The economic and resource burden of e-scooter-related orthopaedic injuries: A district general hospital's experience

PURPOSE

Electric scooters (e-scooters) are an increasingly popular method of transportation worldwide. However, there are concerns regarding their safety, specifically with regards to orthopaedic injuries. We aimed to investigate the overall burden and financial impact on orthopaedic services as a result of e-scooter-related orthopaedic injuries.

METHODS

We retrospectively identified all e-scooter-related injuries requiring orthopaedic admission or surgical intervention in a large District General Hospital in England over a 16-month period between September 2020 and December 2021. Injuries sustained, surgical management, inpatient stay and resources used were calculated.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine patients presented with orthopaedic injuries as a result of e-scooter transportation with a mean age of 30.1 years (SD 11.6), of which 62 were males and 17 were females. A total of 86 individual orthopaedic injuries were sustained, with fractures being the most common type of injury. Of these, 23 patients required 28 individual surgical procedures. The combined theatre and recovery time of these procedures was 5500 min, while isolated operating time was 2088 min. The total cost of theatre running time for these patients was estimated at £77,000. A total of 17 patients required hospital admission under Trauma and Orthopaedics, which accounted for total combined stay of 99 days with a mean length of stay of 5.8 days.

CONCLUSION

While there are potential environmental benefits to e-scooters, we demonstrate the risks of injury associated with their use and the associated increased burden to the healthcare system through additional emergency attendances, frequent outpatient clinic appointments, surgical procedures, and hospital inpatient admissions.

Deciphering the crosstalk between inflammation and biofilm in chronic wound healing: Phytocompounds loaded bionanomaterials as therapeutics

In terms of the economics and public health, chronic wounds exert a significant detrimental impact on the health care system. Bacterial infections, which cause the formation of highly resistant biofilms that elude standard antibiotics, are the main cause of chronic, non-healing wounds. Numerous studies have shown that phytochemicals are effective in treating a variety of diseases, and traditional medicinal plants often include important chemical groups such alkaloids, phenolics, tannins, terpenes, steroids, flavonoids, glycosides, and fatty acids. These substances are essential for scavenging free radicals which helps in reducing inflammation, fending off infections, and hastening the healing of wounds. Bacterial species can survive in chronic wound conditions because biofilms employ quorum sensing as a communication technique which regulates the expression of virulence components. Fortunately, several phytochemicals have anti-QS characteristics that efficiently block QS pathways, prevent drug-resistant strains, and reduce biofilm development in chronic wounds. This review emphasizes the potential of phytocompounds as crucial agents for alleviating bacterial infections and promoting wound healing by reducing the inflammation in chronic wounds, exhibiting potential avenues for future therapeutic approaches to mitigate the healthcare burden provided by these challenging conditions.

Progressive Application of Marine Biomaterials in Targeted Cancer Nanotherapeutics

The marine microenvironment harbors many unique species of organisms that produce a plethora of compounds that help mankind cure a wide range of diseases. The diversity of products from the ocean bed serves as potentially healing materials and inert vehicles carrying the drug of interest to the target site. Several composites still lay undiscovered under the blue canopy, which can provide treatment for untreated diseases that keep haunting the earth periodically. Cancer is one such disease that has been of interest to several eminent scientists worldwide due to the heterogenic complexity involved in the disease's pathophysiology. Due to extensive globalization and environmental changes, cancer has become a lifestyle disease continuously increasing exponentially in the current decade. This ailment requires a definite remedy that treats by causing minimal damage to the body's normal cells. The application of nanotechnology in medicine has opened up new avenues of research in targeted therapeutics due to their highly malleable characteristics. Marine waters contain an immense ionic environment that succors the production of distinct nanomaterials with exceptional character, yielding highly flexible molecules to modify, thus facilitating the engineering of targeted biomolecules. This review provides a short insight into an array of marine biomolecules that can be probed into cancer nanotherapeutics sparing healthy cells.

