Onion phases of PEG-8 distearate

The aims of the present study were to formulate stable onion phases of the biodegradable surfactant PEG-8 Distearate (PEG8DS) and evaluate application of the onion phases in encapsulating sumatriptan succinate, a BCS class III potent antimigraine drug. Drug loaded and placebo onion phases were prepared by shearing lyotropic lamellar phases of the surfactant. Effect of drug/surfactant ratio, shear rate and shear time on particle size, and encapsulation efficiency were studied. The onion phases were characterized by polarized microscopy, small angle neutron scattering (SANS), NMR, rheology, and FTIR. Formation of onion phases of PEG8DS was confirmed by the presence of maltese crosses under a crosspolarized microscope and further by SANS studies. The onion phases revealed an increase of inter-bilayer spacing by 7 A after drug incorporation. NMR studies revealed location of drug in the aqueous phases of the multilamellar vesicles (MLVs). FTIR study revealed no interaction between drug and surfactant. Drug loaded onion phases exhibited high encapsulation efficiency ( approximately 90%) and rapid in vitro drug release (>90% in 10 min). Onion phases stored at 5 degrees C +/- 3 degrees C revealed no significant drug leakage at the end of 3 months suggesting adequate stability. Sumatriptan succinate loaded stable onion phases of PEG8DS with high entrapment efficiency and rapid drug release suggests potential application of the onion phases in drug delivery.     

Perceptions of Women Living with AIDS in Rural India Related to the Engagement of HIV-Trained Accredited Social Health Activists for Care and Support

A community-based participatory research study was conducted using focus groups with 39 women living with AIDS (WLA) in the rural setting of Andhra Pradesh, India. In addition, three nurses, two physicians, and five reproductive health accredited social health activists (ASHAs) took part in focus groups. The WLA offered insight into the benefits of HIV-trained ASHAs including emotional support, assistance with travel to health care providers and antiretroviral therapy medication adherence. Health care providers also identified benefits of using HIV-trained ASHAs and suggested modalities for how to train these individuals. These findings will contribute to the design of a future program of care involving HIV-trained ASHAs.     

Feature-Motivated Simplified Adaptive PCNN-Based Medical Image Fusion Algorithm in NSST Domain

Multimodality medical image fusion plays a vital role in diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow-up studies of various diseases. It provides a composite image containing critical information of source images required for better localization and definition of different organs and lesions. In the state-of-the-art image fusion methods based on nonsubsampled shearlet transform (NSST) and pulse-coupled neural network (PCNN), authors have used normalized coefficient value to motivate the PCNN-processing both low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) sub-bands. This makes the fused image blurred and decreases its contrast. The main objective of this work is to design an image fusion method that gives the fused image with better contrast, more detail information, and suitable for clinical use. We propose a novel image fusion method utilizing feature-motivated adaptive PCNN in NSST domain for fusion of anatomical images. The basic PCNN model is simplified, and adaptive-linking strength is used. Different features are used to motivate the PCNN-processing LF and HF sub-bands. The proposed method is extended for fusion of functional image with an anatomical image in improved nonlinear intensity hue and saturation (INIHS) color model. Extensive fusion experiments have been performed on CT-MRI and SPECT-MRI datasets. Visual and quantitative analysis of experimental results proved that the proposed method provides satisfactory fusion outcome compared to other image fusion methods.     

Five years of parent-to-child transmission of HIV-AIDS program in a rural-based teaching hospital

Objectives

To reduce the perinatal transmission of HIV AIDS in antenatal women—a need-based project with NACO protocols, with a series of interventions.

Methods

Prospective and retrospective study, data collected from Parent-to-Child Transmission of HIVAIDS records and case sheets. Women registered for pretest counseling in antenatal OP tested for HIV, posttest counseling given, single drug NVP administered to mother and neonate, exclusive breast feeding advised for first 6 months, and infant testing for HIV done at 18 months of age by ELISA.

Results

Seroprevalence in antenatal women was 1.2%. Majority (95%) of mother-child pairs were administered single drug NVP. Institutional delivery rate for seropositive women was 70% and the perinatal transmission of HIV AIDS was 8%.

