Urban tropical forest islets as hotspots of ants in general and invasive ants in particular.

Urbanization is a crucial driver of environmental and biodiversity change. It is suggested that urbanization favours generalist and invasive species and might harm specialists of natural and semi-natural habitats. In this study, we examined how an urbanization gradient and environmental gradients in the habitat area, habitat diversity, elevation, and proportion of built-up area influenced the abundance and richness of ants within tropical forest islet habitat in south India.

Cloud-Based IoE Enabled an Urban Flooding Surveillance System.

A flood is defined as a surplus of water or sludge on parched soil, and a flood has originated through the runoff of water inside the water route from the various water sources like canals, etc. Intense rainfall, deforestation, urbanization, deprived water and sewerage administration, and lack of concentration toward the environment of the hydrological scheme have been the causes of urban flooding. In addition, there is a deficiency in flood assessment due to the impediment in getting data on floods to the control room from the flood-affected area.

Spatiotemporal effects on dung beetle activities in island forests-home garden matrix in a tropical village landscape.

Insects in seasonal tropics experience a wide range of temperatures along seasons, habitats, and a day. Therefore, the thermal tolerance of the insects can be a major driver for their habitat preference, temporal patterns of activity, and formation of communities. We examined the dung beetle communities of eleven pairs of neighboring open (home gardens) and closed habitats (sacred groves) during dry and wet seasons and diel periods (day and night) to understand the dung beetle activities along a spatiotemporal gradient constituted by the sacred groves-home garden matrix on a tropical village landscape.

High-Fat Diet Elevates Liver Docosahexaenoic Acid Possibly through Over-Expression of Very Long-Chain Fatty Acid Elongase 2 in C57BL/6J Mice.

The liver is the main site of lipid metabolism and vitamin A storage. Dietary factors are known to affect liver function, thereby leading to metabolic abnormalities. Here, we assessed the impact of long-term feeding of a high-fat diet on hepatic vitamin A status and lipid metabolism.

Yoga Offers Cardiovascular Protection in Early Postmenopausal Women.

Context: Postmenopause, an estrogen deficient state comes with increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). has been described as having a beneficial effect on heart rate variability (HRV), a marker for cardiac autonomic activity which can assess cardiovascular risk, in various populations.

Aim: the aim of the study was to study the effect of 3-month long practice on HRV in early postmenopausal women.

Diagnostic Dilemma in Appendiceal Mucormycosis: A Rare Case Report.

Appendiceal mucormycosis is a rare life-threatening infection seen in immunocompromised patients. It is usually seen in chemotherapy induced neutropenia in patients with hematological malignancies. Clinically, the symptoms and signs may be masked due to ongoing corticosteroids.

Male mice are susceptible to high fat diet-induced hyperglycaemia and display increased circulatory retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels and its expression in visceral adipose depots.

Vitamin A and its metabolites are known to modulate adipose tissue development and its associated complications. Here, we assessed the vitamin A status and its metabolic pathway gene expression in relation to sexual dimorphism by employing 35 days old C57BL/6J male and female mice, which were fed either stock or high fat (HF) diet for 26 weeks. HF diet feeding increased body weight/weight gain and white adipose tissue (WAT) of visceral and subcutaneous regions, however, increase in vitamin A levels observed only in subcutaneous WAT.

In silico analysis of expression pattern of a Wnt/β-catenin responsive gene ANLN in gastric cancer.

Actin-binding protein anillin (ANLN) is primarily involved in the cytokinesis and known to be dysregulated in many cancers including gastric cancer (GC). However, the regulation and clinical significance of ANLN in GC are far less clear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the clinical significance and possible regulators of ANLN in GC.

Progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma with nephrotic syndrome: Coincidence or new association?

Progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma (PSEK) is a rare genodermatosis with variable inheritance. It is characterized by symmetrical, erythematous, and hyperkeratotic plaques on the extremities. We report a case of a 15-year-old boy with PSEK of autosomal recessive inheritance associated with nephrotic syndrome.

In silico analysis and validation of the proliferative potential of CLDN1 expression in gastric cancer.

Tight junction protein claudin-1 (CLDN1) is mainly involved in the intercellular barrier function of epithelial cells and is known to be dysregulated in many cancer types, including gastrointestinal cancers. However, the mechanisms behind their potential involvement in the proliferation and survival of tumor cells remain unexplored. In this study we sought to investigate the potential role and possible regulators of CLDN1 in gastric cancer.

Congenital atrichia associated with situs inversus and mesocardia.

Congenital alopecia includes a broad differential diagnosis and presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the physician. Congenital atrichia is a rare form of irreversible alopecia that is usually inherited as an autosomal recessive pattern. We report a 2-year-old male child presenting with total alopecia of scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, and body hair since birth.

Pattern of pediatric dermatoses at a referral centre.

Objective: To determine the pattern of skin disorders seen among children attending a Medical College Hospital, Bangalore

Methods: All children 18 y and below attending the Pediatric Dermatology OPD with skin diseases between the period of January 2011 and June 2011 were included in the study.

Results: A total of 1,090 new cases (boys 589; girls 501) with 1,118 dermatoses were recorded during this period. Twenty eight children had more than one dermatoses.

Benign nodular tertiary syphilis: a rare presenting manifestation of HIV infection.

Late cutaneous syphilis has become a rarity as a result of the effective treatment of early and latent syphilis with antibiotics. We report a heterosexual male who presented with multiple large annular plaques of two years duration. Skin biopsy revealed endarteritis and non-caseating granulomas in the dermis along with plasma cells.

Combined effect of selenium and ascorbic acid on alcohol induced hyperlipidemia in male guinea pigs.

Alcoholics usually suffer from malnutrition and are especially deficient in micronutrients like vitamin C, selenium and Zn. In the present study, combined effects of selenium and ascorbic acid on alcohol-induced hyperlipidemia were studied in guinea pigs. Four groups of male guinea pigs were maintained for 45 days as follows: control (1 mg ascorbate (AA)/100 g body mass/day), ethanol (900 mg ethanol/100 g body mass + 1 mg AA/100 g body mass/day), selenium+ascorbic acid [(25 mg AA + 0.

Biliary and serum immunoglobulin alterations in patients of cholelithiasis.

IgG, IgA and IgM were estimated in serum, common bile duct bile and gall bladder bile by single radial immunodiffusion technique in 30 patients of cholelithiasis, which included 22 patients of cholelithiasis with non functioning gall bladder (sub group A) and 8 patients of cholelithiasis with functioning gall bladder (sub group B). 30 age and sex matched controls were also included in the study. Serum IgG, IgA and IgM were significantly raised in patients of cholelithiasis as compared to controls.