The anti-inflammatory properties of the methanolic extract of Cucumis melo Linn. against prostate enlargement in Wistar rats

In different parts of the world, Cucumis melo Linn. (C melo) is used for its medicinal properties. The present study examined the effects of a methanolic extract of C melo Linn. (F1 hybrid, MECM) on benign prostatic hyperplasia in adult male Wistar rats and evaluated its anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. MECM treatment reduced prostate weight mildly. Histopathological studies showed that the extract produced a strong protective effect against the development of BPH by testosterone. The MECM also showed protection from testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). MECM was tested against carrageenan-induced inflammation in rats' paws to determine its anti-inflammatory activity. It was shown that MECM had a pronounced effect on the inflammatory response in the late phase, i.e., one hour after carrageenan injection. Prostaglandins and nitric oxide are primarily responsible for this phase indicating that MECM can modify the production and release of prostaglandin and nitric oxide. A novel formulation containing C melo may be able to treat the conditions mentioned above.

Copper alumina @ poly (aniline-co-indole) nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization, electrical properties and gas sensing applications

Poly(aniline-co-indole)/copper alumina (PANI-co-PIN/Cu–Al₂O₃) with excellent AC conductivity, dielectric properties, and ammonia gas detecting capabilities were synthesised via in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. The presence of Cu–O bonding vibrations and shift of some characteristic peaks in the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed the successful encapsulation of Cu–Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in the copolymer. The XRD studies showed the crystalline peaks of Cu–Al₂O₃ in the PANI-co-PIN nanocomposites. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images confirmed the reinforcement of the inorganic moiety in the copolymer. The results from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the inclusion of Cu–Al₂O₃ in the copolymer matrix greatly increases the thermal stability of PANI-co-PIN. The alternate current (AC) conductivity and dielectric properties of nanocomposites were higher than pure PANI-co-PIN. The improved electrical properties of nanocomposites were due to strong contact between the copolymer and metal oxide surfaces. The gas sensing properties of synthesized copolymer nanocomposites showed excellent sensitivity and response towards ammonia gas at room temperature. The PANI-co-PIN/5 wt% Cu–Al₂O₃ nanocomposite has the best gas sensing characteristics. The higher AC conductivity, dielectric properties and gas sensing characteristics of PANI-co-PIN/Cu–Al₂O₃ might be used to develop electrochemical sensing devices.

PANI-co-PIN/Cu–Al₂O₃ nanocomposites synthesised via in situ polymerization showed excellent electrical and NH₃ gas sensing properties.

Autism and Emotion: A Narrative Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a variety of childhood-onset and lifelong neurodevelopmental condition with an enduring impact on multiple domains of functioning characterized by persistent deficits in social communication, restricted and repetitive behavior interest, and activities. They often find it hard to recognize and control emotions but their emotional expression can be improved by various intervention techniques that in turn can help them understand and respond more appropriately to other people. Problems in the area on emotional reciprocity among individual with ASD involve recognizing, understanding, expressing, and regulating emotions. Their ability in emotional reciprocity is often improved with a comprehensive treatment approach, especially by focused emotional enhancement intervention. In this review, we followed the standard IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) structure to critically examine the condition of autism and its relation with genetic mechanism, and how theories of emotion and theory of mind associated with persons with ASD, some of the widely used assessment tools and future research direction in the emotional development of individuals diagnosed with ASD by using the narrative review method. Records collected through research databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, EBSCO and published books with ISBN (International Standard Book Number), and published test manuals were evaluated in-depth and summarized based on the subtopic of the proposed title. A critical theoretical analysis of the genetic mechanism of emotions, theories of emotions, and theory of mind was explained in connection with ASD.

