Identification of antibacterial principles against Streptococcus mutans and inhibitory principles against glucosyltransferase from the seed of Areca catechu L

During the course of our studies on dental caries prevention by traditional medicines, fatty acids (myristic and oleic acids etc.) and procyanidins from betel nuts (the seed of Areca catechu L.) were respectively revealed to be the major antibacterial principles against a primary cariogenic bacterium, Streptococcus mutans, and the major inhibitory principles against glucosyltransferase from S. mutans.     

A reusable, custom-made warming blanket prevents core hypothermia during major neonatal surgery

PURPOSE: To introduce a reusable model of neonatal forced air warming blanket for intraoperative use during major noncardiac neonatal surgery and to determine clinical efficacy of this reusable blanket compared with the commonly used disposable blankets. METHODS: Delivered air temperature and calorie uptake of standard thermal bodies within the reusable blankets, Bair Hugger(R) blanket model 530 and model 555 were studied. Also, an efficacy study was conducted in 90 neonatal patients scheduled for major noncardiac surgery comparing the reusable blanket, the Bair Hugger(R) blanket model 530 and passive heat conservation as a control. The covered reusable blanket was used as a rescue procedure if the core temperature was < 35.5 degrees C. RESULTS: Delivered air temperature and heat transfer from the covered reusable blanket did not differ significantly from those of the Bair Hugger(R) blanket model 530 and model 555 (despite 0.75 degrees C-1.2 degrees C of heat trapped under the sheet and 1.3 Kcal less energy transfer). Temperatures measured underneath patients (correlated to poorly perfused areas) were highest using the Bair Hugger(R) blanket model 555. The reusable blanket was efficacious in preventing intraoperative core hypothermia and not different from the Bair Hugger(R) blanket model 530. About 1/3 of the patients in the control group had presented a core temperature < 35.5 degrees C but were successfully rescued using the reusable blanket. No adverse events were associated with any of these warming methods. CONCLUSION: This study shows the clinical efficacy of our reusable blanket for the prevention of core hypothermia during major neonatal surgery, which is not different from commonly used disposable blankets.     

Possible relationship between degenerative cardiac valvular pathology and lyme disease

We report an unusual clinical presentation of Lyme carditis in a previously healthy 20-year-old black woman without any epidemiologic history of Lyme disease, fulminant in nature, involving a heart valve necessitating emergent mitral valve replacement, and requiring further surgical intervention because of the development of pericardial effusion and tamponade. A dilated right ventricle with normal contractility and severe tricuspid regurgitation with increase in the right atrial size diagnosed later remains under close surveillance.     

Computational modeling of blast induced whole-body injury: a review

Blast injuries affect millions of lives across the globe due to its traumatic after effects on the brain and the whole body. To date, military grade armour materials are designed to mitigate ballistic and shrapnel attacks but are less effective in resisting blast impacts. In order to improve blast absorption characteristics of armours, the first key step is thoroughly understands the effects of blasts on the human body itself. In the last decade, a plethora of experimental and computational work has been carried out to investigate the mechanics and pathophysiology of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). However, very few attempts have been made so far to study the effect of blasts on the various other parts of the body such as the sensory organs (eyes and ears), nervous system, thorax, extremities, internal organs (such as the lungs) and the skeletal system. While an experimental evaluation of blast effects on such physiological systems is difficult, developing finite element (FE) models could allow the recreation of realistic blast scenarios on full scale human models and simulate the effects. The current article reviews the state-of-the-art in computational research in blast induced whole-body injury modelling, which would not only help in identifying the areas in which further research is required, but would also be indispensable for understanding body location specific armour design criteria for improved blast injury mitigation.     

Is This Phantom Pain?

Right upper quadrant abdominal pain may be due to many causes, and at times may give rise to diagnostic dilemma. We present here a young lady with biliary type of pain who was eventually found to have gall bladder agenesis with aerobilia, in the absence of prior biliary intervention.     

Leprosy trends in Zambia 1991–2009

Objective To document leprosy trends in Zambia over the past two decades to ascertain the importance of leprosy as a health problem in Zambia. Methods Retrospective study covering the period 1991–2009 of routine national leprosy surveillance data, published national programme review reports and desk reviews of in‐country TB reports. Results Data reports were available for all the years under study apart from years 2001, 2002 and 2006. The Leprosy case notification rates (CNR) declined from 2.73/10 000 population in 1991 to 0.43/10 000 population in 2009. The general leprosy burden showed a downward trend for both adults and children. Leprosy case burden dropped from approximately 18 000 cases in 1980 to only about 1000 cases in 1996, and by the year 2000, the prevalence rates had fallen to 0.67/10 000 population. There were more multibacillary cases of leprosy than pauci‐bacillary cases. Several major gaps in data recording, entry and surveillance were identified. Data on disaggregation by gender, HIV status or geographical origin were not available. Conclusion Whilst Zambia has achieved WHO targets for leprosy control, leprosy prevalence data from Zambia may not reflect real situation because of poor data recording and surveillance. Greater investment into infrastructure and training are required for more accurate surveillance of leprosy in Zambia.     

Synthesis in vitro of the full-length complement of defective-interfering particle RNA of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Under appropriate reaction conditions in vitro, four different defective-interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus have been shown to synthesize the full-length complement of their RNAs. The reaction involved preinitiation of the core particles with ATP and CTP, followed by RNA chain elongation in the presence of the beta, gamma-imido analogue of ATP, AdoPP[NH]P, and the three normal ribonucleoside triphosphates. By hybridization of the in vitro synthesized plus strand with the standard genome RNA followed by RNase treatment of the heteroduplexes, we have shown that the RNA of a defective-interfering particle derived from the 3' end of the genome RNA has evolved by an internal deletion of the standard genome.     

An overview of metal-free synthetic routes to isoxazoles: the privileged scaffold

In the field of drug discovery, isoxazole is a five-membered heterocyclic moiety commonly found in many commercially available drugs. In view of their enormous significance, it is always imperative to unleash new eco-friendly synthetic strategies. Among various novel synthetic techniques in use for isoxazole synthesis, most synthetic methods employ Cu(i) or Ru(ii) as catalysts for (3 + 2) cycloaddition reaction. The particular disadvantages associated with metal-catalyzed reactions are high costs, low abundance, toxicity, a significant generation of waste, and difficulty to separate from the reaction mixtures. In view of these drawbacks, it is always imperative to develop alternate metal-free synthetic routes. This review article highlights a comprehensive overview on the potential application of metal-free synthetic routes for the synthesis of isoxazoles with significant biological interests.

Isoxazole, a five-membered heterocyclic moiety commonly found in many commercially available drugs. This review article presents a comprehensive overview on metal-free synthetic routes for the synthesis of isoxazoles with significant bioactivities.     

The interaction index, a novel information-theoretic metric for prioritizing interacting genetic variations and environmental factors

We developed an information-theoretic metric called the Interaction Index for prioritizing genetic variations and environmental variables for follow-up in detailed sequencing studies. The Interaction Index was found to be effective for prioritizing the genetic and environmental variables involved in GEI for a diverse range of simulated data sets. The metric was also evaluated for a 103-SNP Crohn''s disease dataset and a simulated data set containing 9187 SNPs and multiple covariates that was modeled on a rheumatoid arthritis data set. Our results demonstrate that the Interaction Index algorithm is effective and efficient for prioritizing interacting variables for a diverse range of epidemiologic data sets containing complex combinations of direct effects, multiple GGI and GEI.