A Prospective Observational Study on the Pattern of Hearing Loss and Its Recovery in Temporal Bone Fractures.

To study the pattern of hearing loss and its recovery in cases of temporal bone fractures. 95 cases of temporal bone fractures, selected from head injury cases, were examined in Trauma centre or Intensive care unit or in Otorhinolaryngology department in a tertiary care Army Hospital. Hearing loss was assessed by pure tone audiometry. The recovery pattern of hearing loss in each case was studied by further follow up audiometry after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. Hearing loss was detected in 71 cases. Majority (42%) had mild degree of hearing loss followed by severe (18%). There were equal numbers of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. Hearing loss was higher in transverse (62%) and oblique (27%) fractures compared to longitudinal (11%). Severe, profound and high frequency hearing loss were more associated with otic capsule violating fractures as compared to otic capsule sparing fractures. Complete recovery to under 25dBHL as seen on day 30, 60 and 90 were 27%, 32% and 59% respectively. Hearing loss, though under reported, is an important complication which often occurs in all types of temporal bone fractures. Conductive hearing loss is as common as sensorineural one. Otic capsule violating fracture is more likely to cause severe and profound hearing loss. Complete recovery is not the rule.

'Lateral Aberrant Thyroid Carcinoma' or 'Thyroglossal Duct Cyst Carcinoma Metastasizing to Neck Node': Can we Decide in this Interesting Case Report?

Lateral aberrant thyroid(LAT) belongs to subset of ectopic thyroid, mostly presenting as asymptomatic lateral neck swelling and are challenging to diagnose without histopathological examination. Malignant transformation in LAT is even rare and is best managed by surgical excision. Here, we report a case of papillary carcinoma of LAT, but with an unusual post-operative finding, revealing papillary carcinoma of thyroglossal duct cyst.

Involvement of BglG in Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) Synthesis and Transport in Stationary Phase in E. coli.

BglG, an RNA binding regulatory protein encoded by the ß-glucoside (bgl) operon of E. coli is known to be involved in the regulation of several metabolic functions in stationary phase. A genome-wide comparative transcriptome analysis performed earlier between a ∆bglG strain and its isogenic WT counterpart revealed that genes involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis and transport were significantly down-regulated in the absence of BglG in stationary phase, suggesting a role for BglG in their regulation. We have investigated the involvement of BglG in LPS biosynthesis and transport. Consistent with the down-regulation of LPS synthesis and transport genes, the ∆bglG strain showed a loss of permeability barrier specifically in stationary phase, which could be rescued by introduction of wild type bglG on a plasmid. A search for a putative transcription factor involved in the regulation mediated by BglG led to the identification of GadE, which is one of the primary positive regulators of pH homeostasis and LPS core biosynthesis. Using RNA mobility shift and stability assays, we show that BglG binds specifically to gadE mRNA and enhances its stability. Consistent with this, loss of gadE leads to a partial defect in permeability. Based on our findings, we propose a model for the molecular mechanism involved in the regulation on LPS synthesis and transport by BglG.

Practice and Acceptability of Yoga Among Pregnant Women in India: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

The practice of yoga is beneficial during pregnancy, but we do not know what proportion of pregnant women in India practice yoga. To address this research gap, we conducted a study to address following research questions: (1) What proportion of pregnant women in rural Maharashtra practice yoga? (2) Which sociodemographic factors are associated with the practice of yoga among these women? and (3) What is the perceived acceptability of integrating yoga-based intervention into routine antenatal care? A consecutive sample of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary care hospital, who could fluently communicate in Marathi and who did not have any serious physical illness or cognitive impairment, were included in this cross-sectional survey. A total of 228 subjects were included in our study. Yoga was practiced by 38 of them (16.7%, 95% confidence interval 12.1-22.1) during the current pregnancy. Older age, higher education, and being a professional (teacher, healthcare provider, or bank official) were associated with practice of yoga. More than half of the participants (53.9%) thought that yoga should be included as part of their antenatal care; this perceived acceptability of yoga was not associated with any of the sociodemographic factors except for the participants' occupation. This study provides information about the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with the practice of yoga among pregnant women in a rural setting in India. It also explores the perceived acceptability of yoga-based interventions among this group. Findings from this study can inform design of future studies to evaluate the effect of yoga-based interventions during pregnancy.

The ridA gene of E. coli is indirectly regulated by BglG through the transcriptional regulator Lrp in stationary phase.

Regulators encoded by the beta-glucoside (bgl) operon of Escherichia coli are known to influence the expression of downstream target genes that confer a fitness advantage in stationary phase. We have examined the role of bglG in the regulation of ridA that encodes an enamine/imine deaminase essential for the elimination of reactive intermediates generated during the catabolism of amino acids such as serine. We report here that ridA is positively regulated by leucine responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) and leucine antagonizes the activation by Lrp. We also show that Lrp itself is under the indirect regulation of BglG, which brings about the overexpression of ridA in Bgl+ strains during stationary phase. Loss of ridA function in a Bgl+ background results in a significant growth retardation in serine-containing media compared to that in a Bgl- background. We propose that overexpression of ridA in Bgl+ background during stationary phase is physiologically relevant to eliminate toxic metabolites generated by the catabolism of serine-containing peptides as a result of elevated levels of their uptake.