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Background and Objectives: Rate of blood transfusion is considerably low in transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). We follow type and crossmatch (TC) policy in TURP. The objective was to assess the suitability of TC policy along with the impact of preoperative (preop) prostate weight and hemoglobin (Hb) on the pattern of blood ordering (whether demand for TC was sent or not). Methods: Retrospective analysis of TURP patients was done from 2014 to 2017. Patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of whether the demand for TC was sent or not. The age, preop prostate weight and preop Hb of patients where demand for TC sent was compared with patients where TC demand was not sent. Crossmatch to transfusion ratio (Crossmatch to transfusion ratio C/T ratio), Transfusion probability (%T) and Transfusion index (TI) were calculated. Results: Among the total 92 TURP patients, 42.4% (39/92) had TC samples sent preoperatively. Only three patients (3.2%, 3/92) required transfusion intraoperatively. CT ratio was 23.6, %T was 7.6% and TI was 0.07. Preop prostate weight and Hb were significantly higher and lower, respectively, for the group where request for TC was sent. Transfusion probability was also higher for this group. Conclusion: The blood utilization indices show the inadequate utilization of blood and that TC policy is unnecessary. Type and screen policy can be used for patients with large prostate and/or low Hb while type and hold would be appropriate for rest of the patients. Change in pretransfusion policy would reduce workforce and reagent wastage along with efficient inventory management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: To study the prevalence of rheumatic musculoskeletal symptoms in rural and urban areas of Lucknow. Method: The survey was carried out in a cluster of rural (n = 5118) and urban (n = 5053) communities of Lucknow through a door‐to‐door survey. Demographic data were collected and subjects with musculoskeletal pain (MSK pain) were identified. A Hindi adapted version of the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases questionnaire was used. Trained community volunteers completed the questionnaire. Results: Present and past MSK pain was the most common self‐reported problem in urban areas (34.1%), while it was the third most common self‐reported problem in rural areas (15.1%), after abdominal pain and cough. Females (214.9 and 419.5 per 1000) were more affected than males (118.8 and 265.2 per 1000) in rural and urban areas, respectively. Point prevalence of MSK pain (pain in last week) was higher in urban areas (28.2%) compared to rural areas (14.1%). In rural as well as urban areas, knee (rural: 49.3%, urban: 50.6%) and spine (rural: 56%, urban: 43.6%) were highly reported pain sites. Fatigue ([n] rural: 328, urban: 368) weakness ([n] rural: 310, urban: 324) and anorexia ([n] rural: 84, urban: 142) were most common systemic symptoms reported by urban as well as rural people. Urethritis/balanitis and ulcers in the mouth were the most common other symptoms reported by people in both the areas. Conclusion: MSK pain is a predominant health problem of both rural and urban areas. Sex‐adjusted prevalence is higher among females than males. Knee and back were highly prevalent pain sites in both rural and urban areas of Lucknow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter coefficient and depolarization ratio, obtained from the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, were studied in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region over North India (21–30° N and 72–90° E), covering the highly polluted Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) for one-year period from December 2011 to November 2012. An enhanced aerosol layer was observed between 15 and 18 km altitude, in the vicinity of tropopause, with a broad layer depth of about 2 km. The aerosol layer showed strong seasonal, monthly as well as day and night time variability, with a peak value of backscatter coefficient during monsoon season (∼5.54 × 10 −3 sr −1 in September). The corresponding depolarization ratio indicates anisotropic (non-spherical) nature of particles. The aerosol layer was found to be highly linked with the variability in tropopause height, showing a positive correlation between tropopause height and the height of maximum backscatter coefficient (correlation coefficient of 0.8). However, it was found to be negatively correlated with the integrated backscatter coefficient (IBC), with a correlation coefficient of 0.3. We further analyzed outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) data during the study period to investigate the link between the observed enhanced aerosol layer in the UTLS region and prevailing deep