Development of a pulsed radio frequency ignited multicusp-free negative hydrogen ion source.

A multicusp-free external antenna based radio frequency (RF) negative hydrogen (H-) ion source was developed to produce 16 mA of H- ion current at -50 kVDC accelerating voltage operated with a pulse width of 2 ms at 2 Hz repetition rate. A pulsed RF igniter system is devised for generating the initial electron and ion pairs required to generate the main plasma in the pulsed mode. This pulsed RF igniter reliably starts ignition with a hydrogen gas flow rate in the range of 18-50 standard cubic centimeter per minute (SCCM). This system eliminates the need of igniter in continuous operation although it is operated in low power mode. This source operating at a low average power and without any moving parts can be expected to have a superior lifetime. This paper describes the development and operational characteristics of the pulsed RF ignited H- ion source.

Immune response against subclinical haemonchosis in Himalayan hill goats.

Haemonchosis commonly occurs as chronic and subclinical infection in small ruminants, and understanding of immunological response against subclinical haemonchosis is of paramount importance for designing and implementing effective control strategies. The present study was designed to evaluate immunological response during subclinical haemonchosis, experimentally established in goats. Sixteen 5-6 month-old helminth naive kids were randomly allocated into one of two groups, infected and uninfected; the infected group being infected per os with 250 Haemonchus contortus larvae per kg body weight. Faecal, blood and serum samples were collected every third day up to 30 days post-infection (DPI), thereafter weekly up to 58 DPI to record changes in faecal egg count (FEC), haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), peripheral eosinophil percentage and immunological parameters, such as macrophage cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ), Th2 cytokines (IL-4, 13, 25, 33) and immunoglobulins (IgG and IgE). Pre-patent period of H. contortus in the present study was 18 days and eggs per gram (EPG) peaked on 30 DPI. The total reduction in body weight gain in the infected group was 26 g per day when compared with uninfected animals. Hb (7.35 ± 0.34 g/dL in infected animals compared with 9.76 ± 0.67 in control animals) and PCV levels (22 ± 1.54 g/dL in infected animals compared with 29.2 ± 1.27 in control animals) decreased significantly up to 44 DPI in infected group (P = 0.000). IL-4, IL-13, IL-33, IgG and IgE showed significant increase in infected animals at different periods. IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-25 did not show any significant changes barring a steep rise of IFN-γ on 27 DPI. A positive correlation was observed between IgE and IL-4 in subclinical haemonchosis. Of particular note was that all the major cytokines, such as IFN-γ (P = 0.000), IL-4 (P = 0.000), IL-13 (P = 0.009), and both IgG (P = 0.000) and IgE (P = 0.003), were observed at the lowest concentration on 24 DPI. The effect of infection was found to be significant on cytokines with a strong interaction with time. Taken together, the data suggest that Th2 immune response is predominating in subclinical haemonchosis. The economic loss in term of body weight gain due to subclinical haemonchosis was considerable.

Nonlocal effect of plasma resonances on the electron energy-distribution function in microwave plasma columns.

Spatially resolved trace rare gases optical emission spectroscopy was used to analyze the electron energy-distribution function (EEDF) in low-pressure argon plasma columns sustained by surface waves. At frequencies >1 GHz, in the microwave-sustained region, the EEDF departs from a Maxwellian, characterized by a depletion of low-energy electrons and a high-energy tail, whereas in the field-free zone, the EEDF is Maxwellian. Abnormal behavior of the EEDF results from the acceleration of low-energy electrons due to the conversion of surface waves into volume plasmons at the resonance point where the plasma frequency equals the wave frequency and their absorption by either collisional or Landau damping.

Mining the adenovirus virome for oncolytics against multiple solid tumor types.

