Cyfra 21.1: A Useful Tumour Marker in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is a challenging disease, often requiring invasive procedures for diagnosis. Reliable tumour markers are essential for ensuring early detection and better patient outcomes. Although Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 is the most commonly used marker, it is marred by low predictive accuracy and high false positivity. Carcino Embryonic Antigen also has limited practical use. A novel antigen, Cytokeratin fragment 21-1, is gaining significance for its diagnostic value in various tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study aimed to evaluate the potential of Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 in comparison with Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 and Carcino Embryonic Antigen in diagnosing pancreatic cancer. From January 2016 to December 2019, 45 patients with confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were included in this cross-sectional study. RESULTS: Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 was raised in 22 patients, Carcino Embryonic Antigen was elevated in 17, and Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 was elevated in 30 cases. Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 was found to be elevated in the presence of jaundice. Both Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 and Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 had good correlation with stage of cancer, while Carcino Embryonic Antigen had very minimal correlation. CONCLUSION: In this study, Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 was elevated in a higher number of cases than Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 and Carcino Embryonic Antigen. Both Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 and Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 correlated well with cancer stage. Also Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 was not affected by jaundice, unlike Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9. Therefore, Cytokeratin fragment 21-1 has the potential to be an effective individual tumour marker in pancreatic cancer.

Isolation, partial characterization and in vitro digestion of starch from Ariopsis peltata and Lagenandra toxicaria tuber.

The starch from two aroid tuber viz. Ariopsis peltata and Lagenandra toxicaria were isolated and evaluated for their morphological, physical and chemical properties. The tubers of these plants are used as food and medicine by the indigenous communities. The starch yield from A. peltata tuber was 25 ± 1.7% with an amylose content of 10 ± 0.9%, while the tuber of L. toxicaria contained 28 ± 6.5% starch with 15 ± 0.5% of apparent amylose in it. The starch isolated from both the tubers was highly pure (99%) starch exhibiting an A-type X-ray diffraction pattern. The starch granules of L. toxicaria were of various shapes and exhibited a smooth surface without any cleft or break. While the starch granules of A. peltata were spherical with smooth surface, as well as rough surface. The breaks and clefts were apparent on the rough-surfaced granules. The gelatinization temperature range for A. peltata and L. toxicaria starch is approximately 23 °C and 19 °C respectively. A. peltata starch showed higher thermal stability compared to L. toxicaria starch and either of the starch was rapidly digestible as evident from in vitro digestion study. The physicochemical properties of both the starches render them stable to withstand extreme processing. Besides they also mimic simple sugar in digestibility. So it can be utilized as a substitute for simple sugars in brewing and pharmaceutical industries.

Bioactive injectable hydrogels for on demand molecule/cell delivery and for tissue regeneration in the central nervous system.

Currently there are no potential curative therapies that can improve the central nervous system (CNS) regeneration after traumatic injuries or diseases. Indeed, the regeneration of CNS is greatly impaired by limited drug penetration across the blood brain barrier (BBB), poor drug targeting, deficient progenitor neural cells and limited proliferation of mature neural cells. To overcome these limitations, bioengineered injectable hydrogels in combination with drug and cell therapy have been proposed to mimic the complexity of the CNS microenvironment and architecture. Additionally, to enhance relevant CNS regeneration, proper biophysical and biochemical cues are needed. Recently, great efforts have been devoted to tailor stimuli-responsive hydrogels as novel carrier systems which are able to guide neural tissue regeneration. This review provides an extensive overview on the most promising injectable hydrogels for neural tissue engineering. A special emphasis is made to highlight the ability of these hydrogels to deliver bioactive compounds/cells upon the exposure to internal and external stimuli. Bioactive injectable hydrogels have a broad application in central nervous system's (CNS) regeneration. This review gives an overview of the latest pioneering approaches in CNS recovery using stimuli-responsive hydrogels for several neurodegenerative disorders. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This review summarizes the latest innovations on bioactive injectable hydrogels, focusing on tailoring internal/external stimuli-responsive hydrogels for the new injectable systems design, able to guide neural tissue response. The purpose is to highlight the advantages and the limitations of thermo-responsive, photo responsive, magnetic responsive, electric responsive, ultrasound responsive and enzymes-triggered injectable hydrogels in developing customizable neurotherapies. We believe that this comprehensive review will help in identifying the strengths and gaps in the existing literature and to further support the use of injectable hydrogels in stimulating CNS regeneration.

