Estimation of Time Since Death Using Biochemical Markers in Synovial Fluid.

ABSTRACT: In the field of forensic medicine, estimating time since death plays an important role in helping the investigative organizations unravel the mystery of crime. Presently, many less reliable subjective parameters are being used to measure it, necessitating the need to have more specific and objective parameters. This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, India on 60 deceased bodies to determine the correlation between known time since death and biochemical parameters in the synovial fluid specifically sodium, potassium, lactate, and total proteins, analyzed using random access fully automated chemical analyzer (Beckman Coulter Au680) followed by estimation of correlation using Spearman correlation test.All the biochemical parameters that were tested in the synovial fluid except for sodium showed a significant correlation. The potassium and lactate showed a significant positive correlation (P < 0.001), and on the contrary, the total protein level showed a significant negative correlation with time since death (P < 0.001). This study shows usefulness of these markers in estimating the time since death. The smaller sample size and the unavailability of the results of effect of cold storage on these parameters necessitate the need of further similar studies to uncover the real practical application.

Nested PCR assay for detection of Theileria annulata in Hyalomma anatolicum infesting cattle from coastal Odisha, India.

Ticks are economically important obligatory blood feeding arthropods that have a pivotal role in transmission of infection. The present study was conducted in ixodid ticks collected from four districts of coastal Odisha, India to investigate the prevalence of Theileria annulata. Adult semi engorged Hyalomma anatolicum ticks (n = 178) were dissected, the salivary gland was isolated and DNA was extracted. A nested PCR targeting the Tams1 gene of T. annulata, utilizing two sets of primers (N516F, N517R, and Ta14136iF, Ta249R) was utilized for detection of the parasite. The PCR products were then sequenced and subjected to BLAST analysis, alignment, and phylogenetic study. Two sequences deposited in GenBank were assigned Accession No MH477290.1 and Accession No MH477291.1. The molecular investigation of T. annulata revealed an overall prevalence of 14.6% in tick vectors, and nested PCR was found to have significant (p < 0.05) higher results than primary PCR. A significant higher presence (p < 0.05) was recorded in female ticks compared with male ticks. This is the first report of detection of the parasite in tick vectors in the state of Odisha.

Neglected malaria parasites in hard-to-reach areas of Odisha, India: implications in elimination programme.

BACKGROUND: Information on the foci of Plasmodium species infections is essential for any country heading towards elimination. Odisha, one of the malaria-endemic states of India is targeting elimination of malaria by 2030. To support decision-making regarding targeted intervention, the distribution of Plasmodium species infections was investigated in hard-to-reach areas where a special malaria elimination drive, namely Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) began in 2017. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2228 households during July to November 2019 in six districts, to evaluate the occurrence of Plasmodium species. The species were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by sequencing, in case of Plasmodium ovale. RESULTS: Of the 3557 blood specimens tested, malaria infection was detected in 282 (7.8%) specimens by PCR. Of the total positive samples, 14.1% were P. ovale spp. and 10.3% were Plasmodium malariae infections. The majority of P. ovale spp. (75.8%) infections were mixed with either Plasmodium falciparum and/or Plasmodium vivax and found to be distributed in three geophysical regions (Northern-plateau, Central Tableland and Eastern Ghat) of the State, while P. malariae has been found in Northern-plateau and Eastern Ghat regions. Speciation revealed occurrence of both Plasmodium ovale curtisi (classic type) and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri (variant type). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study a considerable number of P. ovale spp. and P. malariae were detected in a wide geographical areas of Odisha State, which contributes around 40% of the country's total malaria burden. For successful elimination of malaria within the framework of national programme, P. ovale spp. along with P. malariae needs to be incorporated in surveillance system, especially when P. falciparum and P. vivax spp. are in rapid decline.

An Analysis of Psychological Perceptions of Survivors of Sexual Assault.