Molecular dynamics, residue network analysis, and cross-correlation matrix to characterize the deleterious missense mutations in GALE causing galactosemia III

Epimerase-deficiency galactosemia (EDG) is caused by mutations in the UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase enzyme, encoded by gene GALE. Catalyzing the last reaction in the Leloir pathway, UDP-galactose-4-epimerase catalyzes the interconversion of UDP-galactose and UDP-glucose. This study aimed to use in-depth computational strategies to prioritize the pathogenic missense mutations in GALE protein and investigate the systemic behavior, conformational spaces, atomic motions, and cross-correlation matrix of the GALE protein. We searched four databases (dbSNP, ClinVar, UniProt, and HGMD) and major biological literature databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar), for missense mutations that are associated with EDG patients, our search yielded 190 missense mutations. We applied a systematic computational prediction pipeline, including pathogenicity, stability, biochemical, conservational, protein residue contacts, and structural analysis, to predict the pathogenicity of these mutations. We found three mutations (p.K161N, p.R239W, and p.G302D) with a severe phenotype in patients with EDG that correlated with our computational prediction analysis; thus, they were selected for further structural and simulation analyses to compute the flexibility and stability of the mutant GALE proteins. The three mutants were subjected to molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) with native protein for 200 ns using GROMACS. The MDS demonstrated that these mutations affected the beta-sheets and helical region that are responsible for the catalytic activity; subsequently, affects the stability and flexibility of the mutant proteins along with a decrease and more deviations in compactness when compared to that of a native. Also, three mutations created major variations in the combined atomic motions of the catalytic and C-terminal regions. The network analysis of the residues in the native and three mutant protein structures showed disturbed residue contacts occurred owing to the missense mutations. Our findings help to understand the structural behavior of a protein owing to mutation and are intended to serve as a platform for prioritizing mutations, which could be potential targets for drug discovery and development of targeted therapeutics.

Healthcare staff perceptions and misconceptions regarding antibody testing in the United Kingdom: implications for the next steps for antibody screening

BACKGROUND

Healthcare workers have been at increased risk of exposure, infection and serious complications from COVID-19. Antibody testing has been used to identify staff members who have been previously infected by SARS-CoV-2, and has been rolled out rapidly in the United Kingdom. A number of comment and editorial articles have been published that raise concerns about antibody testing in this context. We present perceptions of National Health Service (NHS) healthcare workers in relation to SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing.

METHODS

An electronic survey regarding perceptions towards SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing was distributed to all healthcare workers at a major NHS tertiary hospital following implementation of antibody testing.

RESULTS

In total, 560 healthcare workers completed the survey (80% female; 25% of Black and Minority Ethnic background; 58% from frontline clinical staff). Exploring whether they previously had COVID-19 was the primary reported reason for choosing to undergo antibody testing (85.2%). In case of a positive antibody test, 72% reported that they would feel relieved, whilst 48% felt that they would be happier to work in a patient-facing area. Moreover, 12% responded that a positive test would mean "social distancing is less important", with 34% of the responders indicating that in this case they would be both less likely to catch COVID-19 and happier to visit friends/relatives.

CONCLUSIONS

NHS staff members primarily seek out SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing for an appropriate reason. Based on our findings and given the lack of definite data regarding the extent of immunity protection from a positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody test, significant concerns may be raised regarding the reported interpretation by healthcare workers of positive antibody test results. This needs to be further explored and addressed to protect NHS staff and patients.

Deciphering the Role of Filamin B Calponin-Homology Domain in Causing the Larsen Syndrome, Boomerang Dysplasia, and Atelosteogenesis Type I Spectrum Disorders via a Computational Approach

