An infant and mother with severe B12 deficiency: vitamin B12 status assessment should be determined in pregnant women with anaemia.

The vitamin B12 status of infants depends on maternal B12 status during pregnancy, and during lactation if breastfed. We present a 9-month-old girl who was admitted to the metabolic unit for assessment of developmental delay. She was exclusively breastfed and the introduction of solids at 5 months was unsuccessful. Investigations revealed pancytopenia, undetectable B12 and highly elevated methylmalonic acid and homocysteine. Methylmalonic acid and homocysteine normalised following B12 injections. Marked catch-up of developmental milestones was noted after treatment with B12. Investigations of parents showed normal B12 in the father and combined B12 and iron deficiency in the mother. Maternal B12 deficiency, most likely masked by iron deficiency, led to severe B12 deficiency in the infant. Exclusive breastfeeding and a subsequent failure to wean exacerbated the infant's B12 deficiency leading to developmental delay. This case highlights the need for development of guidelines for better assessment of B12 status during pregnancy.

Drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis: A clinicopathological study and comparative trial of steroid regimens.

Steroids are used in the management of drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis (AIN). The present study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of pulse methyl prednisolone with oral prednisolone in the treatment of drug-induced AIN. Patients with biopsy-proven AIN with a history of drug intake were randomized to oral prednisolone (Group 1) 1 mg/kg for 3 weeks or a pulse methyl prednisolone (Group II) 30 mg/kg for 3 days followed by oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg for 2 weeks, tapered over 3 weeks. Kidney biopsy scoring was done for interstitial edema, infiltration and tubular damage. The response was reported as complete remission (CR) (improvement in estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] to ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)), partial remission (PR) (improvement but eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) or resistance (no CR/PR). A total of 29 patients, Group I: 16 and Group II: 13 were studied. Offending drugs included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, herbal drugs, antibiotics, diuretic, rifampicin and omeprazole. There was no difference in the baseline parameters between the two groups. The biopsy score in Groups I and II was 5.9 ± 1.1 and 5.1 ± 1.2, respectively. At 3 months in Group I, eight patients each (50%) achieved CR and PR. In Group II, 8 (61%) achieved CR and 5 (39%) PR. This was not significantly different. Percentage fall in serum creatinine at 1 week (56%) was higher in CR as compared to (42%) those with PR. (P = 0.14). Patients with neutrophil infiltration had higher CR compared to patients with no neutrophil infiltration (P = 0.01). Early steroid therapy, both oral and pulse steroid, is equally effective in achieving remission in drug-induced AIN.

Exploitation of endophytic fungus, Guignardia mangiferae for extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their in vitro biological activities.

The aim of this study was to synthesize highly biocompatible and functionalized silver nanoparticles using endophytic fungi isolated from the leaves of medicinal plants. Among 13 fungi tested, the isolate, Guignardia mangiferae (Bios PTK 4) extracellularly synthesized well-dispersed and extremely stable silver nanoparticles under optimized reaction conditions within 12 h. These nanoparticles were characterized by HR-TEM, SAED, XRD and EDX analyses. G. mangiferae synthesized 5-30 nm sized, spherical shaped silver nanoparticles. Effect of pH on the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles was studied using well diffusion assay; on the basis of particle stability and antibacterial activity, pH 7 was found to be optimum. The leakage of intracellular components has clearly demonstrated that silver nanoparticles damage the bacterial cells by formation of pores, which affect the membrane permeability and finally leads to cell death. In addition, silver nanoparticles exhibited excellent antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi. Cytotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles showed IC50 values of 63.37, 27.54 and 23.84 µg/mL against normal African monkey kidney (Vero), HeLa (cervical) and MCF-7 (breast) cells, respectively, at 24 h incubation period. Thus, the obtained results convincingly suggest that silver nanoparticles synthesized from G. mangiferae are highly biocompatible and have wider applicability and they could be explored as promising candidates for a variety of biomedical/pharmaceutical and agricultural applications.

