Occurrence and analysis of aflatoxin M1 in milk produced by Indian dairy species

A total of 600 samples of milk from different species [buffalo (150), cow (150), goat (150), and sheep (150)] were analyzed for aflatoxin M1 (AFM₁) contamination using high-performance liquid chromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. AFM₁ contamination was found in buffalo (38.6%), cow (45.3%), goat (33.3%), and sheep (36.6%) milk. The mean value of AFM₁ was 0.026?µg?L^?1 in buffalo, 0.018?µg?L^?1 in cow, 0.014?µg?L^?1 in goat, and 0.017?µg?L^?1 in sheep milk. In all types of milks, the level of AFM₁ concentration was higher in milk obtained from urban and semi-urban areas, whereas it was found minimal in milk from rural areas. The results of the analysis of AFM₁ level by the ELISA analysis (ng?L^?1) was observed in 46.5% of all samples. The amount of AFM₁ in 16% buffalo, 44% cow, 10% goat, and 12% sheep milk samples was above the maximum tolerance limit accepted by the European Union.     

Sepsis and the scalpel: anatomic compartments and the diabetic foot

The foot comprises 3 compartments bounded by bone and fascia, each compartment containing muscle and vascular and nervous structures. Infection leading to an increase in pressures in the compartments results in rapid necrosis, a pathologic process characteristic of diabetic feet. Treatment involves fasciotomy and complete debridement of devitalized tissue with possible amputation of the involved digits. Knowledge of the anatomic structure of the foot and its compartments is therefore essential in effectively managing the diabetic foot.     

Use of recombinant pemphigus vulgaris antigen in development of ELISA and IB assays to detect pemphigus vulgaris autoantibodies

Aim/Objective The objectives of this study are: (1) to measure the titers of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) autoantibody in the sera of patients with active disease, using three different assays: (a) Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using monkey esophagus as a substrate, (b) immunoblot (IB) and, (c) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using recombinant PV antigen (rPVA). (2) To compare the sensitivity of these three assays. Background The titer of PV autoantibodies and disease severity and extent do not always correlate. This could be due to the lack of consistency and specificity of the substrate. Different results are obtained using different substrates. A standard substrate with uniformly controlled source of antigen would be more useful and clinically beneficial. Methods In this study we studied 25 PV patients, six each with bullous pemphigoid (BP), ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP), and herpes gestationis (HG), and sera from 16 normal subjects. IIF was used to determine the PV autoantibody using monkey esophagus. IB assay was used according to standard protocol using normal human epidermis and rPVA as substrates. ELISA was performed using rPVA as antigens expressed in E. coli. Results Sera of all 25 PV patients showed binding to the rPVA, normal human sera and the sera from the six BP, six OCP, six MMP, and six HG patients did not show any binding. In addition, we used antisera from rabbits immunized with PVA peptides (Bos-1, Bos-6) which also showed binding to rPVA, whereas normal rabbit sera did not show any reactivity. ELISA and IB titers in all the patients were 2.5 to 160 times higher than with the conventionally used IIF assay. The titers of the PV specific autoantibody measured using the rPVA did not show statistically significant differences between the ELISA and IB assays. Conclusions IB and ELISA are superior to IIF in evaluating the antibody levels in PV patients. ELISA is more practical and is preferable to IB and is recommended for clinical use.     

Autologous lung-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in experimental emphysema

Autologous lung-derived mesenchymal stem cells (LMSCs) were transplanted endoscopically into sheep with experimental emphysema to assess their capacity to regenerate functional tissue. LMSC lines were derived from transbronchial biopsies, cloned at passage 2, expanded in culture, and labeled. A delivery scaffold containing 1% fibrinogen, 20 μg/ml of fibronectin, and 20 μg/ml of poly-L-lysine was used to promote cell attachment and spreading. Treatment animals received scaffold containing 5-10 × 10(6) cells/site; control animals received scaffold alone. Phenotypic markers, differentiation capacity, extracellular matrix protein expression, and paracrine function of LMSCs were characterized in vitro. Responses to LMSC transplantation in vivo were assessed in terms of clinical toxicity, lung physiology, change in tissue mass (measured by CT scanning) and perfusion (measured by scintigraphy scanning), and tissue histology. At 4-week follow-up, transplants were well tolerated and associated with increased tissue mass and lung perfusion compared to control treatment. Histology confirmed cell retention, increased cellularity, and increased extracellular matrix content following LMSC treatment. Labeled cells were distributed in the alveolar septum and peribronchiolar interstitium. Some label was also present within phagocytes, indicating that a fraction of autologous LMSCs do not survive transplantation. These results suggest that endobronchial delivery of autologous LMSCs has potential therapeutic utility for regenerating functional lung in emphysema.     