Although there are 55 serotypes of adenovirus (Ad) that infect humans, Ad serotype 5 (Ad5) is the most widely studied because of the availability of commercial kits for its genetic manipulation. In fact, engineered Ad 5 is currently being used in all of the 87 global clinical trials utilizing Ad for the treatment of cancer. Unfortunately, Ad5 is one of the most seroprevalent serotypes, meaning that this virus has to confront additional immunological barriers to be effective in Ad5-immune patients. In this work, we compare Ad5 to 13 other adenoviral serotypes from species B, C, D and E for oncolytic potential in both immunodeficient mouse and immunocompetent hamster models. Our results indicate that species D Ads are not effective oncolytics against most solid tumors. Conversely, lower seroprevalent Ad6 and Ad11 had anti-cancer activity comparable to Ad5. This work strongly supports the consideration of Ad6-based oncolytic therapies for the treatment of breast, ovarian, kidney and liver tumors.

Treatment of neglected elbow dislocations with combination of speed V-Y muscleplasty and intra-articular injection of hydrocorticosone.

Neglected dislocations of the elbow are not uncommon in developing countries. We report case series of 3 cases of neglected dislocations of elbow. All the three cases were treated by combination of Speeds procedure and intraarticular injection of 25mg of hydrocorticosone acetate in 5 ml of distilled water. Mean time from injury was 5 months and mean follow-up was 10 months. According to Mayo Elbow Performance Index, 2 outcomes were excellent and 1 outcome was good.

Feasibility and patients' acceptance of Home Automated Telemanagement of oral anticoagulation therapy.

We developed the Home Automated Telemanagement (HAT) system for patients on oral anticoagulation therapy. It consists of a home unit, HAT server, and clinician unit. Patients at home use a palmtop or a laptop connected with a prothrombin time (PT) monitor. Each HAT session consists of self-testing, feedback, and educational components. The symptom data and PT/INR from patient homes are automatically sent to the HAT server and analyzed by the system. Patients who were seen in the Anticoagulation Clinic (N=29) were asked to use HAT in a laboratory setting. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used for the evaluation of HAT acceptance. 93% claimed that they would use such a tool at home and would advise other patients to use HAT for self-management and disease-specific education. Twelve patients used HAT at home for eight weeks. Compared to baseline, patients completing the home study showed statistically significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life dimensions of general satisfaction, self-efficacy, daily hassles, and distress. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire demonstrated significant improvement in patient satisfaction with the treatment process. Our results demonstrated high acceptance of the HAT system by patients receiving long term anticoagulation therapy regardless of their previous computer experience or socioeconomic background.

Feasibility of a palmtop-based interactive education to promote patient safety.

Institute of Medicine defines "patient safety" as a set of measures taken by healthcare professionals to prevent adverse outcomes from medical errors. Kohn estimated that medical errors are likely to result in a death of 44,000 to 98,000 people in U.S. hospitals each year, making it almost the fifth leading cause of death. The costs of medical errors, made by healthcare professionals, amount to $29 billions annually. Recent studies showed that current system of medical training and continuous education has limited capability in promoting and sustaining awareness of patient safety and medical error issues. Use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) has been increasingly widespread among clinical students and residents. Despite significant improvement in PDA functionality, current literature does not provide systematic assessment of potential use of hand-held computing for interactive clinician education. To address these issues, we assessed the feasibility of a PDA-based interactive multimedia tool aimed to provide self-paced patient safety education for clinicians.

Spleen preserving distal pancreatectomy for blunt abdominal trauma--a case report.

The case of a 22-year-old male who underwent spleen preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) for pancreatic trauma is briefly reported. SPDP was performed by preserving the splenic vessels to maintain a reliable splenic blood flow post-operatively. Although technically demanding, this procedure can be performed safely and easily in the emergency, and avoids splenectomy-related problems in the post-operative period.

Incomplete pancreas divisum with anomalous choledochopancreatic duct junction with choledochal cyst.

The coexistence of incomplete pancreas divisum, an anomalous choledochopancreatic duct junction, and a choledochal cyst is an extremely rare condition, described in only 3 patients in the available medical literature. The symptoms may be similar to any of these 3 distinct pathological conditions. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is usually required for diagnosis. Management of symptomatic pancreas divisum may be accomplished with open accessory duct sphincteroplasty or endoscopic papillotomy with or without stenting. Treatment of choledochal cyst is by complete excision of the cyst whenever possible, with hepaticodochoenterostomy being the treatment of choice. Here, we describe a patient with this complex disorder who was successfully managed with endoscopic minor duct papillotomy with accessory pancreatic duct stenting and resection of the choledochal cyst with hepaticodochojejunostomy.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of some 5-(2-aminoalkanoyl)-8-aryl-4(5H)-oxo-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-b]-1,4,2, 6-dithiadiazine 6,6-dioxide derivatives.

