Identification of Candidate Protein Biomarkers Associated with Domoic Acid Toxicosis in Cerebrospinal Fluid of California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus).

Since 1998, California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) stranding events associated with domoic acid toxicosis (DAT) have consistently increased. Outside of direct measurement of domoic acid in bodily fluids at the time of stranding, there are no practical nonlethal clinical tests for the diagnosis of DAT that can be utilized in a rehabilitation facility. Proteomics analysis was conducted to discover candidate protein markers of DAT using cerebrospinal fluid from stranded California sea lions with acute DAT (n = 8), chronic DAT (n = 19), or without DAT (n = 13). A total of 2005 protein families were identified experiment-wide. A total of 83 proteins were significantly different in abundance across the three groups (adj. p < 0.05). MDH1, PLD3, ADAM22, YWHAG, VGF, and CLSTN1 could discriminate California sea lions with or without DAT (AuROC > 0.75). IGKV2D-28, PTRPF, KNG1, F2, and SNCB were able to discriminate acute DAT from chronic DAT (AuROC > 0.75). Proteins involved in alpha synuclein deposition were over-represented as classifiers of DAT, and many of these proteins have been implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. These proteins should be considered potential markers for DAT in California sea lions and should be prioritized for future validation studies as biomarkers.

Motivation for adherence to antiretroviral therapy by transgender people living with hiv - A study in West Bengal, India.

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has substantially improved the survival of persons infected with HIV. In India, the aggregated HIV prevalence among transgender (TG) community was found 7.5%. West Bengal, with over 30,000 TG population recorded HIV prevalence of 4.8%. The qualitative study was conducted in 2019 with the objective to explore the motivating factors for adherence to ART treatment among TG people living with HIV (PLHIV) in an ART center. Respondents were motivated PLHIVs on ART with suitable treatment adherence recorded. Data were inductively analyzed, using thematic analysis, to identify themes central to ART adherence. Five themes emerged with prime acknowledgment of respondents that ART medication is lifelong for their survival with receiving support. Notwithstanding the chronic nature of the disease, TG PLHIV patient stands a better chance of maintaining treatment adherence if they are involved in treatment plans with their community-based members' helping as peer navigators.

Nano-sized precipitate stability and its controlling factors in a NiAl-strengthened ferritic alloy.

Coherent B2-ordered NiAl-type precipitates have been used to reinforce solid-solution body-centered-cubic iron for high-temperature application in fossil-energy power plants. In this study, we investigate the stability of nano-sized precipitates in a NiAl-strengthened ferritic alloy at 700-950 °C using ultra-small angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopies. Here we show that the coarsening kinetics of NiAl-type precipitates is in excellent agreement with the ripening model in multicomponent alloys. We further demonstrate that the interfacial energy between the matrix and NiAl-type precipitates is strongly dependent on differences in the matrix/precipitate compositions. Our results profile the ripening process in multicomponent alloys by illustrating controlling factors of interfacial energy, diffusivities, and element partitioning. The study provides guidelines to design and develop high-temperature alloys with stable microstructures for long-term service.

Ferritic Alloys with Extreme Creep Resistance via Coherent Hierarchical Precipitates.

There have been numerous efforts to develop creep-resistant materials strengthened by incoherent particles at high temperatures and stresses in response to future energy needs for steam turbines in thermal-power plants. However, the microstructural instability of the incoherent-particle-strengthened ferritic steels limits their application to temperatures below 900 K. Here, we report a novel ferritic alloy with the excellent creep resistance enhanced by coherent hierarchical precipitates, using the integrated experimental (transmission-electron microscopy/scanning-transmission-electron microscopy, in-situ neutron diffraction, and atom-probe tomography) and theoretical (crystal-plasticity finite-element modeling) approaches. This alloy is strengthened by nano-scaled L21-Ni2TiAl (Heusler phase)-based precipitates, which themselves contain coherent nano-scaled B2 zones. These coherent hierarchical precipitates are uniformly distributed within the Fe matrix. Our hierarchical structure material exhibits the superior creep resistance at 973 K in terms of the minimal creep rate, which is four orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional ferritic steels. These results provide a new alloy-design strategy using the novel concept of hierarchical precipitates and the fundamental science for developing creep-resistant ferritic alloys. The present research will broaden the applications of ferritic alloys to higher temperatures.