Filamins (FLN) are a family of actin-binding proteins involved in regulating the cytoskeleton and signaling phenomenon by developing a network with F-actin and FLN-binding partners. The FLN family comprises three conserved isoforms in mammals: FLNA, FLNB, and FLNC. FLNB is a multidomain monomer protein with domains containing an actin-binding N-terminal domain (ABD 1-242), encompassing two calponin-homology domains (assigned CH1 and CH2). Primary variants in FLNB mostly occur in the domain (CH2) and surrounding the hinge-1 region. The four autosomal dominant disorders that are associated with FLNB variants are Larsen syndrome, atelosteogenesis type I (AOI), atelosteogenesis type III (AOIII), and boomerang dysplasia (BD). Despite the intense clustering of FLNB variants contributing to the LS-AO-BD disorders, the genotype-phenotype correlation is still enigmatic. In silico prediction tools and molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) approaches have offered the potential for variant classification and pathogenicity predictions. We retrieved 285 FLNB missense variants from the UniProt, ClinVar, and HGMD databases in the current study. Of these, five and 39 variants were located in the CH1 and CH2 domains, respectively. These variants were subjected to various pathogenicity and stability prediction tools, evolutionary and conservation analyses, and biophysical and physicochemical properties analyses. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) was performed on the three candidate variants in the CH2 domain (W148R, F161C, and L171R) that were predicted to be the most pathogenic. The MDS analysis results showed that these three variants are highly compact compared to the native protein, suggesting that they could affect the protein on the structural and functional levels. The computational approach demonstrates the differences between the FLNB mutants and the wild type in a structural and functional context. Our findings expand our knowledge on the genotype-phenotype correlation in FLNB-related LS-AO-BD disorders on the molecular level, which may pave the way for optimizing drug therapy by integrating precision medicine.

Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes and Molecular Pathways in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Involved in Atherosclerosis: A Systematic and Bioinformatics Approach

Background and Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is one of the major risk factor for the progression of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. This study focused on identifying the dysregulated molecular pathways and core genes that are differentially regulated in FH and to identify the possible genetic factors and potential underlying mechanisms that increase the risk to atherosclerosis in patients with FH. Methods: The Affymetrix microarray dataset (GSE13985) from the GEO database and the GEO2R statistical tool were used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the white blood cells (WBCs) of five heterozygous FH patients and five healthy controls. The interaction between the DEGs was identified by applying the STRING tool and visualized using Cytoscape software. MCODE was used to determine the gene cluster in the interactive networks. The identified DEGs were subjected to the DAVID v6.8 webserver and ClueGo/CluePedia for functional annotation, such as gene ontology (GO) and enriched molecular pathway analysis of DEGs. Results: We investigated the top 250 significant DEGs (p-value < 0.05; fold two change ≥ 1 or ≤ -1). The GO analysis of DEGs with significant differences revealed that they are involved in critical biological processes and molecular pathways, such as myeloid cell differentiation, peptidyl-lysine modification, signaling pathway of MyD88-dependent Toll-like receptor, and cell-cell adhesion. The analysis of enriched KEGG pathways revealed the association of the DEGs in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and cardiac muscle contraction. The genes involved in the molecular pathways were shown to be differentially regulated by either activating or inhibiting the genes that are essential for the canonical signaling pathways. Our study identified seven core genes (UQCR11, UBE2N, ADD1, TLN1, IRAK3, LY96, and MAP3K1) that are strongly linked to FH and lead to a higher risk of atherosclerosis. Conclusion: We identified seven core genes that represent potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis and might serve as a platform for developing therapeutics against both FH and atherosclerosis. However, functional studies are further needed to validate their role in the pathogenesis of FH and atherosclerosis.

A Deep Structured Model for Video Captioning

Video captions help people to understand in a noisy environment or when the sound is muted. It helps people having impaired hearing to understand much better. Captions not only support the content creators and translators but also boost the search engine optimization. Many advanced areas like computer vision and human-computer interaction play a vital role as there is a successful growth of deep learning techniques. Numerous surveys on deep learning models are evolved with different methods, architecture, and metrics. Working with video subtitles is still challenging in terms of activity recognition in video. This paper proposes a deep structured model that is effective towards activity recognition, automatically classifies and caption it in a single architecture. The first process includes subtracting the foreground from the background; this is done by building a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) model. A Gaussian mixture model is used to remove the backdrop. The classification is done using long short-term memory networks (LSTM). A hidden Markov model (HMM) is used to generate the high quality data. Next, it uses the nonlinear activation function to perform the normalization process. Finally, the video captioning is achieved by using natural language.

