A diabetes perception study among rural and urban individuals of West Bengal,India: are we ready for the pandemic?

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - Type 2 diabetes is a pandemic in India, yet studies regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices in diabetes in various Indian...     

Synthesis and Characterization of a “Turn-On” photoCORM for Trackable CO Delivery to Biological Targets

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Elevated serum receptor activator of NFκB ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)3, and ProMMP1 in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

We studied the serum levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), pro-matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 1, MMP3, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1 in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and correlated these with different disease variables. Sera of 70 patients with JIA (ILAR 2001 criteria) and 33 age- and sex-matched controls were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nonparametric tests were used for analysis of data. The subtype distribution of the JIA patients was: enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) 24, polyarticular 22, systemic onset 13, oligoarticular 8, and others 3. The median level of RANKL, OPG, pro-MMP1, MMP3, and TIMP-1 were elevated in JIA patients as compared to controls (p < 0.001). There was no difference in levels among different types of JIA. RANKL/OPG ratio was elevated in all subtypes of JIA. MMP3/TIMP-1 ratio correlated with measures of disease activity including swollen and tender joint count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and disease activity score (rS 0.28, p < 0.05). Ours is the first study to show elevated RANKL in serum of patients with JIA. Further, our data suggest that patients with ERA have similar levels to other forms of JIA. Association of the MMP3/TIMP-1 ratio with disease activity suggests that it may be a useful biomarker for follow-up.     

Targeted specific inhibition of bacterial and Candida species by mesoporous Ag/Sn–SnO2 composite nanoparticles: in silico and in vitro investigation

Invasive bacterial and fungal infections have notably increased the burden on the health care system and especially in immune compromised patients. These invasive bacterial and fungal species mimic and interact with the host extracellular matrix and increase the adhesion and internalization into the host system. Further, increased resistance of traditional antibiotics/antifungal drugs led to the demand for other therapeutics and preventive measures. Presently, metallic nanoparticles have wide applications in health care sectors. The present study has been designed to evaluate the advantage of Ag/Sn–SnO₂ composite nanoparticles over the single oxide/metallic nanoparticles. By using in silico molecular docking approaches, herein we have evaluated the effects of Ag/Sn–SnO₂ nanoparticles on adhesion and invasion responsible molecular targets such as LpfD (E. coli), Als3 (C. albicans) and on virulence/resistance causing PqsR (P. aeruginosa), RstA (Bmfr) (A. baumannii), FoxA (K. pneumonia), Hsp90 and Cyp51 (C. albicans). These Ag/Sn–SnO₂ nanoparticles exhibited higher antimicrobial activities, especially against the C. albicans, which are the highest ever reported results. Further, Ag/Sn–SnO₂ NPs exhibited interaction with the heme proionate residues such as Lys143, His468, Tyr132, Arg381, Phe105, Gly465, Gly464, Ile471 and Ile304 by forming hydrogen bonds with the Arg 381 residue of lanosterol 1 4α-demethylase and increased the inhibition of the Candida strains. Additionally, the Ag/Sn–SnO₂ nanoparticles exhibited extraordinary inhibitory properties by targeting different proteins of bacteria and Candida species followed by several molecular pathways which indicated that it can be used to eliminate the resistance to traditional antibiotics.

Mesoporous Ag/Sn–SnO₂ composite nanoparticles exhibits extraordinary inhibitory properties by targeting different proteins of bacteria and Candida species which can be used to eliminate the resistance of traditional antibiotics.     

Use of Antibodies in Lymphocyte Secretions for Detection of Subclinical Tuberculosis Infection in Asymptomatic Contacts

We have previously demonstrated that Mycobacterium bovis BCG-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies in lymphocyte secretions (ALS) can be employed as a marker for active tuberculosis (TB). We aimed to determine whether the ALS method allows detection of subclinical TB infection in asymptomatic individuals. A prospective study of family contacts (FCs) of patients with active TB and healthy controls was performed. Thirteen of 42 FCs had high ALS responses, including 6 FCs who subsequently developed active TB. No correlation was observed between the tuberculin skin test and the ALS responses in the FCs (r = 0.1, P = 0.23). Among patients with active TB, BCG-specific ALS responses steadily declined from the time of diagnosis through 6 months following antimycobacterial chemotherapy (P = 0.001). The ALS assay enabled detection of infection in exposed symptom-free contacts, who are at greater risk for developing active TB. The method may also allow discrimination between effective treatment of active infection and suboptimal response to therapy.     

Covalent immobilization of proteins onto photoactivated polystyrene microtiter plates for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedures

Enhancement of the speed and sensitivity of an ELISA technique was achieved by doing it on a polystyrene microtiter plate preactivated by a simple photochemical reaction. Immobilization of Epicoccum nigrum antigen (allergenic antigen) or goat anti-rabbit IgG onto the photoactivated plates was found to occur in only 45 min with higher binding than that obtained through adsorption during the same period onto the untreated surface. Nearly 1.5-2-folds higher readings were obtained when the ELISA was carried out with the solid phase prepared on the photoactivated surface rather than on the untreated surface. Moreover, solid phases prepared on the activated surface could detect IgE (E. nigrum antibody) even at 1/50 (v/v) dilutions, whereas a solid phase prepared on the untreated surface failed to do so. Around three times higher ELISA values were obtained in the activated plate than the untreated plate when IgE was diluted to 1/5 (v/v). Such photoactivated surface could be of great importance in diagnostic tests involving the ELISA technique particularly to confirm false negative cases and for other immunoassays such as radioimmunoassay procedures.     

Evaluation of downstaging in the detection of cervical neoplasia in Kolkata,India

Unaided visual inspection or "downstaging" has been suggested as a potential alternative method for cervical cancer screening in developing countries. Our study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of downstaging to detect cervical neoplasia in a low-resource setting. A total of 6,399 women aged 30-64 years were screened with downstaging by trained nonmedical health workers. Two thresholds were used to define positive downstaging: "low threshold" when any visible abnormality on the cervix was considered positive and "high threshold" when selected abnormalities such as bleeding on touch, bleeding erosion, hypertrophied oedematous cervix, congested stippled cervix and growth or ulcer constituted the positive test. All women underwent a colposcopy examination. Biopsies were directed when colposcopy revealed abnormal lesions. True disease status was defined as histologically proven moderate dysplasia and worse lesions. Since all the participants received a diagnostic (reference) investigation (biopsy and/or colposcopy), sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were estimated directly. Low- and high-threshold downstaging were positive in 1,585 (24.8%) and 460 (7.2%) women, respectively. The sensitivities of low- and high-threshold downstaging to detect high-grade precursors and invasive cancers were 48.9% and 31.9%, respectively. The specificities were 75.8% and 93.3%, respectively. These results indicate that downstaging is not suitable as an independent primary screening modality for cervical neoplasia.