Teratoid Wilms' tumor of kidney with neural tissue predominant: Case report with review of literature.

Wilms' tumor is most common pediatric renal tumor. Teratoid Wilms' tumor is a variant of Wilms' tumor, in which heterologous tissue predominates. Most commonly, epithelial and mesenchymal tissue present as heterologous component. Biological behavior of this tumor is very different from usual Wilms' tumor. They do not respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We are presenting another case of teratoid Wilms' tumor in a 4-year female child with a review of literature.

Cellulose contents of some abundant Indian seaweed species.

Crude cellulose as well as alpha- and beta-celluloses were estimated in thirty-four seaweed species of fifteen orders of Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta of Indian waters. The greatest yields of crude cellulose and a-cellulose were obtained from Chaetomorpha aerea (approx. 20.0% and 18.5%, respectively), and of beta-cellulose (approx. 3.1%) from Caulerpa imbricata. The lowest crude cellulose, and alpha-and beta-contents were recorded for the calcareous red alga Liagora indica (approx. 0.90%, 0.70% and 0.10%, respectively). There was little variation in cellulose content among the brown algae, while wide variations in the yields were found in the green and red algae. The present work contributes to the repertoire of 67 Indian seaweed species studied to now for their cellulose contents in our laboratory. The combined studies highlight that Chaetomorpha aerea, Acrosiphonia orientalis, Caulerpa taxifolia, Sargassum tenerrimum, Hydroclathrus clathratus and Gelidiella acerosa possess relatively high (> 10%) cellulose contents, which could be of potential utility.

A multicentre, multinational, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 3 trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemigliptin (LC15-0444) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

AIM: This study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of the dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor gemigliptin (LC15-0444) 50 mg versus placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We conducted a 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial in 182 patients (74 from Korea and 108 from India) with type 2 diabetes. After an initial 2 weeks of a diet and exercise programme followed by 2 weeks of a single-blind placebo run-in period, eligible patients were randomized to gemigliptin 50 mg or placebo, receiving the assigned treatment for 24 weeks. HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured periodically, and oral glucose tolerance test was performed at baseline and weeks 12 and 24. RESULTS: At week 24, gemigliptin treatment led to significant reductions in HbA1c measurements compared to placebo (adjust mean after subtracting the placebo effect size: -0.71%, 95% confidence interval: -1.04 to -0.37%). A significantly greater proportion of patients achieved an HbA1c <7% with gemigliptin than with placebo. The placebo-subtracted FPG change from baseline at week 24 was -19.80 mg/dl. The overall incidence rates for adverse events were similar in the gemigliptin and placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the efficacy and safety of gemigliptin 50 mg administered once daily as a monotherapy for type 2 diabetes patients.

Rhodamine-alginate conjugate as self indicating gel beads for efficient detection and scavenging of Hg2+ and Cr3+ in aqueous media.

Effective extraction of Hg(2+) and Cr(3+) ions from aqueous media by novel rhodamine-alginate polymer-based highly fluorogenic, as well as colorimetric, chemosensor beads.

Microwave-induced facile synthesis of water-soluble fluorogenic alginic acid derivatives.

A facile microwave-induced method was developed for synthesizing water-soluble fluorescent derivatives of alginic acid (ALG) with four different diamines, hydrazine (HY), ethylenediamine (EDA), 1,6-hexanediamine (HDA), and 1,4-cyclohexanediamine (CHDA), followed by a cross-linking reaction with a natural cross linker genipin. The ethylenediamine derivative of alginic acid (ALG-EDA) exhibited good fluorescent activity, which upon cross linking was enhanced threefold. The other amide derivatives, for example, ALG-HY, ALG-HDA, and ALG-CHDA, were not fluorescent, but their respective crosslinked products exhibited excellent fluorescent activity. The fluorescence intensity had an inverse correlation with the number of carbon atoms present in the amine, which in turn was a function of degree of substitution (DS). These fluorescent polysaccharide derivatives are of potential utility in the domain of sensor applications.

Profiling of cellulose content in Indian seaweed species.

Cellulose contents were estimated in 12 seaweed samples belonging to different families e.g. red, brown and green, growing in Indian waters. Each cellulose sample was fractionated to yield alpha (alpha) and beta (beta) celluloses. Characterization was done using various analytical tools and results were validated by comparison with those of the cellulose obtained from Whatman filter paper No. 4. The greatest yields of cellulose (crude), alpha- and beta-cellulose were obtained from Gelidiella acerosa (13.65%), Chamaedoris auriculata (9.0%) and G. acerosa (3.10%). G. acerosa was also found to contain relatively high amount of alpha-cellulose (8.19%). The lowest cellulose contents were recorded from Kappaphycus alvarezii (2.00%) and Sarconema scinaioides (2.1%), while the latter contained the lowest alpha-, and beta-celluloses (1.0% and 0.30%, respectively). It appears that agarophytic and alginophytic algae contain high cellulose and alpha-cellulose contents, while the carrageenophyte contains low cellulose. The brown algae, in general contain high cellulose as well as alpha- and beta-celluloses.