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1.
BMC Health Serv Res ; 22(1): 116, 2022 Jan 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35086544

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Healthcare systems rely heavily upon human resources to ensure high-quality access to care for the general population. With significant health worker shortages predicted worldwide in the coming decades, maximizing the current workforce by means of a physician resource planning (PRP) strategy that ensures the right number, mix, and distribution of physicians to meet population needs is warranted. In Canada, there is an insufficient number of primary care providers, and disproportionately low numbers of specialist physicians in rural compared to urban regions. Currently, Canadian medical students are not effectively included in PRP strategy and lack the required information for career orientation to help rebalance the population's workforce needs. This paper present the Health Human Resource (HHR) Platform, a comprehensive web tool that includes relevant workforce data to empower medical students in choosing a discipline based on both personal interests and social accountability. RESULTS: Physician workforce data, comments from Canadian residency program directors, and career planning resources were collected by the Canadian Federation of Medical Student's (CFMS) HHR Task Force. This information was consolidated to create a national interactive platform that uses a map, comparison table, and trend graphs to illustrate over 500,000 unique data points from 37 datasets, including specific information and resources spanning 62 medical specialties from 2015 onwards. There was a 24.6% response rate for program director comments. During the first 4 months of the HHR Platform launch, there were 2434 different users, of which 985 were returning, with an average of 20.0 users per day spending on average 3 min on the platform. CONCLUSIONS: The HHR Platform constitutes a national approach to PRP informing medical students on the mix and distribution of physicians needed to meet the future healthcare demands of the Canadian population.


Subject(s)
Medicine , Physicians , Students, Medical , Canada , Humans , Workforce
2.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol ; 36(2): 255-262, 2022 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34743369

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Filaggrin-derived natural moisturizing factors (NMF) play an important role in skin barrier function and in atopic dermatitis (AD). Its deficiency is associated with dry skin and increased surface pH. Studies on childhood environmental exposures and associations with NMF levels are scarce. OBJECTIVES: To investigate previous exposures and genetic factors and their associations with NMF levels in young children. METHODS: In a case-control study nested in a prospective birth cohort (Odense Child Cohort), 169 healthy controls (HC) and 99 children with AD were included consecutively at the age of 7 years based on previous responses from questionnaires administered at 18 months, 3 years and 5 years, pertaining to past medical history, including allergy-specific questions. NMF levels were measured via a stratum corneum tape-stripping technique, genotyping for filaggrin (FLG) gene variants was performed and data on external exposures, including usage of moisturizer and topical steroids, antibiotics and early pet exposures, were obtained from questionnaires. RESULTS: Natural moisturizing factors levels were significantly lower in AD participants compared to HC (P < 0.001). This significance persisted after stratifying for AD subgroups of present AD, current AD during the last year and previous AD (P < 0.001, P = 0.039, P = 0.009 respectively). There was a significant association between NMF and FLG genotype (P = 0.016, P = 0.002 for HC, AD respectively). NMF levels were negatively correlated with early age moisturizer use (<18 months, P = 0.001) in HC but not significant in AD. CONCLUSIONS: We found decreased levels of NMF with early moisturizer use and a genetic influence of the FLG variant on these levels. NMF was decreased in the AD subgroup with previous AD compared with HC, which could suggest the persistence of a Th2 cytokine milieu suppressing these levels.


Subject(s)
Eczema , Filaggrin Proteins , Birth Cohort , Case-Control Studies , Child , Child, Preschool , Eczema/genetics , Humans , Infant , Intermediate Filament Proteins/genetics , Intermediate Filament Proteins/metabolism , Life Style , Mutation , Prospective Studies , Skin/metabolism
3.
J Phys Chem B ; 125(37): 10578-10588, 2021 09 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34495673

