Two-Loop Four-Fermion Scattering Amplitude in QED.

We present the first fully analytic evaluation of the transition amplitude for the scattering of a massless into a massive pair of fermions at the two-loop level in quantum electrodynamics. Our result is an essential ingredient for the determination of the electromagnetic coupling within scattering reactions, beyond the currently known accuracy, which has a crucial impact on the evaluation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. It will allow, in particular, for a precise determination of the leading hadronic contribution to the (g-2)_{µ} in the MUonE experiment at CERN, and therefore can be used to shed light on the current discrepancy between the standard model prediction and the experimental measurement for this important physical observable.

BI-69A11 enhances susceptibility of colon cancer cells to mda-7/IL-24-induced growth inhibition by targeting Akt.

BACKGROUND: Akt and its downstream signalling pathways contribute to the aetiology and progression of colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Targeting the Akt pathway is an attractive strategy but few chemotherapeutic drugs have been used to treat CRC with only limited success. BI-69A11, a small molecule inhibitor of Akt, efficiently inhibits growth in melanoma cells. Melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (mda-7)/interleukin-24 promotes cancer-selective apoptosis when delivered by a tropism-modified replication incompetent adenovirus (Ad.5/3-mda-7). However, Ad.5/3-mda-7 displays diminished antitumour efficacy in several CRC cell lines, which correlates with the expression of K-RAS. METHODS: The individual and combinatorial effect of BI-69A11 and Ad.5/3-mda-7 in vitro was studied by cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis and invasion assays in HT29 and HCT116 cells containing wild type or mutant K-ras, respectively. In vivo HT29 tumour xenografts were used to test the efficacy of the combination treatment. RESULTS: BI-69A11 inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in CRC. However, combinatorial treatment was more effective compared with single treatment. This combination showed profound antitumour and anti angiogenic effects in vitro and in vivo by downregulating Akt activity. CONCLUSIONS: BI-69A11 enhances the antitumour efficacy of Ad.5/3-mda-7 on CRC overexpressing K-RAS by inducing apoptosis and regulating Akt activity thereby warranting further evaluation in treating CRC.

Rapidity distributions in Drell-Yan and Higgs productions at threshold to third order in QCD.

We present the threshold N(3)LO perturbative QCD corrections to the rapidity distributions of dileptons in the Drell-Yan process and Higgs boson in gluon fusion. Sudakov resummation of QCD amplitudes, renormalization group invariance, and the mass factorization theorem provide useful guidelines to obtain them in an elegant manner. We use various state of the art three loop results that have been recently available to obtain these distributions. For the Higgs boson, we demonstrate numerically the importance of these corrections at the LHC.

Lipoma of the gastrointestinal tract: a tertiary care centre experience.

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal (GI) lipomas are rare; however, they are frequent enough to be considered in the differential diagnosis of gut tumours. Here, we present our experience with GI lipomas managed at our institute over the last three years. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with GI lipomas managed between January, 2020 and April, 2023 at a tertiary care centre. Clinical presentation, location, and details of surgical procedure were analysed. RESULTS: Ten patients were included, six of whom had lipoma in the colon, one in the stomach, and one each in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The mean age at the time of presentation was 48.8 years (range, 19-77 years), and strong male preponderance (4:1) was noted. Preoperative diagnosis of lipoma on cross-sectional imaging was possible in all patients. All patients were symptomatic and were managed surgically. CONCLUSIONS: While GI lipomas are generally considered to be indolent and benign tumours, they can potentially lead to severe complications. The utilisation of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging has brought about a significant transformation in diagnosing this condition, enabling preoperative identification in most cases. The surgery offers a definitive treatment with minimal risk of postoperative complications.

Transcriptional repression of oestrogen receptor by metastasis-associated protein 1 corepressor.