Title compounds (5) were conveniently prepared from 5-aryl-3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazoles (1) and chloro-sulphonyl isocyanate (CSI) to give 8-aryl-4-(5H)-oxo-1,2,4-triazolo-[4,3-b]-1,4,2,6-dithiadiazine -6,6-dioxide (2). The Compound (2) and one suspension of 2-(benzyloxycarbonylamino) akanoic acid (3) in the presence of BOP reagent afforded Z-derivatives 8-aryl-5-(2-benzyloxycarbamoyl)alkanoyl-4(5H)-oxo- 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-b]-1,4,2,6-dithiadiazine 6,6-dioxide (4). The Z-derivatives (4) gave aspected product (5) when treated with Pd-c 5% and formic acid in DMF. These compounds have been tested in vitro for their fungicidal activity against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxisporum and Cephalosporium saccharii and results were compared with their parent dithidiazines.

Molecular cloning, genomic characterization and expression of novel human alpha1A-adrenoceptor isoforms.

We have isolated and characterized from human prostate novel splice variants of the human alpha1A-adrenoceptor, several of which generate truncated products and one isoform, alpha(1A-4), which has the identical splice site as the three previously described isoforms. Long-PCR on human genomic DNA showed that the alpha(1A-4) exon is located between those encoding the alpha(1A-1) and alpha(1A-3) variants. CHO-K1 cells stably expressing alpha(1A-4) showed ligand binding properties similar to those of the other functional isoforms as well as agonist-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation. Quantitative PCR analyses revealed that alpha(1A-4) is the most abundant isoform expressed in the prostate with high levels also detected in liver and heart.

Utilization of the Yellow Component of a Copper-Vapor Laser for Extending the Tuning Range of a Rhodamine 6G Dye Laser by Use of an Additional Dye in a Novel Coupled Resonator Scheme.

We demonstrate the use of both 510.6- and 578.2-nm components and the extension of the tuning range of a Rhodamine 6G dye laser in a novel coupled resonator scheme. Rhodamine 6G is pumped by 510.6-nm light in one resonator and Sulforhodamine B is pumped by 578.2 nm in the other. The spectral tuning range of 564-609 nm of the Rhodamine 6G laser is extended up to 640 nm. A two-mirror arrangement ensures continuous tuning across the spectral ranges of the two dyes by rotation of a single plane mirror.

Ultrasonographic study of children suspected of hydrocephalus at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.

Eighty Malawian children aged below 15 months who presented with rapidly enlarging head and were suspected of having hydrocephalus were investigated with anterior fontanelle ultrasonography at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre. Of the 68 (85%) who were found to have hydrocephalus, 35 (51.5%) were post infective, 14 (20.6%) were associated with lumbosacral myelomeningocele, 13(19.1%) were post haemorrhagic and the rest probably congenital or idiopathic. The remaining 12 patients with macrocephaly but without hydrocephalus comprised six children with hydranencephaly, five with subdural effusion and one with achondroplasia. Ultrasonography of the head is thus a simple, quick, non-invasive, economical diagnostic tool in the management of macrocephaly and to a limited sense as effective as CT scan. Its increased use in the investigation of infantile hydrocephalus is therefore recommended in developing countries with limited resources and without sophisticated imaging techniques.

Dava, Daktar, and Dua: anthropology of practiced medicine in India.

The paper explicates "practiced medicine" as an operative cross-cultural analytic concept by locating it within previous major developments and directions of study within anthropological studies of medicine in India, and medical anthropology more generally. Practiced medicine in India, for example, allows us to see better how India manages not only multiple traditional and modern medical approaches, languages, therapeutic regimens, and materia medica, but it also leads us to a sustained moral, social and material criticism from within. The study of such diversity leads to a loosely shared, and ethnographically attestable, cultural reasoning, practice and practical ethos across the traditional and modern medical worlds. Also appearing before us are the usually hidden cultural assumptions, negotiations and compromises of diverse Indian medical practitioners, and the strengths and weaknesses of modern medicine under "normal" and "disastrous" situations in contemporary India. As India today grapples with issues of availability, affordability, equity, and distributive justice in medical care, its practiced medicine raises issues of "critical consciousness" for modern (and traditional), state supported medicine.