ABSTRACT

Lipophile induced modulations of self-assembly characteristics in aqueous Pluronic systems merit attention because of wide-ranging uses of Pluronics as solubilizing agents of lipophilic substances. In this paper, we report unusual evolutions of structural and hydration properties in lavender essential oil (LO) solubilized Pluronic P85 aqueous micellar systems as a function of micellar volume fraction and temperature. Our DLS, SANS, and viscometry studies show that the spherical-to-wormlike micellar structural transition observed in 1% P85 solutions upon solubilization of LO quite unexpectedly gets suppressed with increased P85 concentration to ≥5%. Detailed SANS studies reveal that the core sizes of the oil solubilized micelles cannot attain the threshold value required for the onset of structural transition at higher copolymer concentrations due to their progressive shrinking with an increase in P85 concentration. Oil solubilized P85 solutions show two cloud points and very interestingly exhibit micellar growth upon cooling to their lower cloud points. Steady state fluorescence studies explain this based on increasing dehydration of micellar corona with a decrease in temperature, very much opposite to what is observed in pure aqueous Pluronic systems. The results give new insight into viscous flow properties and low temperature storage possibilities of oil solubilized aqueous Pluronic systems.


Subject(s)
Micelles , Poloxamer , Temperature , Viscosity , Water
4.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol ; 256: 379-384, 2021 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33279806

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the current antenatal and intrapartum management options for primigravid women of short stature with a clinically large fetus by a survey of UK Obstetricians. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey comprised of 15 questions including the options on timing and mode of delivery, counselling about the risk of long-term pelvic floor morbidity following spontaneous vaginal and instrumental deliveries, choice of instruments and the role of episiotomy. The survey was sent to the participants as a part of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) Newsletter between September 2017 to October 2018. The scenario described was of a primigravid short stature woman (i.e. height of 160 cm or less) who presents with a clinically large fetus at 38 weeks gestation. RESULTS: 424 Obstetricians participated in the survey. The participation ratio cannot be identified as the survey was emailed as a part of the RCOG Newsletter. Sixty five percent respondents stated that they would scan for estimated fetal weight, 48 % would offer induction of labour at 40 weeks and 14 % would offer an elective/planned caesarean section (CS) at 39-40 weeks. Fifty nine percent would discuss all these risks: obstructed labour, shoulder dystocia, instrumental delivery and obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI). 73 % would not discuss the long-term risks of urinary and/or faecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. In the presence of failure to progress in the second stage of labour, 69 % would attempt a rotational instrumental delivery and 5% would offer a caesarean section. Manual rotation and 'straight' forceps application were the most frequent type of rotational delivery, followed by Ventouse and Kiellands forceps. Thirty four percent stated that they do not routinely perform an episiotomy in this scenario. Seventy three percent stated that their choice of instrument was not based on the long-term risk of urinary and faecal incontinence. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that 40 % of the respondents would not discuss all of the complications after vaginal delivery in women of short stature. The most common delivery option would be vaginal delivery.


Subject(s)
Cesarean Section , Episiotomy , Delivery, Obstetric , Female , Humans , Obstetrical Forceps , Pregnancy , Surveys and Questionnaires , United Kingdom
5.
J Phys Chem B ; 124(16): 3418-3427, 2020 04 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32239938

ABSTRACT

The structure of core-shell micelles formed by nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) in a supercooled glucose-urea melt is investigated by contrast variation small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and HR-TEM. Cooling a molten mixture of glucose-urea (weight ratio of 3:2) to room temperature yields a supercooled solvent without crystallization that can be used for trapping micelles of TX-100. By use of a combination of water and glucose-urea mixture at different proportions as solvent for micellization, the scattering length density (SLD) of the solvent can be tuned to match the shell contrast of the micelles. A systematic analysis of SAXS and SANS data with different SLD of solvent permits a quantitative evaluation of electron density profile of micelles in different matrices. The core of TX-100 micelles shows significant swelling in glucose-urea melt, as compared to that in water. The dimension and morphology of micelles were evaluated by scattering techniques and HR-TEM. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies suggest that, unlike micelles in water, the diffusion of micelles in supercooled glucose-urea melt decreased by several orders of magnitude.

6.
Anal Chim Acta ; 938: 123-8, 2016 Sep 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27619094

ABSTRACT

Solvent extraction is hoary yet modern technique with great scope of research due to the various intriguing phenomena in the system. Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) is a well known extractant which has been extensively used for separation of uranium matrix prior to elemental profiling. In this paper, one of the impurities namely Fe is being considered as it posed a challenge to the separation due to its co-extraction with TBP along with uranium. In these studies, for the first time, the existence of cation-cation inner sphere complexes between the UO2(2+)and Fe(3+) ions in both aqueous and organic phases have been establisted in addition to the selective separation of iron from uranium sample matrix using only TBP. The data from both spectrophotometric and thermophysical studies corroborated one another confirming the presence of cation-cation interactions (CCIs). The developed solvent extraction with only TBP showed almost no interferences on the iron extraction from matrix uranium and other co-ions like aluminum and copper. This has been the first time application of pure TBP for selective removal of iron from uranium samples. The procedure possessed excellent reproducibility and robustness.

