An Observational Study to Analyse the Association of the ABO and Rh Blood Group Systems With Bronchial Asthma.

Background ABO blood group types are hereditary factors that have been shown to affect the blood levels of many antigens and proteins. Some blood groups have surprisingly been shown to be associated with some specific diseases, probably due to yet unexplained altering effects on the immune system or on the levels of other system-specific proteins. Studies conducted previously attempting to relate bronchial asthma and blood groups have had variable results and such studies on a large scale have not been ventured in India. Hence, the significance of the current study, which aims to search for an increased occurrence of bronchial asthma in any one of the ABO blood group phenotypes and additionally in Rh blood groups. Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the possible association of the ABO and Rh blood group types with bronchial asthma.  Methods This is an observational study with 475 bronchial asthma patients, and 2052 non-asthmatic individuals belonging to the same geographical zone. After obtaining informed consent, ABO and Rh Blood group testing was done on the study subjects using the hemagglutination method. Chi-squared tests were employed for the comparison of proportions. Statistical significance was agreed upon for an error of 5%. Results The O blood group was predominant in both cases (46.9 %) and controls (36.1%). A chi-square analysis revealed a statistically significant higher percentage of O blood group in patients (χ2: 24.537; degrees of freedom (DF): 3; p-value = <0.01). The cases had more Rh -ve individuals (12%) than controls (8%), which too was statistically significant (χ2: 6.711; degrees of freedom (DF): 1; p-value = 0.01). Conclusion The present study shows a positive association between the O blood group and the Rh-negative blood group with bronchial asthma.

Rapid and Scalable Wire-bar Strategy for Coating of TiO2 Thin-films: Effect of Post-Annealing Temperatures on Structures and Catalytic Dye-Degradation.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were rapidly coated on Corning glass substrates from the precursor solution using the wire-bar technique at the room temperature and then post-annealed at 400, 500 and 600 °C for 1 h under atmospheric conditions. The structural, morphological, optical, wettability and photocatalytic properties of the films were studied. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of an anatase TiO2 structure irrespective of the post-annealing temperatures. The optical transparency of the films in the visible range was measured to be > 70%. A water contact angle (WCA) of ~0° was observed for TiO2 thin-film, post-annealed at 400 °C and 500 °C. However, WCA of 40.3° was observed for post-annealed at 600 °C. The photocatalytic dye-degradation using post-annealed thin-film was investigated indicating a steady improvement in the dye-degradation percentage (from 24.3 to 29.4%) with the increase of post-annealing temperature. The demonstrated TiO2 thin-films deposited by wire-bar coating technique showed promises for the manufacturing of large-area cost-effective self-cleaning window glass.

Effect of nanohypericum (Hypericum perforatum gold nanoparticles) treatment on restraint stressinduced behavioral and biochemical alteration in male albino mice.

BACKGORUND: Hypericum perforatum extract (HPE), is known for its antidepressant effect. METHODS: In the present study we investigated the effect of H. perforatum gold nanoparticles (Nanohypericum-HPGNPs) protective role against restraint stress-induced behavioral and biochemical alterations in mice. Animals were immobilized for a period of 6 hrs/day. HPE (200 mg/kg) and nanohypericum (20 mg/kg) were administered 30 minutes before the animals were subjected to acute immobilized stress. Behavioral test parameters for anxiety and spatial memory were assessed followed by biochemical parmeters (lipid peroxidation, super oxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, reduced glutathione, etc.) subsequently. RESULTS: The behavior study showed severe anxiety and memory loss compared to unstressed animals. Biochemical analyses revealed an increase in lipid per oxidation, depletion of super oxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, catalase activity and glutathione per oxidase as compared to unstressed animal. Twenty one days of H. perforatum and nanohypericum treatment in a dose of 200 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg, respectively, significantly attenuated restraint stress-induced behavioral and oxidative damage. CONCLUSION: In conclusion nanohypericum prove the modest activity than the HPE.