Synthesis of alpha-factor analogues containing photoactivatable and labeling groups.

Analogues of alpha-factor, Saccharomyces cerevisiae tridecapeptide mating pheromone (H-Trp-His-Trp-Leu-Gln-Leu-Lys-Pro-Gly-Gln-Pro-Met-Tyr-OH), containing both p-benzoyl phenylalanine (Bpa), a photoactivatable group, and 3-(mono- or di-iodo-4-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid (iodinated HPP) or biotin as a tag, were synthesized using solid-phase methodologies on a [phenylacetamido]-methyl (PAM) resin. Bpa was introduced into the peptides using Bpa-hydroxybenzotriazole active ester during peptide chain assembly. Biotinylated alpha-factor analogues were prepared by assembling the desired peptide on the resin, and then reacting a specific amino group either with the symmetrical anhydride of biotin or with biotin using BOP as the activating agent prior to anhydrous hydrogen fluoride cleavage. Iodinated HPP was incorporated by acylating free peptides with Bolton-Hunter reagent (3-[diiodo-4-hydroxyphenyl]propanoic acid hydroxysuccinimide ester) in N,N-dimethylformamide and borate buffer (pH 8.0) solutions. Purification of all peptides to 98% or greater homogeneity was accomplished by high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase mu-Bondapak C18 column with acetonitrile/water/trifluoroacetic acid as the mobile phase. All products were characterized by amino acid analysis and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Two analogues, alpha-(diiodotyrosine)-His-Bpa-Leu-Gln-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-Gln-Pro-Nle-Tyr-O H, and epsilon-(diiodo-HPP)-Lys-His-Bpa-Leu-Gln-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-Gln-Pro-Nle-Tyr -OH, were one twentieth to one-fortieth as active as a alpha-factor, and exhibited approximately one order of magnitude lower affinity to the alpha-factor receptor. The results suggest that these two analogues are alpha-factor agonists and that they can be used as probes of the alpha-factor receptor.

Histidine2 of the alpha-factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is not essential for binding to its receptor or for biological activity.

Seven His2 analogs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Nle12]alpha-factor, WXWLQLKPGQP(Nle)Y, where X = beta-D-thienylalanine, beta-L-thienylalanine, 1-D-methylhistidine, 1-L-methylhistidine, 3-D-methylhistidine, 3-L-methylhistidine, and beta-3-L-pyridylalanine, were synthesized and purified to homogeneity. Assays were carried out on binding to the alpha-factor receptor and of biological activity determined by either growth arrest or morphological changes in target cells. In the L-isomer, replacement of the imidazole of histidine by thiophene or 3-pyridyl groups or derivatization of either nitrogen of the imidazole ring by methylation resulted in a 2-100-fold decrease in bioactivity. D-Isomers of the beta-thienylalanyl-, 1-methylhistidinyl-, or 3-methylhistidinyl-alpha-factors did not possess measurable bioactivity with the exception of comparatively low activity of the 3-D-methylhistidinyl and 1-D-methylhistidinyl-alpha-factors in the morphogenesis assay. In contrast, both active and inactive analogs demonstrated binding affinities 10-20-fold less than that of [Nle12]alpha-factor. These results indicate that the histidine residue of alpha-factor is not required for binding to the receptor or for biological activity and that bioactivity and binding can be dissociated through the use of pheromone analogs.

Some pharmacological studies on a flavone glycoiside of nyctanthes arbortristis (harsinghar).

A flavones glycoside isolated from the bark of ayurvedic plant, Nyctanthes arbortristis was subjected to various pharmacological studies. The glycoside was found to be effective on, cardiovascular system and smooth muscles of intestine but no significant effect was found on CNS. The glycoside exhibited promising anti-inflammatory activity.