Seasonal and Geographic Patterns in Seeking Cardiovascular Health Information: An Analysis of the Online Search Trends

Objective

To ascertain whether temporal and geographic interest in seeking cardiovascular disease (CVD) information online follows seasonal and geographic patterns similar to those observed in real-world data.

Increase in Temperature Induces the Malathion Toxicity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pangasianodon hypophthalmus</Emphasis>: A Short Term Acute Test

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of higher temperature beyond optimum range on acute toxicity for malathion (effective concentration 50 %) in Pangasianodon hypophthalmus. A 2 days renewal bioassay system for 96 h was used to determine LC₅₀ value of malathion at three different regimes of temperature that is 30, 32 and 34 °C considering as T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The physico-chemical parameters of water of different treatment groups were estimated during pre and post-exposure of test chemical, following standard methods. The result of short term acute toxicity test at 96 h LC₅₀ values through probit analysis was found to be 7.76, 6.45 and 4.46 µL L^?1 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The 96 h LC₅₀ of malathion at 34 °C was found to be significantly (p < 0.01) lower as compared with estimated LC₅₀ for malathion at 30 and 32 °C. High temperature and free carbon dioxide coupled with low dissolved oxygen were significantly noticed in T3 group when compared to T1 and T2 groups. Lower LC₅₀ of malathion at 34 °C as compared to 30 and 32 °C showed that at a higher temperature, the toxicity of malathion increased, signifying diminished fish protective response to malathion toxicity. The current study reflects the impact of increased temperature on pesticide toxicity in the aquatic ecosystem, alarming the aqua farmers to judiciously use malathion in ponds.     

Trichoderma harzianum ThU and Its Metabolites Underscore Alteration in Essential Oils of Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum sanctum

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Ocimum, an important commercial aromatic crop, is well known for the industrially acclaimed essential oil. In...     

Investigation of crystal structure,microstructure and low temperature magnetic behavior of Ce4+ and Zn2+ co-doped barium hexaferrites (BaFe12O19)

Ce⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ co-doped barium hexaferrites (BFO) have been synthesized via a citrate-nitrate autocombustion route. Phase purity has been confirmed by high resolution (HR) powder X-ray diffraction analysis. Rietveld refinement on HR-XRD data has been carried out to reveal the crystal structure, bond angles and bond lengths. High-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) has been used to study the effect of Ce⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ on microstructure. Magnetic behavior of co-doped barium hexaferrites in the low temperature regime, 2–300 K has been studied. Further, it has been explained on the basis of superexchange interactions and formation of Bloch walls due to the presence of imperfections in the doped samples. It has been found that BFO changes hard to soft magnetic behavior when the temperature is decreased from 300 K to 2 K. Moreover, doping of Ce⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ at Fe³⁺ site also brings similar effects which strengthens with decreasing temperature.

Preparation of Ce–Zn substituted barium hexaferrites and investigation of their magnetic behavior in low temperature regime (2–300 K).     

Role of baicalin as a potential therapeutic agent in hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal disorders: A review

Baicalin is a natural bioactive compound derived from Scutellaria baicalensis, which is extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine. A literature survey demonstrated the broad spectrum of health benefits of baicalin such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cardio-protective, hepatoprotective, renal protective, and neuroprotective properties. Baicalin is hydrolyzed to its metabolite baicalein by the action of gut microbiota, which is further reconverted to baicalin via phase 2 metabolism in the liver. Many studies have suggested that baicalin exhibits therapeutic potential against several types of hepatic disorders including hepatic fibrosis, xenobiotic-induced liver injury, fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, cholestasis, ulcerative colitis, hepatocellular and colorectal cancer. During in vitro and in vivo examinations, it has been observed that baicalin showed a protective role against liver and gut-associated abnormalities by modifying several signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-kappa B, transforming growth factor beta 1/SMAD3, sirtuin 1, p38/mitogen-activated protein kinase/Janus kinase, and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinaseβ/adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase/acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase pathways. Furthermore, baicalin also regulates the expression of fibrotic genes such as smooth muscle actin, connective tissue growth factor, β-catenin, and inflammatory cytokines such as interferon gamma, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and IL-1β, and attenuates the production of apoptotic proteins such as caspase-3, caspase-9 and B-cell lymphoma 2. However, due to its low solubility and poor bioavailability, widespread therapeutic applications of baicalin still remain a challenge. This review summarized the hepatic and gastrointestinal protective attributes of baicalin with an emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that regulate the interaction of baicalin with the gut microbiota.     

A community-based, comparative evaluation of direct agglutination and rK39 strip tests in the early detection of subclinical Leishmania donovani infection

In the Indian state of Bihar, the sensitivities and specificities of direct agglutination tests (DAT) and rK39 test strips for the detection of Leishmania donovani infection in humans were explored and found to be generally good (92%-100%). When 172 asymptomatic individuals [16 'case-contacts' who lived in the same households as past or current, confirmed cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and 156 other subjects from neighbouring households] were tested, the same 36 (21%) individuals, including all 16 'case-contacts', were found seropositive using each type of test. When followed-up after 3 months, 18 of the individuals who had been found seropositive in the baseline survey remained seropositive, and eight (44%) of these had developed symptomatic VL, with amastigotes in their splenic aspirates. Seven (44%) of the 16 'case-contacts' but only one (5%) of the other 20 subjects found seropositive at baseline went on to develop VL within 3 months. Although the strip test appeared slightly better than DAT for predicting the development of VL in the 172 subjects, either type of test may be very useful for the early detection of asymptomatic L. donovani infection and thus the identification of those at relatively high risk of developing VL.     

Hypertriglyceridemia: a possible diagnostic marker of disease severity in visceral leishmaniasis

Purpose

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a protozoan disease, is 100 % fatal if left untreated. Anemia is common in VL which plays a role in expression of clinically overt VL disease. Laboratory clues are scarce for strengthening clinical suspicion for severity in VL. Hypertriglyceridemia has emerged as a new concept for the diagnosis and prognosis in VL. The present study is aimed at correlating the magnitude of hypertriglyceridemia with the severity in VL.

Materials and methods

A retrospective case–control study was conducted between January 2012 to December 2013 among 124 patients coming for treatment from VL endemic areas, who had fever of more than 15 days and did not respond to antimalarials and antibiotics. The parasitologically confirmed VL cases (n = 87) were categorized as mild/moderate (n = 60) and severe (n = 27) groups according to WHO classification for anemia and parasite burden. Serum triglycerides were assayed in VL groups along with controls (n = 37).

Results

Serum triglyceride level was significantly higher in VL than controls [mean values were 173.50 ± 47.67 versus 127.1 ± 53.79 mg/dl, respectively (p < 0.0001)]. Triglyceride level was significantly higher in severe than in mild/moderate group of VL [211.3 ± 50.2 mg/dl versus 134 ± 45.09 mg/dl, respectively (p < 0.0001)]. Hypertriglyceridemia (>161.7 mg/dl) was noted in all severe VL patients, compared to 31.66 % of mild or moderate group (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between mild/moderate VL and controls.

Conclusions

It is hypothesized that hypertriglyceridemia could be of additional diagnostic benefit to assess the probability and severity of VL in endemic areas.