convective activities over the study region. Low values of OLR during monsoon (about 214 W m −2 ) indicate the occurrence of deep convection over this region, which may cause a large-scale circulation-driven vertical transport of boundary-layer pollution into the atmosphere of UTLS region. Results may have potential implications for better understanding and assessing the chemical and radiative impacts of these aerosols in the tropical UTLS region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil leaves of Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) are described from the Siwalik deposits (middle Miocene) of Kathgodam, Uttarakhand, India. The fossil records of the Lythraceae indicate its worldwide distribution in the Cenozoic. The family had its widest distribution during the Miocene but became less widespread during the Pliocene, followed by range expansion during the Quaternary. The present leaf fossil, along with the previous fossil records of Lagerstroemia, indicates that the genus followed the same pattern of expansion and retraction as the entire family Lythraceae suggesting that both the genus and the family adapted in similar ways. The fossil plant assemblage from the Lower Siwalik deposits indicates warm and humid climate with plenty of rainfall in the region during the depositional period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To measure maternal serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin during 13-24 weeks of pregnancy and compare the same between those who develop pregnancy induced hypertension with those who do not. In a prospective study βhCG levels were estimated in 75 antenatal women in the second trimester (12-24 weeks) by ELISA technique. Results were noted in terms of development of preeclampsia, mean serum levels of the marker, mode of delivery and complications. During the course of study, a total of 8 (10.7%) patients developed hypertension. Thus incidence of pregnancy induced hypertension was 10.7%. A significant rise of mean serum βhCG level (32022MIU/ml, mean)was present in those who developed preeclampsia. The marker can prove an important role in early recognition of a pregnancy related complication and provides the obstetrician ample opportunity to guide the management during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was carried out to study gut content and accompanying digestive enzyme profiles of the three carp species, golden mahseer Tor putitora, snow trout Schizothorax richardsonii and hill trout Barilius barila. The fishes were captured from the River Ladhiya, Champawat district, Uttarakhand, northern India. The digestive tract length was on average 1.8 and 2.3 times longer than the body, while members of Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Zygnematophyceae made up 95.15% and 99.63% of gut content in the golden mahseer and snow trout, respectively. In hill trout, the digestive tract being only half the body length, gut content was insects (72.73%), eggs of aquatic organisms (22.73%) and nematodes (4.55%). Estimated gut enzyme activities demonstrated that amylase activity was significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in golden mahseer and snow trout compared to hill trout, while total protease, trypsin and chymotrypsin activities were all significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in the hill trout compared to other species. A strong co-relation was found among relative gut length, food composition and digestive enzyme activities of each species. This may guide the future formulation of feed to these important species of carps kept in farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The present study aimed to evaluate association of genetic variants on drug response and therapy optimization parameters in patients treated with first-line antiepileptic drugs ( AEDs). Genetic variants from ion channels, their functionally related genes, and synaptic vesicle cycle ( SVC) genes with a potential role in epilepsy pathophysiology were thus prioritized. Methods A total of 12 genes from ion channels and related gene set and seven genes from SVC comprising 155 SNPs were genotyped and evaluated with drug response, dose levels, and drug levels in 408 patients with epilepsy. Results Both GABRA1 and SCN1A variants showed haplotypic and diplotypic associations in response to phenytoin ( PHT). Diplotype analysis of GABRA1 variants revealed association of rs12658835|rs7735530 ( AG/ AG) ( P-valuecorrected = 0.034, OR = 3.75, 95% CI = 1.36-11.05) and rs12658835|rs7735530|rs7732641|rs2279020 ( AGCA/ AGCA) ( P-valuecorrected = 0.035, OR = 2.48, 95% CI = 0.96-6.41) with recurrent seizures. SCN1A haplotype rs6432860|rs3812718 ( AC: P-valuecorrected = 0.022, OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.39-5.35) and diplotype ( AC/ AC: P-valuecorrected = 0.034, OR = 6.42, 95% CI = 1.10-65.76) were further observed to be associated with recurrent seizures. With respect to therapy optimization parameters, we observed significantly lower dose-adjusted drug levels at maximum dose of PHT in patients carrying AC/ AC diplotype ( P-value = 0.021). Conclusion The results further substantiate the role of GABRA1 in PHT mode of action and contribution of SCN1A in response and therapy optimization with PHT monotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous vancomycin intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) strains are increasingly reported, and their association with vancomycin treatment failure is a well-known problem worldwide. A total of 500 clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus were screened for hVISA by four different methods from May 2011 to May 2014. The number of strains screened for hVISA from May to April in 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014 were 198, 123, and 179, respectively. hVISA strains were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for cell wall thickness and also for their ability to form biofilm on a polystyrene microtiter plate. hVISA strains detected by four different methods-brain heart infusion agar with vancomycin with 4 mg/L/gradient plate/macro E-test/and glycopeptide resistance detection (GRD) E test-were as follows: 11.6%/10%/9%, and 9.5% in 2011-2012, 12.1%/9.7%/8.9%, and 10.5% in 2012-2013, and 13.9%/11.7%/11.1%, and 12.8% in 2013-2014, respectively. Population analysis profile-area under curve analysis confirmed hVISA in 4.5% (9/198), 6.5% (8/123), and 6.7% (12/179) in respective years; 24% (7/29) of hVISA isolates were nonsusceptible to daptomycin. TEM showed a significant increase in cell wall thickness of hVISA isolates ( p<0.001) with a distinct reduction in their biofilm formation ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with lifetime prevalence of ~ 1% worldwide. A genotyping study was conducted using a custom panel of Illumina 1536 SNPs in 840 schizophrenia cases and 876 controls (351 patients and 385 controls from North India; and 436 patients, 401 controls and 143 familial samples with 53 probands containing 37 complete and 16 incomplete trios from South India). Meta-analysis of this population of Indo-European and Dravidian ancestry identified three strongly associated variants with schizophrenia: STT3A (rs548181, p = 1.47 × 10 − 5 ), NRG1 (rs17603876, p = 8.66 × 10 − 5 ) and GRM7 (rs3864075, p = 4.06 × 10 − 3 ). Finally, a meta-analysis was conducted comparing our data with data from the Schizophrenia Psychiatric Genome-Wide Association Study Consortium (PGC-SCZ) that supported rs548181 ( p = 1.39 × 10 − 7 ). In addition, combined analysis of sporadic case–control association and a transmission disequilibrium test in familial samples from South Indian population identified three associations: rs1062613 ( p = 3.12 × 10 − 3 ), a functional promoter variant of HTR3A ; rs6710782 ( p = 3.50 × 10 − 3 ), an intronic variant of ERBB4 ; and rs891903 ( p = 1.05 × 10 − 2 ), an intronic variant of EBF1 . The results support the risk variants observed in the earlier published work and suggest a potential role of neurodevelopmental genes in the schizophrenia pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objective: Transthyretin (TTR) has been associated with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) by several independent case reports. Coexistence of TTR and SCA mutations, overlapping clinical symptoms as well as altered levels of TTR in SCA patients suggest a correlation between TTR and SCA. To our knowledge, no large cohort based study has been attempted to examine the association of SCA with polymorphism in TTR gene. Here, we chose to investigate TTR variations in SCA patients (n=266) and controls (n=192) of North Indian ethnicity. Methods: We sequenced the exons including exon-intron boundaries of TTR gene in 55 patients and 55 controls. We observed four variations which were further genotyped by single base extension method (SNaPshot) in a larger cohort (SCA patients n=211 and controls n=137). Results: A novel synonymous variation c.372 C>G in exon 4 was detected in heterozygous condition in one control sample. We found nominal association for rs1800458 (Gly6Ser), with SCA (p-value < 0.05) which did not remain after Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis revealed no LD between studied SNPs. Further, we employed two-marker sliding window analysis and observed a weak association of haplotype AT of rs1800458 and rs1667251 with SCA patients (p-value <0.05) which was not retained after Bonferroni correction. Conclusion: Our data suggests no association of genetic variations of TTR in SCA pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]