Activation of the heregulin/HER2 pathway in oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast-cancer cells leads to suppression of oestrogen-receptor element (ERE)-driven transcription and disruption of oestradiol responsiveness, and thus contributes to progression of tumours to more invasive phenotypes. Here we report the identification of metastatic-associated protein 1 (MTA1), a component of histone deacetylase (HDAC) and nucleosome-remodelling complexes, as a gene product induced by heregulin-beta1 (HRG). Stimulation of cells with HRG is accompanied by suppression of histone acetylation and enhancement of deacetylase activity. MTA1 is also a potent corepressor of ERE transcription, as it blocks the ability of oestradiol to stimulate ER-mediated transcription. The histone-deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A blocks MTA1-mediated repression of ERE transcription. Furthermore, MTA1 directly interacts with histone deacetylase-1 and -2 and with the activation domain of ER-alpha. Overexpression of MTA1 in breast-cancer cells is accompanied by enhancement of the ability of cells to invade and to grow in an anchorage-independent manner. HRG also promotes interaction of MTA1 with endogenous ER and association of MTA1 or HDAC with ERE-responsive target-gene promoters in vivo. These results identify ER-mediated transcription as a nuclear target of MTA1 and indicate that HDAC complexes associated with the MTA1 corepressor may mediate ER transcriptional repression by HRG.

Assessment of Awareness Regarding Health Hazards of Plastic Chemicals and their Warning Label among a Sample Population of Varanasi City: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Plastic containers are widely used to store and serve edibles. In the production of some types of plastic, chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) are used. These chemicals leach from the plastic containers into the edibles, get access into the biological systems, and cause a toxic impact on health. AIM: This cross-sectional survey was planned to assess the usage of food contact plastic and awareness regarding the health hazards of plastic chemicals and warning labels on plastic items among a sample population of Varanasi city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected by interviewing the 556 adult participants, using a prevalidated structured questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to test the association and P < 0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: Most of the participants were found to be following routine practices during cooking and storage of edibles which may expose them to BPA and BPS through the gut. Although many participants were aware that plastic may contain some type of chemicals which may enter the human body and harm human health in some way, they lacked precise knowledge regarding warning label like "BPA free plastic" "plastic containing BPA" and "food grade plastic." Furthermore, none of the participants could recognize the "resin identification codes" correctly. CONCLUSION: Most of the participants had only elementary awareness of health risk of plastic usage. A significant number of participants lacked crucial information that can help them to make healthy choices as a consumer and use safe alternatives of plastic.

The majority of H2-M3 is retained intracellularly in a peptide-receptive state and traffics to the cell surface in the presence of N-formylated peptides.

We used a new monoclonal antibody (mAb 130) to analyze the intracellular trafficking and surface expression of H2-M3, the major histocompatibility complex class Ib molecule that presents N-formylated peptides to cytotoxic T cells. M3 surface expression is undetectable in most cell types due to the paucity of endogenous antigen. M3 is induced on the cell surface by addition of high-affinity N-formylated peptides from mitochondria and listeria. Peptide-induced M3 expression is most efficient on antigen presenting cells. Basal and inducible expression of M3 is transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP)-dependent, distinguishing M3 from the class Ib molecules TL and CD1. Unlike the expression of class Ia molecules and a previously described M3/L(d) chimera, surface expression of M3 cannot be rescued by lowered temperature, suggesting that the alpha3 domain and transmembrane region of M3 may control trafficking. Pulse-chase analysis and use of trafficking inhibitors revealed a pool of empty M3 in the endoplasmic reticulum or early Golgi apparatus. Addition of exogenous peptide allows maturation with kinetics matching those of D(d). The lack of endogenous N-formylated peptide allows discovery of novel pathogen-derived peptides in normal antigen presenting cells. The nonpolymorphic nature of M3 and its ability to present bacterial antigens rapidly and dominantly make it an attractive target for peptide vaccination strategies.

A study of the functional aberration of the pouch in anorectal malformation associated with congenital pouch colon.