Conclusion

Improve universal counseling and testing, more number of mother-baby pairs to be administered single drug NVP, increase institutional delivery rates for seropositive women, improve follow-up services with the help of outreach workers to reduce perinatal transmission of HIV AIDS.     

Correlation of number of intrathyroid lymphocytes with antimicrosomal antibody titer in Hashimoto's thyroiditis

The variants of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (classic, florid, and fibrotic types) differ in clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and morphology. The titers of autoantibodies correlate with the degree of thyroidal lymphocytic infiltration (Wislon et al., 1998(5)) It appears that the density of lymphocytes is inversely proportional to antimicrosomal antibody (AMA) titer. The aim of the present study is to determine the precise relationship between the number of lymphocytes and AMA titer. It may be useful to predict the onset of the disease in subclinically hypothyroid patients. In 62 cases of cytologically confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the number of lymphocytes per high-power field was counted and correlated with AMA titer. The grading of lymphocytes was done as 1 (<10/HPF), 2 (11-20/HPF), and 3 (>/=21/HPF). The results showed no correlation between lymphocyte number and AMA titer.     

Homeobox gene ESX1L expression is decreased in human pre-term idiopathic fetal growth restriction

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a clinically significant pregnancy disorder in which the fetus fails to achieve its full growth potential in utero. This study involved idiopathic FGR, which is frequently associated with placental dysfunction. Here, we investigated mRNA levels of the human placental homeobox gene ESX1L in pre-term and term idiopathic FGR pregnancies compared with gestation-matched controls. Real-time PCR quantitation showed ESX1L levels in control placentae decreased between pre-term and term [0.7 +/- 0.20 (27-35 weeks, n = 13) versus 0.2 +/- 0.06 (36-41 weeks, n = 12), t-test, P < 0.005]. ESX1L levels in FGR-affected placentae were significantly lower than in gestation-matched controls, and there was no significant change between pre-term FGR and term FGR [0.32 +/- 0.04 (27-36 weeks, n = 11) versus 0.31 +/- 0.02 (36-41 weeks, n = 14), t-test, P = 0.82]. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a rapid decline in ESX1L expression in control placentae [0.075-fold of the calibrator for each week of gestation (95% CI = -0.105 to -0.045, P < 0.0005)]. In FGR-affected placentae, ESX1L levels were lower than in gestation-matched controls, and the decline in ESX1L levels with gestation was not significant [0.001-fold of the calibrator for each week of gestation (95% CI = -0.030 to 0.010, P < 0.3]. The linear relationship between ESX1L mRNA levels in FGR-affected placentae and gestation-matched controls during gestation was significantly different (likelihood ratio test for interaction, P = 0.0005). Our findings were consistent with a potential role for the ESX1L gene within the growth control mechanism of the fetus, through its effect on placental function.     

Case of chronic eosinophilic leukemia with deletion of chromosome 16 and hepatitis C

Chronic eosinophilic leukemia is a rare entity, characterized by eosinophilia of >1.5 x 10(9)/L, persisting for >6 months after exclusion of other reactive and neoplastic causes of eosinophilia, and occurring in association with a clonal cytogenetic abnormality. Various chromosomal abnormalities have been associated with chronic eosinophilic leukemia. Partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 16 is a cytogenetic abnormality first reported 20 years ago in patients with acute myeloid leukemia associated with bone marrow eosinophilia (AML-M4Eo). We report a case of a 45-year-old African-American male with hepatitis C and sustained peripheral blood eosinophilia who presented with gross hematuria, dyspnea on exertion, chills, decreased appetite and weight loss of 40 pounds associated with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. Bone marrow biopsy showed clonal cytogenetic abnormality consisting of deletion of the long arm of chromosome 16 (16q22). Philadelphia chromosome t (9;22) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for C-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFRA) mutations were negative. The patient was treated with imatinib at 400 mg/d with improvement of symptoms, reduction of lymphadenopathy and normalization of the eosinophil count. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of isolated del (16) (q22), a cytogenetic abnormality associated with AML-M4Eo, occurring in chronic eosinophilic leukemia. Whether this cytogenetic abnormality might represent a prodromal phase of AML-M4Eo is not known. In addition, the role of hepatitis C in inducing clonal proliferation of eosinophils is unclear.