was carried out at Sirmour, India. The result of genetic analysis revealed that a single dominant gene controls rust resistance in lentil genotype L 4149. The F2 population from this cross was used to tag and map the rust resistance gene using SSR and SRAP markers. Markers such as 270 SRAP and 162 SSR were studied for polymorphism and 101 SRAP and 33 SSRs were found to be polymorphic between the parents. Two SRAP and two SSR markers differentiated the resistant and susceptible bulks. SSR marker Gllc 527 was estimated to be linked to rust resistant locus at a distance of 5.9 cM. The Gllc 527 marker can be used for marker assisted selection for rust resistance; however, additional markers closer to rust resistant locus are required. The markers linked to the rust resistance gene can serve as starting points for map-based cloning of the rust resistance gene.

Description and Validation of a Novel Method of Measuring Pharyngeal Pressure in New-born.

Study background: Measurement of delivered pharyngeal pressure during continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is not in routine practice due to lack of a simple and affordable technique of intrapharyngeal pressure measurement. To overcome the lack of the gold standard solid-state catheter-tip pressure measurement technology in our set up, we improvised a novel method of pressure measurement and tested its validity in a simulated pharynx. Methods: A low-cost pressure transducer was improvised by attaching an orogastric tube to its one end. The other end of the orogastric tube was sealed into an artificial pharynx - a 20 ml syringe. The pressure transducer readings were compared with that obtained by a digital manometer attached to the tip of the syringe. Bland-Altman statistic was used to quantify the measurement reliability of the novel method against the digital manometer. Effect of tube length on the measurement agreement was also studied. The developed technique was applied in new-borns. Results & conclusion: Pressures measured by this technique were in good agreement with that obtained using a digital manometer. This technique has the potential to be used as an alternative to catheter-tip pressure transducers for bedside pharyngeal pressure measurement in new-born babies, especially in underresourced setups.

Aerosol, a health hazard during ultrasonic scaling: A clinico‑microbiological study.

Context: Ultrasonic scaling is a routinely used treatment to remove plaque and calculus from tooth surfaces. These scalers use water as a coolant which is splattered during the vibration of the tip. The splatter when mixed with saliva and plaque of the patients causes the aerosol highly infectious and acts as a major risk factor for transmission of the disease. In spite of necessary protection, sometimes, the operator might get infected because of the infectious nature of the splatter. Aim: To evaluate the aerosol contamination produced during ultrasonic scaling by the help of microbiological analysis. Materials and Methods: This clinico‑microbiological study consisted of twenty patients. Two agar plates were used for each patient; the first was kept at the center of the operatory room 20 min before the treatment while the second agar plate was kept 40 cm away from the patient’s chest during the treatment. Both the agar plates were sent for microbiological analysis. Statistical Analysis: The statistical analysis was done with the help of STATA 11.0 (StataCorp. 2013. Stata Statistical Software, Release 13. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP, 4905 Lakeway Drive College Station, Texas, USA). Statistical software was used for data analysis and the P < 0.001 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The results for bacterial count were highly significant when compared before and during the treatment. The Gram staining showed the presence of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species in high numbers. Conclusions: The aerosols and splatters produced during dental procedures have the potential to spread infection to dental personnel. Therefore, proper precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of infection to the operator.

Mating latency, duration of copulation and fertility in four species of the Drosophila bipectinata complex.

Significant interspecific variations in mean duration of copulation and fertility were observed in four species of the Drosophila bipectinata species complex. However, D. bipectinata showed positive correlation between duration of copulation and fertility. Similarly, D. malerkotliana showed negative correlation between mating latency and duration of copulation. Likewise, D. pseudoananassae showed positive correlation between mating latency and fertility. These results suggest that D. pseudoananassae has distant relatedness from the other three species with respect to mating latency, duration of copulation and fertility which supports the previous findings.

Physiological responses to acute experimental hypoxia in the air-breathing Indian catfish, Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758).

With an aim to study the mechanism of adaptation to acute hypoxic periods by hypoxia-tolerant catfish, Clarias batrachus, the mass-specific metabolic rate (VO2) along with its hematological parameters, metabolic response and antioxidant enzyme activities were studied. During progressive hypoxia, C. batrachus was found to be an oxyconformer and showed a steady decline in its aquatic oxygen consumption rate. When C. batrachus was exposed for different periods at experimental hypoxia level (0.98±0.1 mg/L, DO), hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were increased, along with decrease in mean cellular hemoglobin concentration, which reflected a physiological adaptation to enhance oxygen transport capacity. Significant increase in serum glucose and lactate concentration as well as lactate dehydrogenase activity was observed. Antioxidant enzymes were found to operate independently of one another, while total glutathione concentration was unaffected in any of the tissues across treatments. These observations suggested that hypoxia resulted in the development of oxidative stress and C. batrachus was able to respond through increase in the oxygen carrying capacity, metabolic depression and efficient antioxidant defense system to survive periods of acute hypoxia.