OBJECTIVE: There are no in vitro studies of congenital pouch colon (CPC) associated with anorectal malformation (ARM) to understand its mechanism of contractility. There is no consensus regarding the utilization of the CPC in repair of anorectal malformation. In view of the above, it was decided to carry out detailed in vitro physiological study of the excised CPC. METHOD: The excised specimens of CPC were taken and 15- to 20-mm long both longitudinal and transverse strips of muscle were obtained both from the proximal and distal part. Contraction was recorded using software chart-5 for windows. Drugs used were acetylcholine, histamine, adrenaline, atropine and pheniramine maleate. The amplitude of contractions was converted to tension gram and then the tension so developed was expressed as tension per unit mass (per gram of wet tissue). RESULTS: There were total of 21 specimens of high ARM with CPC. Five specimens were of the complete pouch, which did not show a response to any drug and the remaining 16 had an incomplete pouch. The mean longitudinal and circular muscle contractions of these 16 samples were statistically higher for the proximal segment than the distal segment both for acetylcholine and histamine. The effect of atropine was not significant but that of adrenaline and pheniramine maleate were significant on the distal segment muscle. CONCLUSION: Congenital pouch colon being deficient or having poorly developed receptors in their wall can not function properly as a reservoir for faeces and, hence, it should be excised to allow adequate function.

Unilateral paravertebral block: an alternative to conventional spinal anaesthesia for inguinal hernia repair.

BACKGROUND: Inguinal herniorrhaphy can be successfully performed using general, regional or local anaesthesia. Paravertebral block (PVB) has been used for unilateral procedures such as thoracotomy, breast surgery, chest wall trauma, hernia repair or renal surgery. METHODS: We compared unilateral lumbar PVB with conventional spinal anaesthesia (SA) in 60 consenting ASA I and II males aged 18-65 years, scheduled for unilateral inguinal hernia repair. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups, P (n=30) or S (n=30) to receive either PVB or SA, respectively. Two patients (7%) in group P had to be converted to general anaesthesia due to block failure. During surgery, patients of both groups received intravenous infusion of propofol titrated to light sedation. RESULTS: The time to first post-operative analgesic requirement (primary outcome measure) as 342 +/- 73 min in group P and 222 +/- 22 min in group S (P<0.0001). Time to ambulation was 234 +/- 111 min in group P and 361 +/- 32 min in group S (P<0.0001). Urinary retention requiring catheterization were found in zero (0%) patients in group P compared with five (16%) in group S (P=0.024). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that unilateral PVB is more efficacious than conventional SA in terms of prolonging post-operative analgesia and reducing morbidities in patients undergoing elective unilateral inguinal hernia repair.

Instillation of bradykinin into femoral artery elicits cardiorespiratory reflexes involving perivascular afferents in anesthetized rats.

The physiology of baroreceptors and chemoreceptors present in large blood vessels of the heart is well known in the regulation of cardiorespiratory functions. Since large blood vessels and peripheral blood vessels are of the same mesodermal origin, therefore, involvement of the latter in the regulation of cardiorespiratory system is expected. The role of perivascular nerves in mediating cardiorespiratory alterations produced after intra-arterial injection of a nociceptive agent (bradykinin) was examined in urethane-anesthetized male rats. Respiratory frequency, blood pressure, and heart rate were recorded for 30 min after the retrograde injection of bradykinin/saline into the femoral artery. In addition, paw edema was determined and water content was expressed as percentage of wet weight. Injection of bradykinin produced immediate tachypneic, hypotensive and bradycardiac responses of shorter latency (5-8 s) favoring the neural mechanisms involved in it. Injection of equi-volume of saline did not produce any responses and served as time-matched control. Paw edema was observed in the ipsilateral hind limb. Pretreatment with diclofenac sodium significantly attenuated the bradykinin-induced responses and also blocked the paw edema. Ipsilateral femoral and sciatic nerve sectioning attenuated bradykinin-induced responses significantly, indicating the origin of responses from the local vascular bed. Administration of bradykinin in the segment of an artery produced reflex cardiorespiratory changes by stimulating the perivascular nociceptors involving prostaglandins. This is a novel study exhibiting the role of peripheral blood vessels in the regulation of the cardiorespiratory system.