Tuberculosis and Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis in a Paediatric Case.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may be associated with tuberculosis infection. DVT in tuberculosis (TB) is implicated to the release of inflammatory cytokines, decrease synthesis of anti-coagulant proteins and increased fibrinogen levels. Drugs may also predispose to the hyper-coaguability. DVT may correlate with the severity of mycobacterium infection. We report a case of DVT in an 11-year-old child with sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient was put on low molecular weight heparin after Doppler documentation of thrombosis of left femoral vein. She was then put on oral warfarin with complete resolution of the thrombosis. A clinician should be aware of this rare but dangerous association of tuberculosis and must not delay in early diagnosis and intervention.

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Without Prophylactic Antibiotics: A Prospective Study.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the new gold standard for management of symptomatic gallstones. Prophylactic antibiotics are used in elective surgery by the majority of surgeons, and their role in biliary tract surgery has been well established for a subpopulation of high-risk patients. This consensus has been derived from multiple studies involving biliary tract surgery before and in the era of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. But the use of prophylactic antibiotics in laparoscopic cholecystectomy especially in the low-risk group is now controversial and varied among the surgeons all over the world. To study the role of prophylactic antibiotics in laparoscopic cholecystectomy in different risk groups of patients, a prospective study was conducted in the Department of Surgery of Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital from January 2010 to July 2011. All patients with symptomatic gallstones who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy during this period are included in this study. One hundred and two patients with symptomatic gallstones were operated on by laparoscopic technique without receiving preoperative antibiotics and studied over a period of 1.5 years. Ages ranged from 11 to 70 years (mean age of 33 years). There were 14 males (13.72 % of the patients) and 88 females (86.27 % of the patients). There was no wound infection (class I) in 99 patients, and class II type of wound infection, i.e., surgical site infection, occurred in three patients (i.e., 2.94 %) out of a total of 102 patients. Swabs were taken for culture and sensitivity; Staphylococcus aureus was found in two patients and Streptococcus viridans in one patient. In all three patients, infection occurred at the umbilical port sites, detected on the 3rd and 4th postoperative days. Antibiotic prophylaxis is not necessary in low-risk patients with symptomatic gallstone disease undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy to prevent postoperative infection-related complications. Preoperative skin preparation with chlorhexidine gluconate scrub may replace the use of prophylactic antibiotics for prevention of infection-related complications in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Dielectric properties of EVA rubber composites at microwave frequencies theory, instrumentation and measurements.

This work describes and evaluates a technique for determining the dielectric properties of carbon-black filled Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) rubber and presents results on the studies of the effect of frequency on the permittivity and microwave conductivity using resonant cavity perturbation method. The measurements are performed with the aid of a Network Analyzer in X-band. The simplicity of this method lies in the fact that the dielectric properties can be obtained directly from the analytical formula without taking recourse to calibration.

Time required to document temperature by electronic skin thermometer in a healthy neonate.

We studied the actual time taken to document temperature in a stable neonate by an electronic digital skin thermometer with automatic time beeper. We studied 100 neonates after initial stabilization. The mean time required for documenting the temperature by a electronic thermometer in axilla was 56.34+/-1.54 secs for term neonates (>2500g) and 54.87+/-1.23 secs for low birth weight (<2500g). The skin temperature measured simultaneously by the ordinary mercury thermometer kept for traditional 3 minutes supported the electronic measurement (P < 0.01).

Efficacy and safety of montelukast as monotherapy in children with mild persistent asthma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and tolerability of montelukast as monotherapy in the treatment of mild persistent bronchial asthma. DESIGN: Open, non-comparative, prospective, 12-month study. SETTING: Asthma clinic in urban multi-speciality trust hospital. METHODS: Children (age 3-11 yrs) with mild persistent asthma, not on any prophylactic drugs were enrolled consecutively (from January to December 2003) and started on 4 mg (2-4 yrs) or 5mg (<4 yrs) montelukast for a period of 12 weeks. Efficacy was assessed by improvements in clinical score, peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR), spirometry measurements and reduction in reliever drug requirement after 4 and 12 weeks of therapy. Side effects were also judged after 12 weeks of therapy. RESULTS: 50 children (mean age 5.41 +/-2.11 years) completed the study. There was association with positive family history (92%), allergic rhinitis (64%), exercise induced asthma (40%), cough variant asthma (24%), seasonal asthma (80%) and high IgE (12%) levels. Clinical scores, viz, activity, wheeze and cough, improved effectively from (1.64 +/-0.5253) at baseline to (0.7 +/-0.7071) and (1.72 +/-0.701) to (0.92 +/-0.6952) and (1.5 +/-0.6145) to (0.88 +/-0.8241) respectively after 12 weeks of therapy. Significant clinical improvement (p >0.001) was also noted after 4 weeks of therapy. Peak expiratory flow rates (done in 19 cases) documented improvement from (120.21 +/-12.23) at baseline to (135.41 +/-23.34) after 12 weeks. FEV1 / FVC (done in 11 cases) improved from (71.44 +/-1.35%) to (87.10 +/-8.34%) after 12 weeks. Mean improvement in all the parameters demonstrated P value less than >.001. A total of 19 of 50 cases showed mild side-effects as anorexia (16%), elevated liver function tests (18%) and headache (10%). CONCLUSION: The clinical outcome showed significant improvement (p < 0.01) after 4 and 12 weeks.

