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Background: Dyslipidemia a common pathology in metabolic syndrome results due to various factors. Although statins are proven for its beneficial role in the management of hyperlipidemia, plant-based foods and their ingredients are still a cornerstone of health care and medical prescriptions. Legumes are important constituents of a balanced diet. They are rich in fiber and provide health benefits and are used to treat disease related pathologies. Purpose: The present study intended to identify the influence of two legumes, horsegram and groundnut individually and with atorvastatin in high fat diet induced hyperlipidemic rats and trace if there is any adverse effect due to food drug interactions. Methods: Hyperlipidemia in Sprague Dawley rats were induced by feeding high fat diet for 12 weeks. Subsequently, supplementation of horsegram and groundnut with and without atorvastatin was given for 4 weeks. The physiological indicators (body weight, feed intake, fat index), biochemical parameters (cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, urea and creatinine) including markers of oxidative stress (catalase, GST, SOD, TBARS and GSH), mRNA expression markers of lipid metabolism and inflammation markers (SREBP-1, ACC, FABP, HMG-CoAR, NF-kB and IL-6) and the protein expression of HO-1 and NF-kB followed by histopathological analysis of the heart, liver and kidney tissues were checked to study the influence of the legumes with and without atrovastatin. Results: Results showed that administration of the legumes individually and their combination with atorvastatin significantly reduced the body weight, feed intake, fat index, biochemical metabolites and enzymatic markers in comparison to the HFD group. In addition, it also decreased the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels. Likewise, the legumes individually as well as in combination with atorvastatin significantly decreased the protein expression of HO-1 and NF-kB. Further, histopathological analysis confirmed the influence of the legumes and its combination to overcome hyperlipidemia as evidenced by the pathological changes in the treated rats. Conclusion: The results of the present work confirm that the legumes individually as well as its combination with atorvastatin are helpful to manage hyperlipidemia. On comparison, horsegram with atorvastatin possess a better therapeutic efficacy when compared to groundnut with atorvastatin and there is no evidence of food drug interactions.

This article, published in the National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy & Pharmacology, examines the pain-relieving properties of the antibiotic minocycline in Swiss albino mice. The study compares the effects of minocycline with the commonly used analgesic tramadol. The results indicate that minocycline, at doses of 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, has a significant pain-relieving effect in the mice. However, the pain relief provided by minocycline is not as strong as that of tramadol. The study suggests that minocycline may have potential as an analgesic, but further research is necessary. [Extracted from the article]

The titled molecular salt dimethyl ammonium 5-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-1,3-dimethyl barbiturate has been prepared from the ethanolic solution of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid and dimethyl amine. FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and single crystal diffraction results support the proposed structure of the compound. The crystal structure of the titled complex [monoclinic, space group p21/n, a=11.5729 (15)Å, b=8.6857(11) Å, c=16.701(2) Å, Z=4] are analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In this crystal, intermolecular N-H...O and C-H...O hydrogen bonds forming a three dimensional network and small red spot in Hirshfeld surfaces indicates the presence of C-H...π interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompt diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is requisite due to the upsurge of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases globally. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) remains as the gold standard for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 due to its higher sensitivity and specificity. Regardless, due to its longer turnaround time and expertise, bed side testing rapid antigen based tests were developed in order for portable, rapid diagnosis of the disease. The present study delineates the utility of Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) screening among symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in a tertiary care hospital. This is a retrospective data collection study from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) portal by exporting the excel sheet from March 2021 to March 2022 who undergone COVID testing in a tertiary care diagnostics facility. The demographic and vaccination details of the individuals were extracted using ICMR Sample referral form (SRF) from all patients who are tested for RAT. Of the total 9898 patients tested for RAT, 392 and 9506 were vaccinated and unvaccinated, respectively. Among them, number of positives was 3% and 15% respectively. The odds ratio showed that the vaccinated individuals had 81.4% reduced risk of getting infection compared to unvaccinated individuals (OR-0.186; p=0.001). A significant difference was observed between the type of vaccine used and COVID infection, majority of them had taken Covishield (83.5%) followed by Covaxin (16%) [p=0.0005]. Males showed a marginally significant p trend with COVID infectivity (OR=1.114, p=0.073) too. RAT is useful as a screening test for rapid diagnosis of infection in patients who are more prone to spread the disease. As RAT is cost effective and had short-turnaround time, it can be recommended in areas with upsurge in SARS-CoV-2 cases to administer isolation and infection control measures.

Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi from the typhus fever group. Transmitted by chiggers (mite larvae) Leptobrombidium deliensis in India, when humans trespass mite islands, vectors are constantly fed with the bacilli by reservoirs (rodents and birds). It can also be transmitted transovarially and kept in a constant vicious cycle. The disease is often overlooked due to the non-specific clinical manifestations and lack of specific diagnostic facilities making it a challenge diagnostically and therapeutically. Disease manifestations range from fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, eschar to severe pneumonia and neuropsychiatric complications causing morbidity and mortality. Here we describe a case of a ten-year-old child with bilateral abducens nerve palsy caused by scrub meningoencephalitis, which completely resolved in eight weeks with doxycycline therapy.

