Effectiveness of flow inflating device in providing Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for critically ill children in limited-resource settings: A prospective observational study

Methods:A prospective observational study was undertaken in the critical care unit of a Government Tertiary Care Hospital, from November 2013 to September 2014. All children who required CPAP in the age group 1 month to 12 years of both sexes were included in this study. They were started on indigenous CPAP through flow inflating device on clinical grounds based on the pediatric assessment triangle, and the duration and outcome were analyzed.Results:This study population included 214 children. CPAP through flow inflating device was successful in 89.7% of cases, of which bronchiolitis accounted for 98.3%. A prolonged duration of CPAP support of >96 h was required in pneumonia. CPAP failure was noted in 10.3% of cases, the major risk factors being children <1 year and pneumonia with septic shock.Conclusion:We conclude that flow inflating devices - JR/Bain circuit are effective as an indigenous CPAP in limited resource settings. Despite its benefits, CPAP is not a substitute for invasive ventilation, as when the need for intubation arises timely intervention is needed.Key words: Bain circuit, Bronchiolitis, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, Jackson-Rees circuit     

Levels of transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, and protein in tissues of Clarias gariepienus fingerlings exposed to sublethal concentrations of cadmium chloride

The freshwater fish, Clarias gariepienus fingerlings, were exposed to sublethal concentrations (1.7 and 3.4 mg/L) of cadmium chloride for 12 days. Aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total protein levels were assayed in the gill, brain, and muscle of the fish at regular intervals of 6 and 12 days. The activities of AAT, ALT, and ALP of the treated fishes increased significantly in all the tissues compared with the control fish. Protein level in all the tissues showed a significant decrease in comparison to unexposed controls throughout the experimental periods. These results revealed that cadmium chloride effects the intermediary metabolism of C. gariepienus fingerlings and that the assayed enzymes can work as good biomarkers of contamination.     

Hydroxyapatite‐intertwined hybrid nanofibres for the mineralization of osteoblasts

Advances in tissue engineering have enabled the development of bioactive composite materials to generate biomimetic nanofibrous scaffolds for bone replacement therapies. Polymeric biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds architecturally mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM), delivering tremendous regenerative potential for bone tissue engineering. In the present study, biocompatible poly(l ‐lactic acid)‐co‐poly(ε‐caprolactone)–silk fibroin–hydroxyapatite–hyaluronic acid (PLACL–SF–HaP–HA) nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning to mimic the native ECM. The developed nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized in terms of fibre morphology, functional group, hydrophilicity and mechanical strength, using SEM, FTIR, contact angle and tabletop tensile‐tester, respectively. The nanofibrous scaffolds showed a higher level of pore size and increased porosity of up to 95% for the exchange of nutrients and metabolic wastes. The fibre diameters obtained were in the range of around 255 ± 13.4–789 ± 22.41 nm. Osteoblasts cultured on PLACL–SF–HaP–HA showed a significantly (p < 0.001) higher level of proliferation (53%) and increased osteogenic differentiation and mineralization (63%) for the inclusion of bioactive molecules SF–HA. Energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX) data proved that the presence of calcium and phosphorous in PLACL–SF–HaP–HA nanofibrous scaffolds was greater than in the other nanofibrous scaffolds with cultured osteoblasts. The obtained results for functionalized PLACL–SF–HaP–HA nanofibrous scaffolds proved them to be a potential biocomposite for bone tissue engineering. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postprandial lipemia and its relation to TCF7L2 gene polymorphisms in normoglycemic first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes patients

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - We compared postprandial triglyceride (PPTg) responses to fat challenge between risk allele and wild-type variant of two common TCF7L2...     

Evaluation of safety profile of black shilajit after 91 days repeated administration in rats

Objective

To evaluate the safety of shilajit by 91 days repeated administration in different dose levels in rats.

Methods

In this study the albino rats were divided into four groups. Group I received vehicle and group II, III and IV received 500, 2 500 and 5 000 mg/kg of shilajit, respectively. Finally animals were sacrificed and subjected to histopathology and iron was estimated by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and graphite furnace.

Results

The result showed that there were no significant changes in iron level of treated groups when compared with control except liver (5 000 mg/kg) and histological slides of all organs revealed normal except negligible changes in liver and intestine with the highest dose of shilajit. The weight of all organs was normal when compared with control.

Conclusions

The result suggests that black shilajit, an Ayurvedic formulation, is safe for long term use as a dietary supplement for a number of disorders like iron deficiency anaemia.     