INTRODUCTION:  Sexual assault, although not limited to females, is predominantly a form of male-on-female oppression and a form of torture and trauma, both physical as well as psychological, and may have longstanding and lasting effects. It includes any sexual behavior or act which is threatening, violent, forced, coercive, or exploitative and to which a person has not given consent or was not able to give consent. The impact of victimization is utterly profound and there is a wide range of responses a person may have to sexual assault. Some last a few days, others a few weeks, but most can entrench far longer. METHODS:  A detailed analysis was conducted on the data of each case using a standardized form and guided interview of 206 survivors who had experienced alleged sexual offenses and met the specified criteria, seeking examination at the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology in a tertiary level teaching hospital in India over a period of two years. Designed as a cross-sectional observational qualitative study, relying on interviews with the survivors. The inclusion criteria encompassed survivors of alleged rape cases, kidnapping cases, and anal sex ("sodomy") cases who presented to the department during the study period. Certain cases were excluded from the study, including those requiring only an "Ossification test" and cases involving prostitution. RESULTS: The experiences of 206 survivors were analyzed and we found that in the majority of cases, the assailants were known to the survivors. Reasons for this included proximity, familiarity, and taking advantage of trust and faith bestowed upon them by the victim. Up to 75.24% of the offenses were committed with consent, while 24.76% were committed without consent. The causes of consensual and forceful sex acts were explored, with the majority of consensual sex acts being attributed to false promises to marry and love affairs. The majority of non-consensual sexual offenses were forcefully committed with ill intent, with only a small number being influenced by alcohol or drug intoxication. The study also found that almost equal numbers of cases were reported by survivors and their parents, and that survivor statements were valuable for investigating cases, although there were instances where they differed from their initial statements. CONCLUSION: Mental and psychological status varied among survivors, with responses related to the elapsed time period from the occurrence of the assault.

A Rare Case of Left-Sided Gastroschisis in a Human Museum Specimen.

Gastroschisis is a congenital defect in the anterior abdominal wall resulting in herniation of the abdominal viscera without any fetal membrane covering it. It usually occurs to the right of a normally inserted umbilical cord. The anomaly is associated with intrauterine growth retardation, stillbirth, and preterm delivery. We found a preserved specimen of a 17- to 20-week-old male human fetus presenting with gastroschisis in the Departmental Museum of Anatomy of the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Bhubaneshwar, a medical college in Eastern India. The fetus showed a hiatus on the left side in the infraumbilical portion of the anterior abdominal wall with evisceration of the liver, spleen, coils of the small intestine, and a segment of the large intestine. The fetus otherwise had no obvious gross abnormality. The case is of particular interest as the incidence of left-sided gastroschisis is very rare.

Electrohydrodynamics Analysis of Dielectric 2D Nanofluids.

The purpose of this present study is to prepare a stable mineral-oil (MO)-based nanofluid (NF) for usage as a coolant in a transformer. Nanoparticles (NPs) such as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and titanium oxide (TiO2) have superior thermal and electrical characteristics. Their dispersion into MO is likely to elevate the electrothermal properties of NFs. Therefore, different batches of NFs are prepared by uniformly dispersing the insulating h-BN and semiconducting TiO2 NP of different concentrations in MO. Bulk h-BN NP of size 1µm is exfoliated into 2D nanosheets of size 150-200 nm, subsequently enhancing the surface area of exfoliated h-BN (Eh-BN). However, from the zeta-potential analysis, NP concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 wt.% are chosen for further study. The thermal conductivity and ACBDV studies of the prepared NF are performed to investigate the cooling and insulation characteristics. The charging-dynamics study verifies the enhancement in ACBDV of the Eh-BN NF. Weibull statistical analysis is carried out to obtain the maximum probability of ACBDV failure, and it is observed that 0.01 wt.% based NF has superior cooling and insulation properties than MO and remaining batches of NFs.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of microsatellite markers within the Avipoxviruses.

Microsatellite markers or Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) are gaining importance for molecular characterization of the virus as well as estimation of evolution patterns due to its high-polymorphic nature. The Avipoxvirus is the causative agent of pox-like lesions in more than 300 birds and one of the major diseases for the extinction of endangered avian species. Therefore, we conducted a genome-wide analysis to decipher the type, distribution pattern of 14 complete genomes derived from the Avipoxvirus genus. The in-silico screening deciphered the existence of 917-2632 SSRs per strain. In the case of compound SSRs (cSSRs), the value was obtained 44-255 per genome. Our analysis indicates that the di-nucleotide repeats (52.74%) are the most abundant, followed by the mononucleotides (34.79), trinucleotides (11.57%), tetranucleotides (0.64%), pentanucleotides (0.12%) and hexanucleotides (0.15%) repeats. The specific parameters like Relative Abundance (RA) and Relative Density (RD) of microsatellites ranged within 5.5-8.12 and 33.08-53.58 bp/kb. The analysis of RA and RD value of compound microsatellites resulted between 0.25-0.82 and 4.64-15.12 bp/kb. The analysis of motif composition of cSSR revealed that most of the compound microsatellites were made up of two microsatellites, with some unique duplicated pattern of the motif like, (TA)-x-(TA), (TCA)-x-(TCA), etc. and self-complementary motifs, such as (TA)-x-(AT). Finally, we validated forty sets of compound microsatellite markers through an in-vitro approach utilizing clinical specimens and mapping the sequencing products with the database through comparative genomics approaches. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03169-4.