7.
Hum Exp Toxicol ; 35(3): 221-8, 2016 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25813962

ABSTRACT

Researchers have been evaluating several biodosimetric/screening approaches to assess acute radiation injury, related to mass causality. Keeping in mind this background, we hypothesized that effect of whole-body irradiation in single fraction in graded doses can affect the secretion of various salivary components that could be used as acute radiation injury/toxicity marker, which can be used in screening of large population at the time of nuclear accidents/disaster. Thirty Sprague Dawley rats treated with whole-body cobalt-60 gamma irradiation of dose 1-5 Gy (dose rate: 0.95 Gy/min) were included in this study. Whole mixed saliva was collected from all animals before and after radiation up to 72 h postradiation. Saliva was analyzed for electrolytes, total protein, urea, and amylase. Intragroup comparison of salivary parameters at different radiation doses showed significant differences. Potassium was significantly increased as the dose increased from 1 Gy to 5 Gy (p < 0.01) with effect size of difference (r > 0.5). Sodium was significantly altered after 3-5 Gy (p < 0.01, r > 0.5), except 1 and 2 Gy, whereas changes in sodium level were nonsignificant (p > 0.5). Urea, total protein, and amylase levels were also significantly increased as the radiation dose increased (p < 0.01) with large effect size of difference (r > 0.5). This study suggests that salivary parameters were sensitive toward radiation even at low radiation dose which can be used as a predictor of radiation injury.


Subject(s)
Cobalt Radioisotopes/toxicity , Gamma Rays/adverse effects , Radiation Injuries/metabolism , Saliva/metabolism , Animals , Biomarkers/metabolism , Male , Potassium/metabolism , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Salivary alpha-Amylases/metabolism , Sodium/metabolism , Urea/metabolism , Whole-Body Irradiation
8.
Braz J Microbiol ; 46(3): 673-82, 2015.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26413047

ABSTRACT

Aflatoxin contamination of peanut, due to infection by Aspergillus flavus, is a major problem of rain-fed agriculture in India. In the present study, molecular characterisation of 187 Aspergillus flavus isolates, which were sampled from the peanut fields of Gujarat state in India, was performed using AFLP markers. On a pooled cluster analysis, the markers could successfully discriminate among the 'A', 'B' and 'G' group A. flavus isolates. PCoA analysis also showed equivalent results to the cluster analysis. Most of the isolates from one district could be clustered together, which indicated genetic similarity among the isolates. Further, a lot of genetic variability was observed within a district and within a group. The results of AMOVA test revealed that the variance within a population (84%) was more than that between two populations (16%). The isolates, when tested by indirect competitive ELISA, showed about 68.5% of them to be atoxigenic. Composite analysis between the aflatoxin production and AFLP data was found to be ineffective in separating the isolate types by aflatoxigenicity. Certain unique fragments, with respect to individual isolates, were also identified that may be used for development of SCAR marker to aid in rapid and precise identification of isolates.


Subject(s)
Aflatoxins/metabolism , Arachis/microbiology , Aspergillus flavus , Agriculture , Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis , Aspergillus flavus/classification , Aspergillus flavus/genetics , Aspergillus flavus/isolation & purification , DNA, Fungal/genetics , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Genes, Fungal , Genetic Variation/genetics , India , Molecular Typing , Mycological Typing Techniques , Principal Component Analysis
9.
Braz. j. microbiol ; 46(3): 673-682, July-Sept. 2015. tab, ilus
Article in English | LILACS | ID: lil-755832