Dietary Feeding of Grape Seed Extract Prevents Intestinal Tumorigenesis in APCmin/+ Mice

Chemopreventive effects and associated mechanisms of grape seed extract (GSE) against intestinal/colon cancer development are largely unknown. Herein, we investigated GSE efficacy against intestinal tumorigenesis in APC^min/+ mice. Female APC^min/+ mice were fed control or 0.5% GSE (wt/wt) mixed AIN-76A diet for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiment, GSE feeding decreased the total number of intestinal polyps by 40%. The decrease in polyp formation in the small intestine was 42%, which was mostly in its middle (51%) and distal (49%) portions compared with the proximal one. GSE also decreased polyp growth where the number of polyps of 1 to 2 mm in size decreased by 42% and greater than 2 mm in size by 71%, without any significant change in polyps less than 1 mm in size. Immunohistochemical analyses of small intestinal tissue samples revealed a decrease (80%–86%) in cell proliferation and an increase (four- to eight-fold) in apoptosis. GSE feeding also showed decreased protein levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) (56%–64%), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) (58%–60%), and β-catenin (43%–59%) but an increased Cip1/p21-positive cells (1.9- to 2.6-fold). GSE also decreased cyclin D1 and c-Myc protein levels in small intestine. Together, these findings show the chemopreventive potential of GSE against intestinal polyp formation and growth in APC^min/+ mice, which was accompanied with reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis together with down-regulation in COX-2, iNOS, β-catenin, cyclin D1, and c-Myc expression, but increased Cip1/p21. In conclusion, the present study suggests potential usefulness of GSE for the chemoprevention of human intestinal/colorectal cancer.     

Poly(I:C) is an effective adjuvant for antibody and multi-functional CD4+ T cell responses to Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and αDEC-CSP in non human primates

Development of a fully effective vaccine against the pre-erythrocytic stage of malaria infection will likely require induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses. Protein based vaccines can elicit such broad-based immunity depending on the adjuvant and how the protein is formulated. Here to assess these variables, non human primates (NHP) were immunized three times with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) circumsporozoite protein (CSP) or CSP cloned into MG38, a monoclonal antibody that targets DEC-205 (αDEC-CSP), an endocytic receptor on dendritic cells (DCs). Both vaccines were administered with or without poly(I:C) as adjuvant. Following three immunizations, the magnitude and quality of cytokine secreting CD4+ T cells were comparable between CSP + poly(I:C) and αDEC-CSP + poly(I:C) groups with both regimens eliciting multi-functional cytokine responses. However, NHP immunized with CSP + poly(I:C) had significantly higher serum titers of CSP-specific IgG antibodies and indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) titers against Pf sporozoites. Furthermore, sera from both CSP or αDEC-CSP + poly(I:C) immunized animals limited sporozoite invasion of a hepatocyte cell line (HC04) in vitro. To determine whether CSP-specific responses could be enhanced, all NHP primed with CSP or αDEC-CSP + poly(I:C) were boosted with a single dose of 150,000 irradiated Pf sporozoites (PfSPZ) intravenously. Remarkably, boosting had no effect on the CSP-specific immunity. Finally, immunization with CSP + poly-ICLC reduced malaria parasite burden in the liver in an experimental mouse model. Taken together, these data showing that poly(I:C) is an effective adjuvant for inducing potent antibody and Th1 immunity with CSP based vaccines offers a potential alternative to the existing protein based pre-erythrocytic vaccines.     

Helioxanthin suppresses the cross talk of COX‐2/PGE2 and EGFR/ERK pathway to inhibit Arecoline‐induced Oral Cancer Cell (T28) proliferation and blocks tumor growth in xenografted nude mice

Helioxanthin, an active compound from Taiwania cryptomerioides Hayata, has been shown to have various biological activities. However, their anticancer effect in oral squamous cell carcinoma has not been well established yet. Helioxanthin inhibited the proliferation of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells in a dose‐dependent manner by inducing G2/M phase arrest. Similarly, helioxanthin inhibited cyclooxygenase‐2, (COX‐2), phosphorylated EGFR, and extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinases (ERK) protein level and further reduced the nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor (pEGFR) and activator protein‐1(AP‐1) family protein, c‐fos. Moreover, helioxanthin at the dose of 20 and 30 mg kg^?1 for 15 days reduced the tumor growth in animal model. This study demonstrated that Helioxanthin exerts its anticancer activity against oral cancer cells by downregulating EGFR/ERK/c‐fos signaling pathway to inhibit COX‐2 level and by activating cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor (p27) to further induce G2/M cell cycle arrest. This helioxanthin may serve as a novel candidate for oral cancer prevention. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 2045–2056, 2016.     

Maxillary second premolar with three roots and three separate root canals--case reports

Aberrations in root canal systems are a commonly occurring phenomenon. Knowledge of the basic root canal anatomy and its variation is necessary for successful completion of endodontics. Maxillary second premolars usually have one root and one canal. The occurrence of these teeth having three roots and three canals is very rare. Three such cases of maxillary second premolar with three roots and three canals are presented here.