Comprehensive in silico screening and molecular dynamics studies of missense mutations in Sjogren-Larsson syndrome associated with the ALDH3A2 gene

Sjögren-Larsson syndrome (SLS) is an autoimmune disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. To date, 80 missense mutations have been identified in association with the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 3 Family Member A2 (ALDH3A2) gene causing SLS. Disruption of the function of ALDH3A2 leads to excessive accumulation of fat in the cells, which interferes with the normal function of protective membranes or materials that are necessary for the body to function normally. We retrieved 54 missense mutations in the ALDH3A2 from the OMIM, UniProt, dbSNP, and HGMD databases that are known to cause SLS. These mutations were examined with various in silico stability tools, which predicted that the mutations p.S308N and p.R423H that are located at the protein-protein interaction domains are the most destabilizing. Furthermore, to determine the atomistic-level differences within the protein-protein interactions owing to mutations, we performed macromolecular simulation (MMS) using GROMACS to validate the motion patterns and dynamic behavior of the biological system. We found that both mutations (p.S380N and p.R423H) had significant effects on the protein-protein interaction and disrupted the dimeric interactions. The computational pipeline provided in this study helps to elucidate the potential structural and functional differences between the ALDH3A2 native and mutant homodimeric proteins, and will pave the way for drug discovery against specific targets in the SLS patients.

Structural characterization, electrical properties and gas sensing applications of polypyrrole/Cu-Al2O3 hybrid nanocomposites

The present work focused on the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) wrapped nano copper-alumina (Cu-Al2O3) composite by an in situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. The polymerized samples were systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The properties such as AC and DC conductivity, dielectric constant, and ammonia gas sensing performance of PPy/Cu-Al2O3 composites were investigated in detail as a function of Cu-Al2O3 content. The FTIR spectra showed the existence of sharp and resolved infrared bands of nanoparticles in the PPy chain. The presence of the crystalline peaks of Cu-Al2O3 in the PPy matrix was confirmed from the XRD analysis. SEM images revealed the homogenous growth of Cu-Al2O3 in the polymer with the formation of spherically shaped particles. The HR-TEM observation showed that Cu-Al2O3 particles were dispersed at a nanometer level in the nanocomposites with a width of 30–60 nm. The glass transition temperature of composites obtained from DSC was found to be increased with increase in the content of nanoparticles. TGA analysis proved that the nano Cu-Al2O3 in the content in the composites acted as a mass transport barrier that retards the degradation of the product. The AC conductivity and dielectric constant of the nanocomposite showed that the maximum electrical properties were observed for the composite with 5 weight percentage loading of Cu-Al2O3. DC conductivity showed that the PPy/Cu-Al2O3 composites have higher electrical conductivity than PPy. The ammonia gas sensing property of the composites was significantly enhanced by the addition of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. Therefore, the improved properties of synthesized PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite can be useful for developing functional composite material for the fabrication of sensors, electronic devices, and high energy storage capacitors.

Novel Thiazine Substituted 9-Anilinoacridines: Synthesis, Antitumour Activity and Structure Activity Relationships

Background:

9-anilinoacridines are acting as DNA-intercalating agents which plays an important role as antitumor drugs, due to their anti-proliferative properties. Some anticancer agents contain 9- anilinoacridines such as amsacrine (m-AMSA), and nitracrine (Ledakrine) have been already developed.

Methods:

In this study, novel 9-anilinoacridines substituted with thiazines 4a-r were designed, synthesized, characterized by physical and spectral data and their cytotoxic activities against DLA cell lines were evaluated.

Results:

Among those compounds, 4b, c, e, g, i, j, k, m, o, p, q, r exhibited significant short term in vitro cytotoxic activity against Daltons lymphoma ascites (DLA) cells with CTC50 value of 0.18 to 0.31μM. The compounds 4b, c, e, g, i, j, k, m, o, p, q, r are also exhibited significant long term in vitro anti-tumour activity against human tumor cell lines, HEp-2 (laryngeal epithelial carcinoma) by Sulforhodamine B assay with CTC50 value of 0.20 to 0.39μM. The compounds 4b, i, j exhibited significant in vivo antitumor activity with % Increase in Life Span (ILS) 48-82%.

Conclusion:

Results obtained in this study clearly demonstrated that many of the thiazine substituted 9- anilinoacridines exert interesting anti-tumour activity. The compounds 4b, i, j have significant anti-tumour activity and useful drugs after further refinement. The above derivatives will encourage to design future antitumor agents with high therapeutic potentials.

