Double-stranded RNA and bacterial lipopolysaccharide enhance sensitivit to TNF-{alpha}-mediated cell death

The effect of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and bacterial lipopolysaccharideon the sensitivity to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)--medlatedcell death was studied In an In vitro system. Since secretionof TNF- Is a part of the early host response to viral and bacterialinfection, we examined whether mimicking the Infection withviral and bacterial products could affect the response of cellsto TNF-. Incubation of WEHI 164 fibrosarcoma cells with dsRNAor lipopolysaccharide (LPS) significantly increased their sensitivityto TNF--mediated lysis and to TNF-secreting inflammatory T cell-mediatedlysis. Thus, these products could induce Increased sensitivityto TNF- In cells In an inflammatory focus, possibly contributingto selective elimination of Infected but not healthy cells bythis non-specific cytokine. Additionally, our data show thatboth dsRNA and LPS, as well as TNF- Itself, rapidly Induce nuclearfactor-xB (NF-*B), a DNA-bindlng protein Implicated In regulationof gene expression. We suggest that NF-xB could regulate genescrucial for the induction of cell death by TNF-.     

An audit on HIV antibody test uptake amongst GUM clinic attendees in the West Midland region

We audited the practice of offering, and the uptake of, an HIV antibody test amongst genitourinary medicine clinic patients in the West Midlands region. There were wide variations in the offering (from 14 to 100%) and uptake (18 to 64%) of the test in the different clinics within the same region.     

Chronic Pancreatitis with Benign Biliary Obstruction: Management Issues

Background

Benign biliary obstruction (BBO) is an important complication in patients with advanced chronic pancreatitis (CP). Its presentation varies from an incidental finding to overt jaundice. Thus it presents certain management issues. The present study was therefore performed to analyze the clinical presentation and management of biliary obstruction in patients with CP.

Methods

Retrospective analysis was performed from a prospectively collected database of 155 CP patients managed at our institute from October 2003 to June 2012.

Results

Among 43 (28 %) CP patients with biliary obstruction, 3 patients had evidence of malignancy on follow-up examination and were excluded from the final analysis. The various presentations include chronic nonprogressive elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) (n = 15), a progressive increase in SAP with episodes of jaundice (n = 17), and persistent jaundice (n = 8). Of 15 patients with chronic nonprogressive elevation of SAP, 5 were managed conservatively, and the remaining 10 underwent only a pancreatic drainage procedure. During a median follow-up of 41 months (range 11–90 months), none of the 15 patients developed complications related to biliary obstruction. All patients with progressive increase in SAP levels and persistent jaundice underwent the biliary drainage procedure [choledochojejunostomy (CDJ, n = 20) and choledochoduodenostomy (CDD, n = 3)]. During a median follow-up of 30 months (range 10–89 months), two patients died of unrelated causes and two patients had an asymptomatic elevation of SAP.

Conclusions

BBO is common in patients with CP; however, biliary drainage is not indicated for chronic nonprogressive elevation of SAP. In patients with a progressive increase in SAP or persistent jaundice, both CDJ and CDD provide effective biliary drainage.     

Tuning the mechanical properties of silicene nanosheet by auxiliary cracks: a molecular dynamics study

Silicene has become a topic of interest nowadays due to its potential application in various electro-mechanical nanodevices. In our previous work on silicene, fracture stresses of single crystal and polycrystalline silicene have been investigated. Existence of defects in the form of cracks reduces the fracture strength of silicene nanosheets to a great extent. In this study, an engineering way has been proposed for improving the fracture stress of silicene nanosheets with a pre-existing crack by incorporating auxiliary cracks symmetrically in a direction perpendicular to the main crack. We call this mechanism the “Failure shielding mechanism”. An extensive molecular dynamics simulation based analysis has been performed to capture the atomic level auxiliary crack-main crack interactions. It is found that the main crack tip stress distribution is significantly changed with the presence of auxiliary cracks for loading along both armchair and zigzag directions. The effects of temperature and the crack propagation speed of silicene have also been studied. Interestingly, in the case of loading along the zigzag direction, SW defect formation is observed at the tip of main crack. This leads to a reduction of the tip stress resulting in a more prominent failure shielding in case of zigzag loading than in armchair loading. Moreover, the position and length of the cracks as well as the loading directions have significant impacts on the tip stress distribution. Finally, this study opens the possibilities of strain engineering for silicene by proposing an engineering way to tailor the fracture strength of silicene.

Inclusion of auxiliary cracks increases the fracture stress of silicene nanosheets with a pre existing crack.     

Emergence of ancient convalescent plasma (CP) therapy: To manage COVID-19 pandemic

Since December 2019, the human populations of the 195 global countries continue experiencing grave health and life threats due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the novelty of the pathogen, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), at present there is lack of preventive as well as therapeutic options for treating and managing the infection. The use of ancient immunotherapeutic technique – the convalescent plasma (CP) therapy, may act as an immediate and available option to control the COVID-19 pandemic. This review provides a concept and understanding on the CP therapy, its potential to control SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The CP therapy might act as an immediate saviour for society from the virus. Although the CP therapy has exert affirmative result against COVID-19 it has not been recommended for long time use in COVID-19 and this review gives support for its possible application.