Optimization for rapid synthesis of silver nanoparticles and its effect on phytopathogenic fungi.

In this present study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized by green chemistry approach using Acalypha indica leaf extract as reducing agents. The reaction medium employed in the synthesis process was optimized to attain better yield, controlled size and stability. Further, the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles were conformed through UV-vis spectrum, XRD and HR-TEM analyses. Different concentration of silver nanoparticles were tested to know the inhibitory effect of fungal plant pathogens namely Alternaria alternata, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea and Curvularia lunata. Interestingly, 15 mg concentration of silver nanoparticles showed excellent inhibitory activity against all the tested pathogens. Thus, the obtained results clearly suggest that silver nanoparticles may have important applications in controlling various plant diseases caused by fungi.

Synthesis and spectral characterization of a new class of N-(N-methylpiperazinoacetyl)-2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-ones: antimicrobial, analgesic and antipyretic studies.

A series of N-(N-methylpiperazinoacetyl)-2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-ones (13c-21c) were synthesized by the base catalyzed nucleophilic substitution of N-chloroacetyl-2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-ones obtained from their corresponding 2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-ones with N-methylpiperazine. These newly synthesized compounds were characterized by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectral studies. In all the cases, the piperazine ring adopted normal chair conformation with equatorial orientation of methyl group irrespective of the non-chair conformations of the piperidin-4-one moiety. All the compounds were screened for their possible antibacterial and antifungal activities against a spectrum of microbial agents besides analgesic and antipyretic activities. These biological studies proved that compounds 17c/18c against bacterial and 18c/20c against fungal strains exhibited promising antimicrobial activities whereas 17c/19c and 18c/19c showed beneficial analgesic and antipyretic profiles, respectively, at a concentration of 60mg/kg and were also found to be more potent than the reference drug.

Feasibility of routine HIV testing among TB patients through a voluntary counselling and testing centre.

BACKGROUND: Despite the synergy between the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics, the public health responses have largely been separate. Detection of HIV among TB patients is crucial to the holistic management of HIV-TB co-infected patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of screening all TB patients for HIV through referral to a voluntary counselling and testing centre. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study of 4802 newly diagnosed TB patients between July 2005 and June 2006 was performed in Tamilnadu, India, at six sites. RESULTS: Of 4802 patients invited, 69% were willing to participate in the test. The most significant variables that influenced willingness were sex, age and place of residence (P < 0.01). The other significant variables that influenced willingness to participate were higher education, being employed and being married (P < 0.05). The main reasons for refusal of HIV screening among the patients were 'no risk behaviour' (30%), followed by 'too old' (23%) and for reasons of privacy (12%). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that it is feasible to routinely test TB patients for HIV. However it is crucial for health providers to focus on an effective referral process keeping patient concerns in mind. Motivation strategies need to be sex-, age-, education- and residence-specific.

Rapid non-destructive quantitative estimation of urania/thoria in mixed thorium uranium di-oxide pellets by high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry.

A non-destructive technique using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry has been standardised for quantitative estimation of uranium/thorium in mixed (ThO2-UO2) fuel pellets of varying composition. Four gamma energies were selected; two each from the uranium and thorium series and the time of counting has been optimised. This technique can be used for rapid estimation of U/Th percentage in a large number of mixed fuel pellets from a production campaign.

Single-unit responses in the inferior colliculus of decerebrate cats. I. Classification based on frequency response maps.