Assessment of Risk Factors of Heart Failure: A Case Control Study.

Heart failure (HF) is becoming an increasingly prevalent healthcare problem. Besides, Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and Hypertension (HTN), there is a number of other factors that continue to evolve as risk factors for heart failure. The aim of the study was to identify the different risk factors of heart failure patients. This case-control study was conducted in the Department of Cardiology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from August 2014 to July 2015. It was included 75 patients of heart failure (cases) and 75 age and sex matched adult individuals (friends and relations of heart failure cases) as controls. The risk factors studied were grouped into demographic, clinical, behavioral and biochemical variables. The age distribution between case and control groups was almost identical with mean ages of either group being 55 years (p=0.922). The sex distribution was also fairly comparable with male being predominant in both the groups (p=0.574). In this study IHD followed by uncontrolled hypertension (p=0.001) are came out to be the predominant risk factors of heart failure followed by smoking and obesity (p<0.001). From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that a number of risk factors are involved in heart failure cases. Of them ischemic heart disease and uncontrolled hypertension are the predominant ones followed by smoking and obesity. The best strategy would, therefore, be to treat and control ischemic heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and smoking habit in the population. However, as the risk factors in the population continue to change; ongoing surveillance is important to guide right preventive strategy in future.

Predicted concentrations of anticancer drugs in the aquatic environment: What should we monitor and where should we treat?

Anticancer drugs have been detected in the aquatic environment, they have a potent mechanism of action and their consumption is expected to drastically increase in the future. Consequently, it is crucial to routinely monitor the occurrence of anticancer drugs and to develop effective treatment options to avoid their release into the environment. Prior to implementing a monitoring program, it is important to define which anticancer drugs are more prone to be found in the surface waters. In this study the consumption of anticancer drugs in the Lisbon region (Portugal), Belgium and Haryana state (India) were used to estimate the concentrations that can be expected in surface waters. Moreover, one important aspect is to define the major entry route of anticancer drugs in the aquatic environment: is it hospital or household effluents? The results disclosed in this study showed that in Belgium and Lisbon, 94 % of the total amount of anticancer drugs were delivered to outpatients, indicating that household effluents are the primary input source of these drugs and thus, upgrading the treatment in the domestic wastewater facilities should be the focus.

Cardiological society of India document on safety measure during echo evaluation of cardiovascular disease in the time of COVID-19.

An echocardiographic investigation is one of the key modalities of diagnosis in cardiology. There has been a rising presence of cardiological comorbidities in patients positive for COVID-19. Hence, it is becoming extremely essential to look into the correct safety precautions, healthcare professionals must take while conducting an echo investigation. The decision matrix formulated for conducting an echocardiographic evaluation is based on presence or absence of cardiological comorbidity vis-à-vis positive, suspected or negative for COVID-19. The safety measures have been constructed keeping in mind the current safety precautions by WHO, CDC and MoHFW, India.

Cardiological Society of India: Document on acute MI care during COVID-19.

The unprecedented and rapidly spreading Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged public health care systems globally. Based on worldwide experience, India has initiated a nationwide lockdown to prevent the exponential surge of cases. During COVID-19, management of cardiovascular emergencies like acute Myocardial Infarction (MI) may be compromised. Cardiological Society of India (CSI) has ventured in this moment of crisis to evolve a consensus document for care of acute MI. However, this care should be individualized, based on local expertise and governmental advisories.

High fat diet induces obesity in British Angora rabbit: a model for experimental obesity.