ABSTRACT

Aflatoxin contamination of peanut, due to infection by Aspergillus flavus, is a major problem of rain-fed agriculture in India. In the present study, molecular characterisation of 187 Aspergillus flavus isolates, which were sampled from the peanut fields of Gujarat state in India, was performed using AFLP markers. On a pooled cluster analysis, the markers could successfully discriminate among the ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘G’ group A. flavus isolates. PCoA analysis also showed equivalent results to the cluster analysis. Most of the isolates from one district could be clustered together, which indicated genetic similarity among the isolates. Further, a lot of genetic variability was observed within a district and within a group. The results of AMOVA test revealed that the variance within a population (84%) was more than that between two populations (16%). The isolates, when tested by indirect competitive ELISA, showed about 68.5% of them to be atoxigenic. Composite analysis between the aflatoxin production and AFLP data was found to be ineffective in separating the isolate types by aflatoxigenicity. Certain unique fragments, with respect to individual isolates, were also identified that may be used for development of SCAR marker to aid in rapid and precise identification of isolates.

.


Subject(s)
Aspergillus flavus , Aflatoxins/metabolism , Arachis/microbiology , Agriculture , Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis , Aspergillus flavus/classification , Aspergillus flavus/genetics , Aspergillus flavus/isolation & purification , DNA, Fungal/genetics , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Genes, Fungal , Genetic Variation/genetics , India , Molecular Typing , Mycological Typing Techniques , Principal Component Analysis
11.
Int Urogynecol J ; 25(1): 61-4, 2014 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23818128

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: This study aimed to evaluate any differences in the incidence of perineal trauma in women undergoing vaginal delivery following intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) versus live-births. This information would be of interest in evaluating the possible effect of fetal demise on the mechanism of labour in the second stage and thus may provide invaluable insights to contribute to our understanding of the impact of fetal tone on the mechanics of labour and delivery. METHODS: 323 women who delivered vaginally following IUFD were matched with 1,000 women with a live-birth for age, parity, gestation and birth weight. Women undergoing assisted vaginal delivery and/or episiotomy were excluded. RESULTS: Women with an IUFD had a significantly lower risk of perineal trauma overall (relative risk 0.16) as well as a lower risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury specifically (RR 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Women delivering vaginally after IUFD have a lower incidence of perineal trauma compared with women delivering a live infant. This may be due to differences in biomechanics following an IUFD.


Subject(s)
Anal Canal/injuries , Delivery, Obstetric/adverse effects , Fetal Death , Perineum/injuries , Soft Tissue Injuries/epidemiology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Incidence , Pregnancy , Soft Tissue Injuries/etiology , Stillbirth , United Kingdom/epidemiology , Young Adult
12.
J Obstet Gynaecol ; 33(8): 873-6, 2013 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24219733

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate changes in voiding with age in women with different urodynamic diagnoses. Correlation was used to analyse the association between age and voiding parameters (maximum flow rate, voided volume, flow rate centile and maximum detrusor pressure - PdetMax) in 896 datasets. Multivariate analysis was used to analyse the data further by age group and diagnosis - urodynamic stress incontinence (USI); detrusor overactivity (DO); mixed USI and DO; no urodynamic abnormality. Results showed that diagnosis accounts for a significant amount of variation in all four of the dependent variables Age group shows a significant effect on voiding volume but does not show significant effects on any other variable studied. There is no significant interaction term in any of the analyses, meaning that age and diagnosis do not appear to function together, e.g. age does not relate to flow rate centile, maximum flow rate or PdetQMax. It was concluded that the data suggest that there is no significant change in voiding function related to age. In the elderly, the main alteration in voiding is due to a higher prevalence of DO.


Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms/physiopathology , Urinary Bladder/physiology , Urination , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Urodynamics , Young Adult
13.
Niger J Clin Pract ; 16(4): 433-8, 2013.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23974734

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a modern day epidemic and growing public health problem. A sizable proportion of world populations suffer from prehypertension or hypertension. OBJECTIVES: The present study was carried out to detect the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension among undergraduate medical students and to identify the associated risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was observational in nature and was done in medical colleges of Bengal. Study tool was a predesigned, pretested, validated, and semi-structured questionnaire containing both open-ended and close-ended questions. Data were collected through self-administration, clinical, and anthropometric examination. The data were then tabulated, analyzed and interpretation was done by using percentage and Chi-square test. RESULTS: Most of the students (63%) were young adults, predominantly males (67%) and day scholars (71%). Almost one-third of them either suffered from hypertension or at risk of hypertension. Hypertension was found higher among male students. Family history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus was not associated with hypertension. Vegetarian or nonvegetarian diet or extra-salt consumption was also not associated with hypertension. Smoking was shown positively associated with hypertension but alcohol consumption was not. Higher per capita monthly income and overweight or obesity were shown positively associated with hypertension. CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of hypertension in this study was 13% and there were positive association of hypertension with multiple socio-demographic factors like age, sex, type of family, per capita monthly income, residence, BMI, smoking, etc.