Evaluating Odisha's COVID-19 response: from quiet confidence to a slippery road.

Odisha is among handful of states that is at the forefront of India's fight against a rapidly growing COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the national lockdown was imposed by the Union government on March 24, Odisha was only state to have imposed partial lockdown in select districts. It was also first state that took proactive steps to ramp up its health care system particularly having a COVID-19 hospital with intensive care units (ICUs) on public-private partnership mode. Importantly, Odisha was among few states to have created a COVID-19 hospital at each district in record time. In addition, the state took many proactive measures including setting up a taskforce to oversee the COVID-19 response, put up a critical information and communication system with daily press briefings among others to stay on the top of pandemic management. But come May when the migrants rush unfolded, the state experienced steady surge in infections as the pandemic started spreading to relatively dense rural hinterlands. The migrant endowed districts like Ganjam became the epicentres of new spread and the state is struggling to rein on the growing pandemic. What led to the state losing its initial gains? How did the state manage it so ably in the initial period and what led to the surge? What are the unique features of Odisha's pandemic response? Is there an Odisha Model as claimed by several observers? (Patnaik et al. in The Wire, 2020) This paper endeavours to chronicle Odisha's response to COVID-19 in relations to policies and programmes initiatives and actors and dynamics shaping these responses? Key aim is to identify strengths and experience of the eastern state which has a long and credible record of fighting natural disasters.

Role of solution reconstruction in hypersonic viscous computations using a sharp interface immersed boundary method.

This work discusses the development of a sharp interface immersed boundary (IB) method for viscous compressible flows and its assessment for accurate computations of wall shear and heat fluxes in hypersonic flows. The IB method is implemented in an unstructured Cartesian finite-volume (FV) framework and resolves the geometric interface sharply on the nonconformal mesh through direct imposition of boundary conditions employing a local reconstruction approach. The efficacy of the IB-FV solver is investigated for canonical high-speed viscous flows over a range of Mach numbers. The numerical results indicate that the surface pressure and shear stress distributions are computed with reasonable accuracy, whereas surface heat fluxes for aerodynamically blunt configurations are underpredicted. Employing a set of carefully designed experiments and simple diagnostic tools, we probe the possible causes for the underprediction in heat flux. We show that there exist two sources of error-one due to grid resolution and the other due to solution reconstruction, with the latter being more prominent and responsible for the observed underprediction in heat fluxes. Studies reveal that the heat flux estimates are sensitive to the choice of temperature reconstruction and linear interpolations could lead to poor estimates of heat flux. Our investigations conclusively point out the fact that existing polynomial-based reconstruction approaches for sharp interface IB techniques are not necessarily adequate for heat transfer predictions in high Reynolds number hypersonic flows.

The emergence of subclades A1 and A3 avipoxviruses in India.

During the years 2010-2018, avipoxvirus (APV) outbreaks were observed in the domestic chickens and pigeons present in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Based on typical pox lesions, followed by molecular techniques, the overall morbidity was found to be 18%-19.23% and 16.92%-23% in chickens and pigeons, respectively. The cutaneous forms of the disease were observed with varied rates of mortality, being 47.36%-52.77% in chickens and 39.13%-92% in pigeons. PCR amplification targeting the viral P4b core protein-coding gene and the DNA polymerase gene confirmed the presence of APV strains in 10 birds. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis of these two genes confirmed that the circulating strains were members of APV clade A. The subclade analysis revealed the introduction of A1 and A3 subclades in Indian chickens and pigeons, respectively. This study is the first molecular record of APVs circulating in eastern Indian birds (Odisha) and involves the first use of the polymerase gene to reveal the circulating clades of Indian APVs.