Interaction of cationic surfactants with carboxymethylcellulose in aqueous media.

We have examined the polymer-surfactant interaction in mixed solutions of the cationic surfactants, i.e., dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetradecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide, and tetradecylpyridinium bromide and a semiflexible anionic polyelectrolyte carboxymethylcellulose in water and aqueous salt solutions by various techniques: tensiometry, viscosimetry or ion-selective electrode method, and dynamic light scattering. We have investigated the effect of varying surfactant chain length, head group size, counterion, and ionic strength on the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) of mixed polymer surfactant systems and the collapse of the polymer molecule under different solution conditions. The CAC decreases with increasing alkyl chain length. Above a certain surfactant concentration, mixed aggregates start growing until their macroscopic phase separation. The growth is more rapid with greater surfactant tail length and with increasing head group size. This is attributed in both cases to the increasing hydrophobic interaction between polymer and surfactant. Among surfactants with monovalent halide counterions, iodide induces the strongest binding, reflected by the onset of growth of the mixed aggregates at low surfactant concentration. This is perhaps related to the decreasing hydration of the counterion from chloride to iodide. The surfactant concentration at which the viscosity of the solution starts to decrease sharply is smaller than the CAC, and probably reflects polymer chain shrinkage due to noncooperative binding.

Umbilical cord blood TSH levels in term neonates: a screening tool for congenital hypothyroidism.

This study was conducted to find normative values for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in 1200 cord blood samples of term babies whose mothers were not on any thyroid medications. TSH was estimated within 24 hrs by enzyme immunoassay. A full thyroid profile, viz, T3, T4, TSH, fT3 and fT4 was done at 7-10 days of age in all babies with cord TSH >20 mIU/L. The mean, median and standard deviation for the TSH values for the cohort were 6.13 mIU/L, 5.8 mIU/L and 4.523 respectively. 22 babies with TSH values >20 mIU/L were given repeat tests. Hypothyroidism was confirmed in two of these babies. We conclude that a cut off value of TSH >20 mIU/L is adequate for neonatal thyroid screening in Indian settings.

Montelukast - evaluation in 6 to 14 years old children with persistent asthma - pediatric montelukast study group.

OBJECTIVE: The suffering of children with asthma as a persistent illness is present in approximately 10% of the total population. The prevalent treatment regimens available has been the inhaled coticosteroids and short acting bronchodialators. Though the therapies are rational and well accepted but at the cost of side effects on chronic use. The changing definitions and guidelines with regard to asthma have given a classified slot to newer treatments like leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs). The aim of the present study was to study the efficacy and tolerability of montelukast in the treatment of Indian pediatric patients aged 6 to 14 years with chronic asthma. METHODS: It was a prospective, open, non-comparative multicentric study. 881 Children (Mean age 11.83+/- 3.12 years) were included. Patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were given one mouth dissolving 5 mg montelukast tablet daily in the evening for 30 days. RESULTS: There was an overall improvement in all the efficacy parameters. The daytime total asthma score decreased from 9.55 +/- 1.52 to 3.59 +/- 2.10. The average number of asthma attacks over the last 4 weeks decreased from 1.14+/- 1.19 to 0.28+/-0.57. The number of nocturnal awakenings fell from 1.54+/-0.78 to 0.43+/-0.54. FEV1 (L) [Predicted] improved by 21.18%). PEFR (L/min.) improved by 34.69%). Approximately 45% physicians rated the treatment as excellent, 30% as very good, 18% as good, 7% as fair and none as poor. CONCLUSION: Montelukast administered once daily improved efficacy end-points and was well tolerated in pediatric patients with chronic persistent asthma establishing itself as a valuable treatment option to current asthma therapies in 6 to 14 years old patients.