Algal and cyanobacterial biomass as potential dye biodecolorizing material: a review.

The considerable demand for dyes worldwide has triggered a surge in their production globally. The extensive application of dyes and inefficient dyeing processes has elevated the risk of environmental pollution. The effluents from dying industries contain toxic compounds that are dreadful to both the environment and living beings. Besides, conventional effluent treatment processes have proved ineffective in clearing the dye from the effluent. The sole way of tackling this problem would be by applying a more rational approach that would be sustainable and efficient. After a thorough study of the literature, we are convinced to say that cyanophyceae and algae could serve as one of the promising biodecolorizing agents substituting most other biosorbents used in conventional biological effluent treatment technology. To evidence this we compiled data from the literature, wherein, various algal biomasses capable of decolorizing dye effluents have been examined. This paper also gives comprehensive facts on the mechanism of decolorization, pretreatment, influencing factors, and toxicity of treated products.

In-Hospital and Three-Year Outcomes of Heart Failure Patients in South India: The Trivandrum Heart Failure Registry.

BACKGROUND: Long-term data on outcomes of participants hospitalized with heart failure (HF) from low- and middle-income countries are limited. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the Trivandrum Heart Failure Registry (THFR) in 2013, 1205 participants from 18 hospitals in Trivandrum, India, were enrolled. Data were collected on demographics, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes. We performed survival analyses, compared groups and evaluated the association between heart failure (HF) type and mortality, adjusting for covariates that predicted mortality in a global HF risk score. The mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 61.2 (13.7) years. Ischemic heart disease was the most common cause (72%). The in-hospital mortality rate was higher for participants with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; 9.7%) compared with those with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF; 4.8%; P = .003). After 3 years, 540 (44.8%) participants had died. The all-cause mortality rate was lower for participants with HFpEF (40.8%) compared with HFrEF (46.2%; P = .049). In multivariable models, older age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.24 per decade, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-1.33), New York Heart Association functional class IV symptoms (HR 2.80, 95% CI 1.43-5.48), and higher serum creatinine (HR 1.12 per mg/dL, 95% CI 1.04-1.22) were associated with all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with HF in the THFR have high 3-year all-cause mortality. Targeted hospital-based quality improvement initiatives are needed to improve survival during and after hospitalization for HF.

Mechanisms behind Post-Thyroidectomy Hypocalcemia: Interplay of Calcitonin, Parathormone, and Albumin-A Prospective Study.

PURPOSE OF STUDY: Hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy is attributed to injury or ischemia to parathyroid glands. Transient hypocalcemia in thyroidectomy when parathyroids are preserved is not adequately explained. Release of calcitonin and hypoalbuminemia are two proposed reasons. Primary objective of this study was to find the change in calcitonin in the postoperative period after total thyroidectomy. Secondarily, hypocalcemia and its correlation with calcitonin, albumin, and parathormone were also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This Cohort study was carried out at the general surgical department of a tertiary level teaching institution from April 2015 to December 2015. One hundred adult patients undergoing total thyroidectomy, with at least three parathyroids being preserved were included. Changes in calcium, calcitonin, albumin, and parathormone were studied based on preoperative levels and the values at 1, 6, 24, and 48 hr after surgery. RESULTS: Calcitonin increased at one hour after thyroidectomy and fell below preoperative levels subsequently. Parathormone showed a mild rise at one hour and normalized subsequently. Total calcium, corrected calcium, and albumin showed decline at one hour and recovered gradually over the next two days. At preoperative level, calcium had significant correlation with parathormone alone. Calcium levels at one hour had significant correlation with calcitonin. All post-operative calcium levels had significant correlation with parathormone and the number of parathyroids preserved in situ without auto-transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant hypocalcemia within the first 24 hr after thyroidectomy, caused by calcitonin release and hypoalbuminemia. Preservation of maximum number of parathyroids in-situ can counter and normalize this hypocalcemia.

Microalgal diversity in relation to the physicochemical parameters of some Industrial sites in Mangalore, South India.