Subject(s)
Hypertension/epidemiology , Prehypertension/epidemiology , Students, Medical , Anthropometry , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young Adult
14.
J Virol ; 87(14): 7952-65, 2013 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23678179

ABSTRACT

Although infections with "natural" West Nile virus (WNV) and the chimeric W956IC WNV infectious clone virus produce comparable peak virus yields in type I interferon (IFN) response-deficient BHK cells, W956IC infection produces higher levels of "unprotected" viral RNA at early times after infection. Analysis of infections with these two viruses in IFN-competent cells showed that W956IC activated NF-κB, induced higher levels of IFN-ß, and produced lower virus yields than WNV strain Eg101. IPS-1 was required for both increased induction of IFN-ß and decreased yields of W956IC. In Eg101-infected cells, phospho-STAT1/STAT2 nuclear translocation was blocked at all times analyzed, while some phospho-STAT1/STAT2 nuclear translocation was still detected at 8 h after infection in W956IC-infected mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), and early viral protein levels were lower in these cells. A set of additional chimeras was made by replacing various W956IC gene regions with the Eg101 equivalents. As reported previously, for three of these chimeras, the low early RNA phenotype of Eg101 was restored in BHK cells. Analysis of infections with two of these chimeric viruses in MEFs detected lower early viral RNA levels, higher early viral protein levels, lower early IFN-ß levels, and higher virus yields similar to those seen after Eg101 infection. The data suggest that replicase protein interactions directly or indirectly regulate genome switching between replication and translation at early times in favor of translation to minimize NF-κB activation and IFN induction by decreasing the amount of unprotected viral RNA, to produce sufficient viral protein to block canonical type I IFN signaling, and to efficiently remodel cell membranes for exponential genome amplification.


Subject(s)
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Viral/physiology , Interferon Type I/physiology , NF-kappa B/metabolism , RNA, Viral/physiology , Virus Replication/physiology , West Nile virus/physiology , Animals , Blotting, Northern , Blotting, Western , Cell Line , Cell Membrane/metabolism , Chimera/genetics , Chimera/virology , Cricetinae , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Interferon-beta/metabolism , Mice , Microscopy, Confocal , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , STAT1 Transcription Factor/metabolism , STAT2 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Species Specificity , West Nile virus/genetics
15.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol ; 90(3): 323-8, 2013 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23275974

ABSTRACT

A heavy metal resistant strain, Pseudomonas stutzeri (MTCC 101) has been investigated for its cadmium tolerance properties along with its antibiotic resistance. The organism could tolerate cadmium up to 1,200 µg/mL with LD50 value 700 µg/mL. The gene(s) involved in such high resistance appear(s) to be induced in the presence of the metal. Increasing concentrations of cadmium successively prolonged the lag phase of growth with delayed attainment of the stationary phase. Transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive analysis of X-ray spectroscope analysis showed cadmium adsorption on the bacterial surface with morphological distortion. Atomic absorption spectrometric study corroborated this data, showing highest cadmium accumulation in the cell wall fraction of the bacteria. Additionally, the cell wall fraction showed synthesis of new proteins when grown under metal stress.


Subject(s)
Cadmium/metabolism , Cell Wall/metabolism , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Environmental Pollutants/metabolism , Pseudomonas stutzeri/metabolism , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Biodegradation, Environmental , Cadmium/analysis , Cadmium/toxicity , Cell Wall/chemistry , Cell Wall/drug effects , Cell Wall/ultrastructure , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Environmental Pollutants/analysis , Environmental Pollutants/toxicity , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Microscopy, Electron, Transmission , Pseudomonas stutzeri/drug effects , Pseudomonas stutzeri/growth & development , Spectrophotometry, Atomic
16.
Hum Exp Toxicol ; 32(1): 24-30, 2013 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22899726

