Epidemiology of gastro-intestinal and respiratory tract diseases in rural areas of Varanasi (India)

The pattern of gastro-intestinal (GIT) and Respiratory tract (RTI) diseases in rural areas of the Varanasi district, U.P. (India) was studied from the outpatient (OPD) attendance between July 1985 to June 1986. Out of a total of new patients, 19.71% had respiratory diseases in contrast to 27.9% with GIT disease. A decreasing trend was observed in attendance rates as age advanced. The difference in age distribution of males and females was statistically significant. The attendance rates for GIT diseases were higher in female (29.16%) than in males (25.16%) whereas in RTI, the rates were higher in males (19.39%) than in females (18.77%). The attendance rate was found to be higher in rainy season (23.59%) followed by summer (14.50%). Diarrhoea (15.44%) and upper (URTI) respiratory tract infection (19.93%) occupied the major recorded episodes.     

Cattle mortality in the Thane district, India: A study of cause/effect relationships

An unexpected mortality of more than 300 cattle was investigated near a metal recovery factory located in a rural area of the Thane district of India. The factory was engaged in reclaiming lead, aluminium, tin, and zinc from discarded lead storage batteries and soft drink cans. The environmental samples (soil, leaves, grass, slag, water, and sediment), human blood and hair and animal samples (blood, urine, peritoneal fluid, liver, kidney, cow dung, ribs, and femur), collected for analysis revealed toxic levels of lead, cadmium, and chromium. Clinical examination of factory workers and school children revealed cough, fever, gastric problems, abdominal pain, skin lesions (scabies), and blue line on gums. Histopathological examination of animal tissues revealed chronic pathology with lead inclusion bodies in hepatocytes and renal tubules. Based on environmental, clinical, analytical, and histopathological observations, the mortality has been attributed to toxic levels of metals in the body and the malnourished status of the animals.     

Degenerate peptide recognition by Candida albicans adhesins Als5p and Als1p

Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the adhesins Als5p or Als1p adhere to immobilized peptides and proteins that possess appropriate sequences of amino acids in addition to a sterically accessible peptide backbone. In an attempt to further define the nature of these targets, we surveyed the ability of yeast cells to adhere to 90- micro m-diameter polyethylene glycol beads coated with a 7-mer peptide from a library of 19(7) unique peptide-beads. C. albicans bound to ca. 10% of beads from the library, whereas S. cerevisiae expressing Als5p or Als1p bound to ca. 0.1 to 1% of randomly selected peptide-beads. S. cerevisiae expressing Als1p had a distinctly different adherence phenotype than did cells expressing Als5p. The former adhered in groups or clumps of cells, whereas the latter adhered initially as single cells, an event which was followed by the build up of cell-cell aggregates. Beads with adherent cells were removed, and the peptide attached to the bead was determined by amino acid sequencing. All adhesive beads carried a three-amino-acid sequence motif (tau phi+) that possessed a vast combinatorial potential. Adherence was sequence specific and was inhibited when soluble peptide identical to the immobilized peptide was added. The Als5p adhesin recognized some peptides that went unrecognized by Als1p. The sequence motif of adhesive peptides identified by this method is common in proteins and offers so many possible sequence combinations that target recognition by the Als proteins is clearly degenerate. A degenerate recognition system provides the fungi with the potential of adhering to a multitude of proteins and peptides, an advantage for any microorganism attempting to establish a commensal or pathogenic relationship with a host.     

Biodistribution of fluoresceinated dextran using novel nanoparticles evading reticuloendothelial system

The rapid clearance of circulating nanoparticles from the blood stream coupled with their high uptake by liver and spleen has thus far been overcome by reducing the particle size, and by making the particle surface hydrophilic with poloxamers and poloxamines. We have prepared hydrogel nanoparticles of polyvinylpyrrolidone of a size less than 100 nm diameter with precise size distribution. Since the inner cores of these particles are also hydrophilic, these particles are capable of encapsulating water-soluble compounds. Biodistribution of these particles shows practically negligible (<1%) uptake by the macrophages in liver and spleen, and approximately 5-10% of these particles remain in circulation even 8 h after i.v. injection. Increasing the surface hydrophobicity as well as particle size can increase the RES uptake of these particles. Because of longer residence in blood, the hydrogel nanoparticles have potential therapeutic applications particularly in cancer: the water-soluble cytotoxic agents encapsulated in these particles can be targeted to tumors while minimizing the likelihood of toxicity to reticuloendothelial system (RES).     

A nucleic acid amplification test‐based strategy does not help inform return to work for healthcare workers with COVID‐19

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to assess the utility of a nucleic acid amplification test‐based approach to shorten isolation of healthcare workers (HCWs) with COVID‐19 in the setting of the highly transmissible omicron variant.MethodsBetween December 24, 2021, and January 5, 2022, HCWs who tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 were retested with PCR at least 5 days since onset of symptoms.ResultsForty‐six sequential fully COVID‐19 vaccinated HCWs who had tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 underwent follow‐up testing. All the samples were confirmed as omicron variants and only four (8.7%) were negative in the follow‐up test performed at a median of 6 (range 5–12) since onset of symptoms.ConclusionsImplementation of a test‐based strategy is logistically challenging, increases costs, and did not lead to shorter isolation in our institution.     

Pressure sensors for the monitoring of diseases in surgical care

Our 10-year experience of retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyelolithotomy, a rarely performed minimally invasive operative procedure, is presented. The results are compared with our own experience of percutaneous nephrolithotomy for larger renal stones. Forty-two patients with a mean age of 39.12 years underwent 43 retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyelolithotomies using Gaur's balloon technique. The total number of stones was 65 (44 pelvic and 21 calyceal) and they ranged in size between 5 and 48 mm. Two patients had chronic renal failure due to bilateral impacted renal calculi. Forty-eight percutaneous nephrolithotomies performed in the same unit during the last 2 years in patients with non-staghorn calculi > 2 cm were included for a comparative study. The open conversion rate and the drainage period for retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyelolithotomy were much higher. However, the operative time, blood loss, analgesic intake, hospital stay, residual stone rate, re-treatment rate and major complication rates were lower, compared with percutaneous nephrolithotomy.