Effects of a community-based healthy heart program on increasing healthy women's physical activity: a randomized controlled trial guided by Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Background  

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading killer of women in most developed areas of the world. Rates of physical inactivity and poor nutrition, which are two of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women, are substantial. This study sought to examine the effectiveness of a community-based lifestyle-modification program on increasing women's physical activity in a randomized trial guided by community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods.     

Scrub typhus vaccine candidate Kp r56 induces humoral and cellular immune responses in cynomolgus monkeys

A truncated recombinant 56-kDa outer membrane protein of the Karp strain of Orientia tsutsugamushi (Kp r56) was evaluated in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) for immunogenicity and safety as a vaccine candidate for the prevention of scrub typhus. This recombinant antigen induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses in two monkeys and was found to be well tolerated. Antigen-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG were produced to almost maximal levels within 1 week of a single immunization. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from vaccinated animals showed an induction of antigen-specific proliferation and gamma interferon production. The Kp r56 was not as efficient as infection with live organisms in preventing reinfection but was able to reduce the inflammation produced at the site of challenge. This report describes the results of the first systematic study of the immunogenicity of a recombinant scrub typhus vaccine candidate in a nonhuman primate model.     

Effect of Preparation Taper,Height and Marginal Design Under Varying Occlusal Loading Conditions on Cement Lute Stress: A Three Dimensional Finite Element Analysis

The functional surfaces of the porcelain fused to metal fixed partial dentures are often abraded to adjust occlusion, such restorations are often found to fail in service. This study was therefore conducted to study the effect of surface abrasion on flexural strength of glazed porcelain fused to metal samples. It was also the aim of this study to find the effect of re-glazing on flexural strength of abraded samples. A total of ninety glazed porcelain fused to metal bar samples of the dimension 15 mm × 2 mm × 1.5 mm were fabricated. These samples were then divided into three groups (30 samples each) according to the surface treatments: group A-glazed (control); group B-abraded and group C-abraded and then re-glazed (self-glazed). Flexural strength was measured by using three point bend test on universal testing machine (texture analyser) with a cross-head speed of 0.6 mm/min. Peak force at the time of failure for all the samples was recorded. Statistical analysis found that mean flexural strength was highest for group A-80.65 ± 12.81 MPa; as compared to group B-74.18 ± 10.74 MPa and group C-77.85 ± 9.39 MPa. Student’s t test indicated that the difference in the flexural strength between groups A and B was significant while it was non-significant between groups B and C and also between groups A and C. The ‘f’ test indicated that the difference between the groups was non-significant. This study therefore showed that there is a marked decrease in the flexural strength of the porcelain fused to metal restorations after occlusal abrasion. The study also found that reglazing of these restorations may not restore their flexural strength significantly.     

Neurological manifestations of hepatitis E virus infection: An overview

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important cause of repeated waterborne outbreaks of acute hepatitis. Recently, several extrahepatic manifestations (EHMs) have been described in patients with HEV infection. Of these, neurological disorders are the most common EHM associated with HEV. The involvement of both the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system can occur together or in isolation. Patients can present with normal liver function tests, which can often be misleading for physicians. There is a paucity of data on HEV-related neurological manifestations; and these data are mostly described as case reports and case series. In this review, we analyzed data of 163 reported cases of HEV-related neurological disorders. The mechanisms of pathogenesis, clinico-demographic profile, and outcomes of the HEV-related neurological disorders are described in this article. Nerve root and plexus disorder were found to be the most commonly reported disease, followed by meningoencephalitis.     

Novel Mutations in Cyclin-Dependent Kinase-Like 5 (CDKL5) Gene in Indian Cases of Rett Syndrome

Rett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, almost exclusively affecting females and characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Both the classic and atypical forms of Rett syndrome are primarily due to mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene. Mutations in the X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene have been identified in patients with atypical Rett syndrome, X-linked infantile spasms sharing common features of generally early-onset seizures and mental retardation. CDKL5 is known as serine/threonine protein kinase 9 (STK9) and is mapped to the Xp22 region. It has a conserved serine/threonine kinase domain within its amino terminus and a large C-terminal region. Disease-causing mutations are distributed in both the amino terminal domain and in the large C-terminal domain. We have screened the CDKL5 gene in 44 patients with atypical Rett syndrome who had tested negative for MECP2 gene mutations and have identified 6 sequence variants, out of which three were novel and three known mutations. Two of these novel mutations p.V966I and p.A1011V were missense and p.H589H a silent mutation. Other known mutations identified were p.V999M, p.Q791P and p.T734A. Sequence homology for all the mutations revealed that the two mutations (p.Q791P and p.T734A) were conserved across species. This indicated the importance of these residues in structure and function of the protein. The damaging effects of these mutations were analysed in silico using PolyPhen-2 online software. The PolyPhen-2 scores of p.Q791P and p.T734A were 0.998 and 0.48, revealing that these mutations could be deleterious and might have potential functional effect. All other mutations had a low score suggesting that they might not alter the activity of CDKL5. We have also analysed the position of the mutations in the CDKL5 protein and found that all the mutations were present in the C-terminal domain of the protein. The C-terminal domain is required for cellular localization through protein–protein interaction; any mutations in this domain might alter this function of the protein. This is the first report from India showing the mutation in CDKL5 gene in Indian cases of Rett syndrome. Our study emphasizes the role of CDKL5 mutation screening in cases of atypical Rett syndrome with congenital seizure variant.     

The association between hematological parameters and metabolic syndrome in Iranian men: A single center large-scale study

Aims

Some studies have demonstrated that metabolic syndrome is associated with hematological parameters. The present study explores the relationship between hematological parameters and numbers of metabolic syndrome conditions in Iranian men.