Abstract Infections by multidrug resistant bacteria (MDR) are becoming increasingly difficult to treat and alternative approaches like phage therapy, which is unhindered by drug resistance, are urgently needed to tackle MDR bacterial infections. During phage therapy phage cocktails targeting different receptors are likely to be more effective than monophages. In the present study, phages targeting carbapenem resistant clinical isolate of E. coli U1007 was isolated from Ganges River (U1G), Cooum River (CR) and Hospital waste water (M). Capsid architecture discerned using TEM identified the phage families as Podoviridae for U1G, Myoviridae for CR and Siphoviridae for M phage. Genome sequencing showed the phage genomes varied in size U1G (73,275 bp) CR (45,236 bp) and M (45,294 bp). All three genomes lacked genes encoding tRNA sequence, antibiotic resistant or virulent genes. A machine learning (ML) based multi-class classification model using Random Forest, Logistic Regression, and Decision Tree were employed to predict the host receptor targeted by receptor binding protein of all 3 phages and the best performing algorithm Random Forest predicted LPS O antigen, LamB or OmpC for U1G; FhuA, OmpC for CR phage; and FhuA, LamB, TonB or OmpF for the M phage. OmpC was validated as receptor for U1G by physiological experiments. In vivo intramuscular infection study in zebrafish showed that cocktail of dual phages (U1G + M) along with colsitin resulted in a significant 3.5 log decline in cell counts. Our study highlights the potential of ML tool to predict host receptor and proves the utility of phage cocktail to restrict E. coli U1007 in vivo.

Background: Falling on stairs is a major health hazard for older people. Risk factors for stair falls have been identified, but these are mostly examined in controlled biomechanics/gait laboratory environments, on experimental stairs with a given set of step dimensions. It remains unknown whether the conclusions drawn from these controlled environments would apply to the negotiation of other domestic staircases with different dimensions in real houses where people live. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to investigate whether selected biomechanical stepping behavior determined through stair gait parameters such as foot clearance, foot contact length and cadence are maintained when the staircase dimensions are different in real houses. Methods: Twenty-five older adults (>65 years) walked on a custom-made seven-step laboratory staircase. Older adults were classified into two groups (fallers and non-fallers) based on recent fall history. Among the 25 participants, 13 people had at least one fall, trip, or slip in the last six months and they were assigned to the fallers group; 12 people did not experience any fall in the last six months, so they were assigned to the non-fallers group. In addition, these participants walked on the stairs in three different real exemplar houses wearing a novel instrumented shoe sensor system that could measure the above stair gait parameters. MATLAB was used to extract fall risk parameters from the collected data. One-way ANOVA was used to compare fall risk parameters on the different staircases. In addition, the laboratory-based fall risk parameters were compared to those derived from the real house stairs. Results: There was a significant difference in selected stair-fall biomechanical risk factors among the house and laboratory staircases. The fall risk group comparisons suggest that high-risk fallers implemented a biomechanically riskier strategy that could increase overall falling risk. Conclusions: The significant differences due to the main effects of the fallers and non-fallers groups were obtained. For example, when ascending, the fallers group had less foot clearance on the entry (p = 0.016) and middle steps (p = 0.003); in addition, they had more foot clearance variability on the entry steps (p = 0.003). This suggests that the fallers group in this present study did not adopt more conservative stepping strategies during stair ascent compared to low-risk older adults. By showing less foot clearance and more variability in foot clearance, the risk for a trip would be increased.

Trips and slips are significant causal perturbations leading to falls on stairs, especially in older people. The risk of a trip caused by a toe or heel catch on the step edge increases when clearance is small and variable between steps. The risk of a slip increases if the proportion of the foot area in contact with the step is reduced and variable between steps. To assess fall risk, these measurements are typically taken in a gait lab using motion-capture optoelectronic systems. The aim of this work was to develop a novel smart shoe equipped with sensors to measure foot placement and foot clearance on stairs in real homes. To validate the smart shoe as a tool for estimating stair fall risk, twenty-five older adults’ sensor-based measurements were compared against foot placement and clearance measurements taken in an experimental staircase in the lab using correlations and Bland–Altman agreement techniques. The results showed that there was a good agreement and a strong positive linear correlation for foot placement (r = 0.878, p < 0.000) and foot clearance (r = 0.967, p < 0.000) between sensor and motion analysis, offering promise for advancing the current prototype into a measurement tool for fall risk in real-life staircases.