Risk factors for readmission of inpatients with diabetes: A systematic review

AIM

We have limited understanding of which risk factors contribute to increased readmission rates amongst people discharged from hospital with diabetes. We aim to complete the first review of its kind, to identify, in a systematic way, known risk factors for hospital readmission amongst people with diabetes, in order to better understand this costly complication.

METHOD

The review was prospectively registered in the PROSPERO database. Risk factors were identified through systematic review of literature in PubMed, EMBASE & SCOPUS databases, performed independently by two authors prior to data extraction, with quality assessment and semi-quantitative synthesis according to PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

Eighty-three studies were selected for inclusion, predominantly from the United States, and utilising retrospective analysis of local or regional data sets. 76 distinct statistically significant risk factors were identified across 48 studies. The most commonly identified risk factors were; co-morbidity burden, age, race and insurance type. Few studies conducted power calculations; unstandardized effect sizes were calculated for the majority of statistically significant risk factors.

CONCLUSION

This review is important in assessing the current state of the literature and in supporting development of interventions to reduce readmission risk. Furthermore, it provides an important foundation for development of rigorous, pre-specified risk prediction models.

Porous monolith microfluidics for bacterial cell-to-cell communication assays

Genetically engineered bacteria can be used for a wide range of applications, from monitoring environmental toxins to studying complex communication networks in the human digestive system. Although great strides have been made in studying single strains of bacteria in well-controlled microfluidic environments, there remains a need for tools to reliably control and measure communication between multiple discrete bacterial populations. Stable long-term experiments (e.g., days) with controlled population sizes and regulated input (e.g., concentration) and output measurements can reveal fundamental limits of cell-to-cell communication. In this work, we developed a microfluidic platform that utilizes a porous monolith to reliably and stably partition adjacent strains of bacteria while allowing molecular communication between them for several days. We measured small molecule production by the bacterial populations in response to stimuli using analytical chemistry methods and measured fluorescent output. The results are compared with communication and diffusion delay models. This porous monolith microfluidic system enables bacterial cell-to-cell communication assays with dynamic control of inputs, relatively long-term experimentation with no cross contamination, and stable bacterial population size. This system can serve as a valuable tool in understanding bacterial communication and improving biosensor design capabilities.

Ultrathin graphene nanosheets derived from rice husks for sustainable supercapacitor electrodes

Ultrathin graphene nanosheets were derived from rice husks via KOH activation and they showed excellent electrochemical performances.

Histopathological spectrum of Psoriasiform dermatitis

Background: Psoriasiform dermatitis is a frequently encountered terminology in a wide variety of inflammatory dermatoses. It often poses challenges to both dermatologists and pathologists alike. Clinical features when considered alone may not be reliable, as they vary with both disease duration and treatment. On the contrary, histopathological material constitutes definite hard evidence, which can be preserved and will continue to be available for future review. The objective of the study is to study the histopathological findings in Psoriasiform dermatitis.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study in a tertiary care centre in Kerala, South India. All cases diagnosed as Psoriasis or mentioned as one of the differential diagnosis were included. The material included 66 skin biopsies. Patients with a previous diagnosis of the same were excluded from the study.Results: The lesions comprised 9% of the total number of skin biopsies. The age distribution pattern revealed that the highest percentage was in the 41-60 year age group (50%) with a male preponderance of 65%. Psoriasis was the most common lesion (60.60%) and Lichen simplex chronicus was the second most common lesion (10.60 %), encountered in the study.Conclusion: Some of the histopathological features are specific and characteristic for each entity like Psoriasis, Pityriasis rubra pilaris, Pityriasis rosea and Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus whereas some overlap in lesions like Prurigo nodularis, Lichen simplex chronicus and Allergic contact dermatitis. Hence, combination of proper clinical observation and histopathological study will give a conclusive diagnosis.