ABSTRACT

Alzheimer's disease (AD) could result from a multifactorial process involving both genetic predisposition and exposure to environmental factors like pesticides. A case control study of 70 patients of AD and 75 controls was done to examine the association between organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and risk of AD. OCPs (hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), aldrin, dieldrin, endosulfan, pp'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (pp'-DDE), op'-DDE, pp'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (pp'-DDT), op'-DDT, pp'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (pp'-DDD) and op'-DDD) were extracted from blood and quantitatively estimated using gas chromatography. A Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant difference in ß-HCH levels (U = 1237.00, W = 4087.00, z = -6.296, p = 0.000, r = -0.71), dieldrin levels (U = 1449.00, W = 4299.00, z = -5.809, p = 0.000, r = -0.68) and pp'-DDE levels (U = 2062.00, W = 4912.00, z = -2.698, p = 0.007, r = -0.59) between AD patients and controls. In conclusion, this study supports epidemiological studies that associate exposure to pesticides with increased risk of AD, and we identified the specific pesticides ß-HCH, dieldrin and pp'-DDE that are associated with the risk of AD in the north Indian population. However, further research is needed to establish the potential role of these OCPs as an etiologic agent for AD case.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/epidemiology , Environmental Pollutants/blood , Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated/blood , Pesticides/blood , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Case-Control Studies , Environmental Monitoring , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Risk
17.
Dev Comp Immunol ; 36(1): 93-103, 2012 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21767564

ABSTRACT

Nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-2 is a cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptor (PRR) and is a member of NOD like receptor (NLR) family. It senses a wide range of bacteria and viruses or their products and is involved in innate immune responses. In this report, NOD-2 gene was cloned and characterized from rohu (Labeo rohita) which is highly commercially important fish species in the Indian subcontinent. The full length rohu NOD-2 (rNOD-2) cDNA comprised of 3176 bp with a single open reading frame (ORF) of 2949 bp encoding a polypeptide of 982 amino acids (aa) with an estimated molecular mass of 109.65 kDa. The rNOD-2 comprised two N-terminal CARD domains (at 4-91 aa and 111-200 aa), one NACHT domain (at 271-441 aa) and seven C-terminal leucine rich repeat (LRR) regions. Phylogenetically, rNOD-2 was closely related to grass carp NOD-2 (gcNOD2) and exhibited significant similarity (94.2%) and identity (88.6%) in their amino acids. Ontogeny analysis of rNOD-2 showed its constitutive expression across the developmental stages, and highlighted the embryonic innate defense system in fish. Tissue specific analysis of rNOD-2 by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed its wide distribution; highest expression was in liver followed by blood. In response to PGN and LTA stimulation, Aeromonas hydrophila and Edwardsiella tarda infection, and poly I:C treatment, expression of rNOD-2 and its associated downstream molecules RICK and IFN-γ were significantly enhanced in the treated fish compared to control. These findings suggested the key role of NOD-2 in augmenting innate immunity in fish in response to bacterial and viral infection. This study may be helpful for the development of preventive measures against infectious diseases in fish.


Subject(s)
Aeromonas hydrophila/immunology , Carps , Edwardsiella tarda/immunology , Fish Proteins/genetics , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/immunology , Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein/genetics , Aeromonas hydrophila/pathogenicity , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Cloning, Molecular , Edwardsiella tarda/pathogenicity , Evolution, Molecular , Fish Proteins/immunology , Fish Proteins/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , Gene Expression Regulation/immunology , Immunity, Innate , Ligands , Molecular Sequence Data , Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein/immunology , Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein/metabolism , Phylogeny , Signal Transduction/immunology
18.
Fish Shellfish Immunol ; 32(1): 121-31, 2012 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22085689