A reliable and cost-effective animal model for human obesity with its manifested disorders is yet to be established in the context of increased morbidity and mortality due to obesity and its related problems. Therefore, an attempt was made to produce obesity in locally available British Angora Rabbits (BAR) and examine the effect on metabolic and cardiovascular parameters. Adult male BARs weighing nearly 2 kg were randomly divided into two groups, one of the groups was fed with high fat diet (HFD) ad libitum for 10 weeks and the control group received standard normal rabbit chow for same period. Body weight, skinfold thickness, serum cholesterol, serum glucose and resting heart rate were measured before and after the dietary regimens. After 10 weeks, HFD group of rabbits demonstrated significant (P < 0.05) increase in body weight (+24%) and skinfold thickness (+37%). The gain in body weight was positively correlated to skinfold thickness (r = 0.61). Serum cholesterol, serum glucose and resting heart rate were also increased by 46%, 52% and 15%, respectively. Whereas no such increases in any of these parameters were observed in control group of rabbits. Our results suggest that obesity can be produced in BARs by feeding HFD. The obesity manifests with cardiovascular and metabolic changes. It is proposed that this may serve as a valid and reliable model of experimental obesity.

Obesity attenuates formalin-induced tonic pain in British Angora rabbits.

Obesity is known to alter various physiological parameters including the pain sensitivity. There are conflicting reports on the pain sensitivity in obesity. In this context, the present study was aimed to investigate the tonic pain response in obese rabbit model. To achieve this aim, two groups of adult male British Angora rabbits were used. One of the groups was fed with standard rabbit chow and served as control. The other group was fed high fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks to produce obesity. The standard formalin test was performed at the start and after 10 weeks of dietary regimen in both the groups. Timed behavioral responses (limping, elevation of paw, licking, biting, grooming etc.) were categorized and quantified with the help of standard pain rating scale. The total average pain rating score decreased significantly from 2.01 +/- 0.02 to 1.47 +/- 0.08 (P < 0.05) in HFD group after 10 weeks of dietary regimen, whereas there was no change in the control group. A significant negative correlation was observed between body weight and pain rating score in HFD group of rabbits (P < 0.05, r = -0.62). Results suggest that obesity attenuates the tonic pain responses induced by formalin in British Angora rabbits.

In vitro activity of gentamicin and amikacin against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi: a search for a treatment regimen for typhoid fever.

The emergence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi isolates resistant to ciprofloxacin and 3rd-generation cephalosporins is a concern for physicians in developing countries. This study assessed the in vitro activity of gentamicin and amikacin against 464 S. entenca serovar Typhi isolates obtained from blood of patients clinically suspected of enteric fever who attended the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine from 1991 to 2003. The isolates were sensitive to gentamicin and amikacin, showing minimum inhibitory concentrations 0.01-4 microg/mL and 0.005-3.5 microg/mL respectively. Both agents showed bactericidal activity at concentrations of 2 microg/mL after incubation for 6 hours. Aminoglycoside antibiotics such as gentamicin and amikacin may thus be introduced as a treatment regimen for typhoid fever.

Epidemiological and clinical profile of Influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 in Odisha, eastern India.

Epidemic of flu is highly contagious and it spreads through air. In 2009 H1N1 influenza virus emerged after reassortment of North American TRIG and Eurasia Avian like virus of swine and started epidemic in Mexico. The first cases were reported from Hyderabad city on 16th May 2009 in India that spread rapidly within a short span of time. During this period large population of Odisha situated at the eastern side of India was also affected and incidences of H1N1 cases were recorded through state Government surveillance system. In this study real time RT-PCR based diagnosis was conducted for the throat swabs collected from suspected H1N1 cases in Odisha during 2009-2017. A total of 2872 throat swabs were received from 23 different Government and private hospitals and 21.1% positivity was confirmed. The disease affected mostly 46-60 years age group, males (50.6%) being more affected. The clinical features had shown that fever with cough (89.6%) was the most common symptom followed by shortness of breath (72.7%). Post monsoon was the peak season in which most of the cases were reported. Neurological signs, pregnancy, diabetes and hypertension were found to be risk factors for H1N1. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 15%.