A novel approach to formulate high flux multifunctional ultrafiltration membranes from photocatalytic titania composite precursors on multi-channel tubular substrates

Anatase rich titanium dioxide ultrafiltration membranes with high filtration rates have been successfully developed on multi-channel tubular alumina substrates via aqueous sol–gel method from titania–alumina composite precursors.

Kaempferide, the most active among the four flavonoids isolated and characterized from Chromolaena odorata, induces apoptosis in cervical cancer cells while being pharmacologically safe

We report the isolation and characterization of four compounds from a cytotoxic fraction F-17, isolated from the DCM extract of C. odorata by bioactivity guided fractionation.

Evaluation of biomaterial containing regenerated cellulose and chitosan incorporated with silver nanoparticles

Biomaterials are used in regenerative medicine, implantable materials, controlled release carriers or scaffolds for tissue engineering. In the present study, the composites containing regenerated cellulose (RC) and chitosan (Ch) impregnated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) with and without antibiotic gentamicin (G) were prepared. The composites prepared were characterized for their physico-chemical and mechanical properties and the results have shown the composite nature. RC-Ch-Ag and RC-Ch-Ag-G composites were used as wound dressing materials in experimental wounds of rats. The healing pattern of the wounds was evaluated by planimetric studies, macroscopic observations, biochemical studies and mechanical properties. The results have shown faster healing pattern in the wounds treated with RC-Ch-Ag and RC-Ch-Ag-G composites compared to untreated control. This study revealed that RC-Ch-Ag composite might be a potential, economical wound dressing material and may be tried on the clinical wounds of animals before being applied on humans.

Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of orbital masses: A study of 41 cases

BACKGROUND

Complexity in the anatomy of orbit and the fear of globe rupture are the main challenges faced in the diagnosis and typing of orbital masses. Fine needle aspiration cytology can be used as an initial investigative procedure in the evaluation of orbital masses, which in turn can aid the clinician to plan the treatment modalities. A close cooperation between ophthalmologist and pathologist adds to the success of the procedure.

AIM

The study was conducted in an attempt to evaluate the role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of orbital lesions as a cost-effective diagnostic technique, and to assess its diagnostic efficacy by comparing it with histopathological diagnosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted on 50 patients, over a period of 3 years, who had presented with anterior orbital mass lesions with or without proptosis, and with those having accessible mass lesions. Patients with proptosis without anterior orbital masses, proptosis due to dysthyroid ophthalmopathy, arteriovenous fistulas, hamartomas and choristomas were excluded from the study. FNAC procedure was done after explaining about the procedure to the patient, and in the presence of an ophthalmologist.

RESULTS

Majority of patients belonged to the age group 50-59 years. Male: female ratio was 1.05: 1. The most common lesion on FNAC was non-Hodgkins lymphoma, [13 cases (31.7%)]. 11 (26.8%) cases out of this were confirmed to be non-Hodgkins lymphoma on histopathologic examination. Two cases turned out to be inflammatory pseudotumor.

CONCLUSIONS

FNAC can be done in all palpable orbital mass lesions with minimal risk and complications, with close cooperation between ophthalmologist and pathologist. A good degree of correlation was obtained between FNAC and histopathology, which was assessed by kappa statistics.

Search for gravitational waves associated with γ-ray bursts detected by the interplanetary network

We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 223 γ-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) in 2005-2010 during LIGO's fifth and sixth science runs and Virgo's first, second, and third science runs. The IPN satellites provide accurate times of the bursts and sky localizations that vary significantly from degree scale to hundreds of square degrees. We search for both a well-modeled binary coalescence signal, the favored progenitor model for short GRBs, and for generic, unmodeled gravitational wave bursts. Both searches use the event time and sky localization to improve the gravitational wave search sensitivity as compared to corresponding all-time, all-sky searches. We find no evidence of a gravitational wave signal associated with any of the IPN GRBs in the sample, nor do we find evidence for a population of weak gravitational wave signals associated with the GRBs. For all IPN-detected GRBs, for which a sufficient duration of quality gravitational wave data are available, we place lower bounds on the distance to the source in accordance with an optimistic assumption of gravitational wave emission energy of 10(-2)M⊙c(2) at 150 Hz, and find a median of 13 Mpc. For the 27 short-hard GRBs we place 90% confidence exclusion distances to two source models: a binary neutron star coalescence, with a median distance of 12 Mpc, or the coalescence of a neutron star and black hole, with a median distance of 22 Mpc. Finally, we combine this search with previously published results to provide a population statement for GRB searches in first-generation LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors and a resulting examination of prospects for the advanced gravitational wave detectors.