The impact of body mass index on short-term disability in the workplace

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the association between body mass index and short-term disability in a working "white collar" population. METHODS: The authors collected cross-sectional data from 19,061 health risk appraisals completed by employees of a large financial services corporation from 2000-2002. The self-reported information for demographics and job satisfaction was combined with personnel and detailed information from short-term disability events (STD) taken during the same time period. RESULTS: After adjusting for multiple covariates, body mass index is an independent predictor for STD events. Body mass index categories of overweight and obese have odds ratios of 1.26 and 1.76 compared with normal weight (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The improvement of employee health and wellness should be pursued by the employer in an effort to promote healthier weight among their workers. This in turn should reduce STD events that result in the loss of worker productivity and a major cost to companies.     

Survival pattern of reported HIV infected individuals in the city of Delhi (India)

There is very little data on the survival period of HIV in India. In this paper survival experience of 836 HIV infected patients was studied whose illness was diagnosed upto Dec. 2003. On analysis, it was observed that the mortality was maximum in the age-group of 41-50 years (25%), 24.4% in males and 24.2% in females. For patients with tuberculosis morality was 23% and was higher among those with unsafe sex (24.5%) as a risk factor. Mortality of AIDS patients in Delhi decreased from 63.2% in 1994 to 24.2% in the year 2003. Also tuberculosis was found to be the major opportunistic infection affecting 83.2% of the patients. An increasing trend was observed with tuberculosis from 84.2% in 1994 to 89.1% in 1997 (p<0.05), but overall tendency was around 84% during the period 1994 to 2003. In AIDS related symptoms chronic diarrheoa accounted for only 5.2%. The median length of survival of HIV infected patients with all subjects was 75 months. The hazard rate showed an increasing trend and reached its peak at 102 months. The survival of HIV infected patients in Delhi was found to be shorter than that of patients in developed countries and developing African countries.     

Critical care considerations in the post-operative period for the lung transplant patient

The post-operative management of a lung transplant recipient can be complex. Several factors including medical comorbidities, severity of illness at the time of transplant and intra-operative events can affect graft function and overall survival. During the immediate post-operative period, it becomes essential for early recognition of disease-specific sequelae as they can impact the patient’s outcome and quality of life. This often necessitates a multidisciplinary team of pulmonologists, surgeons, medical sub-specialists as well as skilled nurses and respiratory therapists familiar with caring for these patients. Based on the experiences of a high-volume transplant center, this chapter will outline key considerations within each organ system in this specific patient population in the Intensive Care Unit.     

Optimized and comparative antioxidant assays and its applications in herbal and synthetic drug analysis as an antioxidants

Drug development in the recent times often relies on use of natural and synthetic drugs that are promising candidates as therapeutic agents for prevention of diseases and disorders. They possess different chemical structures with wide range of therapeutic activities. Many natural and synthetic drugs act as antioxidant agents in various metabolic processes. Increasing epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies have shown that intake of antioxidants drugs provide protection against various disorders and diseases related to oxidative stress. The factors responsible for this oxidative stress are mainly free radicals, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The antioxidant drugs act as free radical scavenging, reducing and metal chelating substances; Antioxidants also show inhibition of various metabolic enzymes and factors responsible for inflammation. The present paper reviews different In vitro assays for determination of antioxidant activities (Table 1). The basic assays include DDPH assay, OH Scavenging assay, Reducing activity assay, TEAC assay, FCR assay, PRTC assay, ABTS assay, FRAP assay, ORAC assay, Ferric thiocynate assay, TRAP assay, Chemiluminescence assay, NBT assay, CUPRAC Assay.