This study proposes a classification system for neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) that is based on excitation and inhibition patterns of single-unit responses in decerebrate cats. The decerebrate preparation allowed extensive characterization of physiological response types without the confounding effects of anesthesia. The tone-driven discharge rates of individual units were measured across a range of frequencies and levels to map excitatory and inhibitory response areas for contralateral monaural stimulation. The resulting frequency response maps can be grouped into the following three populations: type V maps exhibit a wide V-shaped excitatory area and no inhibition; type I maps show a more restricted I-shaped region of excitation that is flanked by inhibition at lower and higher frequencies; and type O maps display an O-shaped island of excitation at low stimulus levels that is bounded by inhibition at higher levels. Units that produce a type V map typically have a low best frequency (BF: the most sensitive frequency), a low rate of spontaneous activity, and monotonic rate-level functions for both BF tones and broadband noise. Type I and type O units have BFs that span the cat's range of audible frequencies and high rates of spontaneous activity. Like type V units, type I units are excited by BF tones and noise at all levels, but their rate-level functions may become nonmonotonic at high levels. Type O units are inhibited by BF tones and noise at high levels. The existence of distinct response types is consistent with a conceptual model in which the unit types receive dominant inputs from different sources and shows that these functionally segregated pathways are specialized to play complementary roles in the processing of auditory information.

Single-unit responses in the inferior colliculus of decerebrate cats. II. Sensitivity to interaural level differences.

Single units in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) of unanesthetized decerebrate cats can be grouped into three distinct types (V, I, and O) according to the patterns of excitation and inhibition revealed in contralateral frequency response maps. This study extends the description of these response types by assessing their ipsilateral and binaural response map properties. Here the nature of ipsilateral inputs is evaluated directly using frequency response maps and compared with results obtained from methods that rely on sensitivity to interaural level differences (ILDs). In general, there is a one-to-one correspondence between observed ipsilateral input characteristics and those inferred from ILD manipulations. Type V units receive ipsilateral excitation and show binaural facilitation (EE properties); type I and type O units receive ipsilateral inhibition and show binaural excitatory/inhibitory (EI) interactions. Analyses of binaural frequency response maps show that these ILD effects extend over the entire receptive field of ICC units. Thus the range of frequencies that elicits excitation from type V units is expanded with increasing levels of ipsilateral stimulation, whereas the excitatory bandwidth of type I and O units decreases under the same binaural conditions. For the majority of ICC units, application of bicuculline, an antagonist for GABAA-mediated inhibition, does not alter the basic effects of binaural stimulation; rather, it primarily increases spontaneous and maximum discharge rates. These results support our previous interpretations of the putative dominant inputs to ICC response types and have important implications for midbrain processing of competing free-field sounds that reach the listener with different directional signatures.

USF in the Lytechinus sea urchin embryo may act as a transcriptional repressor in non-aboral ectoderm cells for the cell lineage-specific expression of the LpS1 genes.

Expression of the aboral ectoderm-specific LpS1 gene in Lytechinus was used to study lineage-specific transcriptional regulation during sea urchin development. Band shift assays using anti-USF antibody showed that a USF-like protein bound the USF core sequence 5'-CACGTG-3' in the promoter of the LpS1 gene. DNA constructs consisting of a wild-type LpS1 promoter and the same LpS1 promoter with a mutated USF binding site fused to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene were tested. The mutation in the USF binding site caused an increase in chloramphenicol acetyltransferse activity. We selected a clone that encodes USF, LvUSF, from a gastrula-stage cDNA library representing Lytechinus variegatus. Transactivation experiments, in which LvUSF RNA or a DNA construct consisting of the LvUSF cDNA clone fused to the Lytechinus pictus metallothionein promoter coinjected with the wild-type or mutated LpS1 promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene construct, showed that chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity from the wild-type construct was repressed, while the construct mutated at the USF binding site was active. The same wild-type and mutated LpS1 promoter DNA fragments ligated to the green fluorescent protein reporter gene were used to examine spatial expression. The reporter gene constructs containing the mutated USF binding site were expressed inappropriately in all cell types including the gut and oral ectoderm in gastrula and larva stage embryos, while the wild-type constructs were expressed primarily in the aboral ectoderm. USF was expressed in all cells of the early embryo and in all tissues except the aboral ectoderm in later embryos. The data are consistent with a model depicting Lytechinus USF, as a temporal and spatial regulator by repressing LpS1 gene transcription in non-aboral ectoderm cells.