Background and Aims: The stress response to pneumoperitoneum can be deleterious due to its effects on haemodynamics, thereby increasing the morbidity. We intended to compare different doses of nitroglycerine nasal spray to obtund these responses and to look for any side effects. Methods: After ethical committee clearance and clinical trials registration, 70 patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were recruited. Random allocation was done into two groups by a computer generated randomisation table. Group N4 (n = 35) received 400 μg nitroglycerine and group N8 (n = 35) received 800 μg nitroglycerine with an intranasal spray 2 min prior to pneumoperitoneum. All the haemodynamic parameters were monitored at regular intervals. Results: The heart rate was comparable between the groups except at 6 and 10 min of pneumoperitoneum but showed significant increase from baseline within the groups. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was statistically significant between the groups, being higher in group N4. Within group N4, MAP was significantly low only at 2 min, 4 min of pneumoperitoneum (101.69 ± 12.34 at baseline versus 93.31 ± 8.07 at 2 min and 97.54 ± 9.07 mm Hg at 4 min) and increased significantly at 30 min of pneumoperitoneum (101.69 ± 12.34 at baseline versus 105.66 ± 12.35 mm Hg) and hence, MAP was observed to be around baseline throughout the rest of intraoperative period. Within group N8, there was a significant decrease in mean, systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline at most of the time intervals. Conclusion: 800 μg of intranasal nitroglycerine effectively obtunds the hypertensive response associated with pneumoperitoneum as compared to 400 μg without significant side effects.

Marcus Gunn Jaw Winking Ptosis is a congenital ptosis associated with synkinetic movements of upper lid on masticating movements of the jaw. It is usually unilateral but rarely presents bilaterally. In this study, ten cases of unilateral ptosis since birth with moderate to severe degree movement of lids along movement of jaws (MGJW-Marcus Gunn Jaw Winking) presenting to Oculoplasty department were evaluated and managed according to the degree of jaw winking phenomenon and their outcomes were observed. The amount of jaw winking is the excursion of the upper lid in mm with the opening of the mouth. Ocular associations include strabismus (50-60%), anisometropia (5-25%) and amblyopia (30-60%). The cause for underlying amblyopia could be secondary to strabismus, anisometropia, or occlusion by the ptotic lid. It is graded into mild (maximum 2 mm), moderate (2 mm-5 mm) and severe (higher than 5 mm). Persistence of minimal jaw-winking phenomenon post-operatively after levator detachment. Frontalis sling is the most common procedure used to correct the ptosis following the obliteration of levator action. MGJWS mostly presented as moderate to severe jaw winking synkinesis of upper eyelid and accompanied by moderate to severe blepharoptosis. Eyelid excursion of jaw winking has direct correlation with ptosis and levator dysfunction. Unilateral levator aponeurosis excision with frontalis suspension is an effective surgical approach in the management of unilateral MGJWS, which achieved both satisfactory symmetrical outcome and resolution of jaw winking with eye movement.

Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of this study was to assess the visual prognosis in open globe injury patients using the “Ocular Trauma Score (OTS).” Methodology: A prospective study of 100 patients with open globe injury attending a tertiary referral eye care center, Chennai, was carried out for a period of 12 months from February 1, 2018, to February 1, 2019. Results: The mean age of presentation was 40 years. Males (75%) were more commonly injured compared to females (11%). The right eye (65%) was more commonly injured than the left eye (35%). Out of the 100 patients, 96 patients underwent surgical management and 4 patients were managed conservatively. Out of the 96 patients, 26% had globe ruptures, 11% had relative afferent pupillary defect, 10% had perforating injuries, 8% had retinal detachment, and 4% had endophthalmitis. OTS was 1 in 9% of patients, 2 in 30%, 3 in 35% patients, 4 in 15% patients, and 5 in 11% patients, indicating that most of the patients had poor visual acuity at the time of presentation with an OTS value of 1–3. At the end of 6 weeks, 18% of the patients had a vision of no perception of light, 21% had a vision of percentage of light/hand movements, 25% had 1/200–19/200, 18% had 20/200–20/50, and 18% had >20/40. Majority of the patients had a visual acuity between 1/200 and 19/200. The results were analyzed with the OTS value chart. Conclusion: OTS is a comprehensive score to predict final visual outcome in patients with open globe injury, which can be widely used for counseling ocular trauma victims. OTS calculated at the initial evaluation has predictive value in patients with open globe injury.

Intraocular lens (IOL) opacification can be one of the rare differential diagnoses for delayed decrease in postoperative vision in patients undergoing cataract surgery. A 73-year-old female presented with the complaints of diminished vision in her operated eye 4 years after a surgery for her cataract. After meticulous evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with opacification of IOL, and appropriate IOL exchange was done. The patient regained vision to 6/12. Hence, it is crucial to keep this cause of postoperative decrease in vision and manage accordingly to restore useful vision.