ABSTRACT

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the key components of innate immunity. Among various types of TLRs, TLR5 is involved in recognizing bacterial flagellin and after binding, it triggers myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88)-dependent signaling pathway to induce pro-inflammatory cytokines. In this report, we analyzed the expression profile of TLR5 and its associated downstream signaling molecules like MyD88 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor (TRAF) 6 in the Indian major carp (IMC), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) which is highly commercially important fish species in the Indian subcontinent. Ontogeny analysis of TLR5, MyD88 and TRAF6 revealed constitutive expression of these genes in all embryonic developmental stages, and highlighted the importance of embryonic innate immune defense system in fish. Tissue specific expression analysis of these genes by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed their wide distribution in various organs and tissues; highest expression of TLR5 and MyD88 was in liver and TRAF6 was in kidney. Modulation of TLR5, MyD88 and TRAF6 gene expression, and the induction of interleukin (IL)-8 and TNF-α were analyzed in various organs by qRT-PCR following flagellin stimulation, and Aeromonas hydrophila and Edwardsiella tarda infection. In the treated fish, majority of the tested tissues exhibited significant induction of these genes, although with varied intensity among the tissues and with the types of treatments. Among the examined tissues, a significant relationship of TLR5 induction, MyD88 and TRAF6 up-regulation, and enhanced expression of IL-8 and TNF-α gene transcripts was observed in the blood and intestine of both flagellin stimulated and bacteria infected fish. These findings may indicate the involvement of TLR5 in inducing IL-8 and TNF-α, and suggest the important role of TLR5 in augmenting innate immunity in fish in response to pathogenic invasion. This study will enrich the information in understanding the innate immune mechanism in fish and may be helpful in developing preventive measures against infectious diseases in fish.


Subject(s)
Carps/genetics , Carps/immunology , Fish Diseases/immunology , Gene Expression Regulation , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/veterinary , Ligands , Toll-Like Receptor 5 , Adjuvants, Immunologic/pharmacology , Animals , Flagellin/pharmacology , Gene Expression Profiling , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/immunology , Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/genetics , Signal Transduction , TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 6/genetics , Toll-Like Receptor 5/genetics , Toll-Like Receptor 5/immunology
19.
J Obstet Gynaecol ; 31(6): 521-3, 2011 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21823855

ABSTRACT

Since the introduction of original tension-free vaginal tape in 1995, a number of different suburethral slings have been marketed. Much of the published literature on midurethral sling procedures relates to the original TVT. Although there has been a considerable number of publications comparing different routes of tape insertion, there is relatively little published identifying the efficacy of different retropubic slings. This study was designed to identify the success rate and complications in a case series of Advantage slings. A total of 70 women were assessed 6 months after insertion of an Advantage midurethral sling by questionnaire. The absence of stress incontinence was reported in 94% of women. There were no intraoperative complications. Only 3% had short-term voiding dysfunction (<6 weeks). De novo overactive bladder symptoms developed in 3% of women. The Advantage sling has a good success rate, with low complications.


Subject(s)
Suburethral Slings , Urinary Incontinence, Stress/surgery , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Postoperative Complications , Suburethral Slings/adverse effects , Surveys and Questionnaires , Treatment Outcome
20.
BJOG ; 118(3): 338-44, 2011 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21134102

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: to explore women's perceptions of new and established treatments for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and prolapse, and to identify factors important to women in decision-making about treatments. DESIGN: qualitative interview study. SETTING: urogynaecology unit in a large UK district general hospital. POPULATION: women referred from their general practitioner with SUI and/or prolapse symptoms. METHODS: each woman was given a questionnaire detailing nonsurgical and surgical treatments for SUI and/or prolapse. This briefly detailed the treatment, together with published success and complication rates. Participants were taken through a semi-structured interview based on their perceptions of each treatment, and the factors that lead them to find treatments acceptable or not acceptable. Interviews were conducted by a member of the research team before the initial appointment with the clinical team. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis using constant comparison derived from grounded theory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: themes identified from analysis of interview transcripts. RESULTS: a total of 16 women were interviewed. Their median age was 54 years (range 48-70 years). Women with SUI were keen to have the treatment with the highest chance of long-term success, even if this was more invasive. Women with prolapse were more unsure about this, and less willing to risk potential complications for a higher chance of long-term success. CONCLUSIONS: many factors affect women's decision-making with regards to treatment choices. This analysis highlights the need for careful exploration of women's hopes and expectations before embarking on treatment.


Subject(s)
Patient Satisfaction , Pelvic Organ Prolapse/psychology , Urinary Incontinence, Stress/psychology , Aged , Female , Humans , Intraoperative Complications/psychology , Middle Aged , Pelvic Organ Prolapse/therapy , Postoperative Complications/psychology , Prospective Studies , Quality of Life , Treatment Outcome , Urinary Incontinence, Stress/therapy
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