This study is undertaken to understand the microalgal species composition, diversity, abundance and their association with the polluted sites of an industrial area. The microalgae and the wastewater samples collected from these sites were preserved and analysed using standard methods. One hundred and eight species of the microalgae, belonging to Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Bacillariophyceace and Desmidaceae, were identified. Of these, the members of Cyanophyceae formed the dominant flora. It was observed that the family Oscillatoriaceae was the most diverse family. In this family, the most diverse genus was found to be the Oscillatoria, with 13 species. Further, the abundance of Oscillatoria princeps indicated that these species are tolerant to the pollution and therefore considered as the 'marker species' of the habitat. The abundance of the Cyanophyceae in these sites was found to be due to the favourable contents of the oxidizable organic matter and the presence of the nutrients, such as the nitrates and the phosphates, in abundance, with less dissolved oxygen. The lesser percentage of the Bacillariophyceae (14%), and the negligible number of the euglenoids (2%) indicated that the sites were rich in the inorganic pollutants and poor in the organic pollutants. The range of Shannon diversity indices was found between 2.10 and 3.50, while the dominance index was found between 0.03 and 0.14, the species evenness between 0.73 and 0.93 and the Margalef index between 1.8 and 6.3. The diversity indices indicated that there is light to moderate level of pollution in the studied sites, with moderate diversity level. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the physicochemical parameters identified the four possible groups, which were responsible for the data structure, explaining the 74% of the total variance of the data set. In the PCA performed using all the variables, the first principal component showed the positive correlation with the total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, conductivity, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and the sulphates and the negative correlation with the dissolved oxygen (DO) and Pb2+. The second principal component showed the positive correlation with the pH, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrates and phosphates, and the negative correlation with the TDS, salinity, conductivity, temperature and BOD. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that there were significant (p<0.05) positive and negative relationships between some of the physicochemical parameters and the microalgal species at these sites. The results showed that Calonies bacillum and Pseudanabaena amphigranulata were in close positive association with the pH, DO, COD, chlorides, nitrates and Cu+2 at the third and the fifth sites; the Navicula sphaerophora, Stigonema minutum and Chlamydomonas sphagnicola were in close positive association with the phosphates and the lead at the first, second and the fifth sites; the Anabaena spiroides, Anabaena constricta, Oscillatoria curviceps, Oscillatoria princeps, Spirogyra pratensis, Spirogyra crassa, Aulosira laxa and Micrasterias foliacea were in close positive association with the conductivity and the BOD levels at the fourth site, while the Phormidium acutum, Oedogonium decipiens, Oscillatoria trichoides and Parapediastrum biradiatum were in close positive association with the TDS, salinity, temperature, sulphate and Cr+6 levels at the first and the second sites. Therefore, the variations in the physicochemical parameters in the waters of these habitats are attributed to be the reasons for the differences in the diversity and the distribution of the species. Further, the significant correlations observed between the microalgal species and the physicochemical parameters studied here suggest that the type of pollution can be predicted, based on the structure of the microalgal community.

Removal of Pb²âº from aqueous system by live Oscillatoria laete-virens (Crouan and Crouan) Gomont isolated from industrial effluents.

Cyanobacteria have been found to be potential biosorbents of metal ions from waste water. The Pb²âº removal capacity of growing cells of indigenous cyanobacterium Oscillatoria laete-virens (Crouan and Crouan) Gomont was studied under batch experiments and it was found capable of removing Pb²âº of lower concentrations (below 100 mg L⁻¹). The effects of different concentrations of Pb²âº, on the growth rate of alga were also evaluated. The research parameters include the pH of the solution, contact time, initial concentration of Pb²âº, and culture density. Of the parameters studied, the pH of the solution was found to be the most crucial. The removal of Pb²âº peaked at an initial pH of 5. The data obtained from the equilibrium experiments were found well fitting with the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum sorptive capacity (q(max)) of 20.36 mg g⁻¹, indicating a good biosorbtive potential of growing cells. This was confirmed using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray analysis, which showed the adsorption of lead on the surface of the cell. The species could tolerate a concentration as high as 60 mg L⁻¹ of Pb²âº. It was observed that the removal obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. The percentage removal was found to decrease with increasing metal concentration, from 10 to 100 mg L⁻¹. FTIR analysis indicates the involvement of amino, carboxylic and amide groups in the sorption process. Among the desorbing agents evaluated, an efficient recovery of 90.2 % was achieved by HCl, in 24 h. Thus Oscillatoria laete-virens (Crouan and Crouan) Gomont seems to be a promising metal biosorbent for the treatment of Pb²âº, in waste waters.