Search for gravitational waves associated with γ-ray bursts detected by the interplanetary network

We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 223 γ-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) in 2005-2010 during LIGO's fifth and sixth science runs and Virgo's first, second, and third science runs. The IPN satellites provide accurate times of the bursts and sky localizations that vary significantly from degree scale to hundreds of square degrees. We search for both a well-modeled binary coalescence signal, the favored progenitor model for short GRBs, and for generic, unmodeled gravitational wave bursts. Both searches use the event time and sky localization to improve the gravitational wave search sensitivity as compared to corresponding all-time, all-sky searches. We find no evidence of a gravitational wave signal associated with any of the IPN GRBs in the sample, nor do we find evidence for a population of weak gravitational wave signals associated with the GRBs. For all IPN-detected GRBs, for which a sufficient duration of quality gravitational wave data are available, we place lower bounds on the distance to the source in accordance with an optimistic assumption of gravitational wave emission energy of 10(-2)M⊙c(2) at 150 Hz, and find a median of 13 Mpc. For the 27 short-hard GRBs we place 90% confidence exclusion distances to two source models: a binary neutron star coalescence, with a median distance of 12 Mpc, or the coalescence of a neutron star and black hole, with a median distance of 22 Mpc. Finally, we combine this search with previously published results to provide a population statement for GRB searches in first-generation LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors and a resulting examination of prospects for the advanced gravitational wave detectors.

Fluorescent prey traps in carnivorous plants

Carnivorous plants acquire most of their nutrients by capturing ants, insects and other arthropods through their leaf-evolved biological traps. So far, the best-known attractants in carnivorous prey traps are nectar, colour and olfactory cues. Here, fresh prey traps of 14 Nepenthes, five Sarracenia, five Drosera, two Pinguicula species/hybrids, Dionaea muscipula and Utricularia stellaris were scanned at UV 366 nm. Fluorescence emissions of major isolates of fresh Nepenthes khasiana pitcher peristomes were recorded at an excitation wavelength of 366 nm. N. khasiana field pitcher peristomes were masked by its slippery zone extract, and prey capture rates were compared with control pitchers. We found the existence of distinct blue fluorescence emissions at the capture spots of Nepenthes, Sarracenia and Dionaea prey traps at UV 366 nm. These alluring blue emissions gradually developed with the growth of the prey traps and diminished towards their death. On excitation at 366 nm, N. khasiana peristome 3:1 CHCl3–MeOH extract and its two major blue bands showed strong fluorescence emissions at 430–480 nm. Masking of blue emissions on peristomes drastically reduced prey capture in N. khasiana pitchers. We propose these molecular emissions as a critical factor attracting arthropods and other visitors to these carnivorous traps. Drosera, Pinguicula and Utricularia prey traps showed only red chlorophyll emissions at 366 nm.

Synthesis and characterization of nonlinear optical L-arginine semi-oxalate single crystal

L-arginine semi-oxalate single crystals have been synthesized by slow evaporation method at room temperature. Single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses has been made to confirm the triclinic structure with non-centrosymmetric space group P1. The presence of functional groups of L-arginine semi-oxalate crystals was identified and confirmed by using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Molecular structure of the grown crystal was analyzed by 1H NMR and 13C NMR studies. Optical absorption studies carried out in wavelength range from 250 nm to 1200 nm have revealed that the material is completely transparent for the entire wavelength range studied. Thermal characterization using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies show that the crystal is thermally stable up to 146 °C. The presence of second harmonic generation of the grown crystal was tested and its efficiency was determined by using Kurtz and Perry powder technique.