Proficiency panel testing--a reliable tool in external quality assessment of sputum smear microscopy services in Gujarat, India.

Objective: To assess the proficiency of Senior TB Laboratory Supervisors (STLSs) and district level Laboratory Technicians (LTs) in sputum smear microscopy.

Method: Intermediate Reference Laboratory (IRL), Ahmedabad had manufactured and validated Proficiency Panel Testing slides from sputum samples, made On Site Evaluation (OSE) visits of District TB Centres (DTCs) in two rounds, and conducted Proficiency Panel Testing of STLSs & DTC-LTs from January 2005 to June 2009.

Results: High level of concordance in Z-N smear grading was found between Microbiologist and district laboratory staff.

An epidemiological investigation of a multisource outbreak of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Gujarat.

It all started with the report from Shalby Hospital, Ahmedabad of two deaths with unusual presentation on Jan 18, 2011. Immediately investigations were carried out; to identify the etiological agent, source of outbreak, and mode of transmission, as well as, to propose a control measure based on the findings of the investigation. Extensive literature search, discussion with various scientific institutions, scientists and laboratory diagnosis suggested it to be case of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).

A cost-effectiveness analysis of India's 2008 prohibition of smoking in public places in Gujarat.

Tobacco smoking and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke are associated with disability and premature mortality in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of implementing India's Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules in the state of Gujarat, compared to implementation of a complete smoking ban. Using standard cost-effectiveness analysis methods, the cost of implementing the alternatives was evaluated against the years of life saved and cases of acute myocardial infarction averted by reductions in smoking prevalence and secondhand smoke exposure.

Cellulitis on face in a patient with congenital afibrinogenemia.

Congenital afibrinogenemia is a rare coagulation disorder, with an estimated prevalence of 1 : 1,000,000, characterized by a complete absence to reduced level of circulating fibrinogen. This article presents a case of congenital afibrinogenemia, which presented as cellulitis on the face.

High-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia at Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute: thirteen years of experience.

Objective: To evaluate and analyze the results of chemotherapy (EMA-CO [etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin D-cyclophosphamide, vincristine]) in high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN).

Study Design: A total of 97 women with high-risk GTN were evaluated for a period of 13 years (1995-2008). All women received EMA-CO as a first-line chemotherapy.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia/thrombosis: a clinicopathologic review.

Background: Heparin is widely used for the prophylaxis of venous thrombo-embolism and pulmonary embolism. Thrombocytopaenia and the sequale of thrombosis are uncommon adverse effects of therapy which are associated with high morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To review the clinical-pathologic features of heparin induced thrombocytopaenia/thrombosis.

Granulosa cell tumor arising in an ovary with mature teratoma.

Granulosa cell tumor (GCT) with synchronous mature teratoma is extremely rare and only eight cases are documented in the literature. GCT is low-grade malignancy and need a close follow up for recurrences which may be late. We report a case of GCT and mature teratoma occurring synchronously in the same ovary in a perimenopausal woman.

Surveillance of drug-resistant tuberculosis in the state of Gujarat, India.

Background: Limited information about the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has been reported from India, the country with the world's highest burden of TB. We conducted a representative state-wide survey in the state of Gujarat (2005 population: 56 million).

Methods: Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a representative sample of new and previously treated smear-positive pulmonary TB (PTB) cases were subjected to drug susceptibility testing (DST) against first-line drugs at a World Health Organization supranational reference laboratory.

Management of Combat Related Vascular Injuries in a Zonal Hospital.

Background: The extremity gunshot wound (GSW) and penetrating splinter injuries from mine blast present a surgical challenge in the treatment of arterial trauma especially at non-vascular surgery centre. Adherence to specific principles of management is required for optimal limb salvage.

Methods: Fourteen vascular injuries in patients of GSW and mine explosions were managed at a zonal military hospital with successful outcome in two years.

Electron paramagnetic resonance studies of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers utilizing a phospholipid spin label.

X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to study the structural and dynamic properties of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers utilizing a variety of phosphocholine spin labels (PCSL) as a function oftemperature. 1-Palmitoyl-2-[n-(4,4-dimethyloxazolidine-N-oxyl)stearoyl]-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (n-PCSL) in which a nitroxide group was attached to the different acyl chain positions of the phospholipid (n = 5, 7, 12, and 14) were used as an EPR spin probe to investigate magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers from the plateau (near to the headgroup) region to the end of the acyl chain (center of the bilayers). The addition of certain types of paramagnetic lanthanide ions changes the overall magnetic susceptibility anisotropy tensor of the bicelles, such that the bicelles flip with their bilayer normal either parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Electron paramagnetic resonance studies of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers utilizing a phospholipid spin label: the effect of cholesterol.

X-band EPR spectroscopy has been employed to study the dynamic properties of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) utilizing a variety of phosphocholine spin labels (n-PCSL) as a function of cholesterol content. The utilization of both perpendicular and parallel aligned bicelles in EPR spectroscopy provides a more detailed structural and orientational picture of the phospholipid bilayers. The magnetically aligned EPR spectra of the bicelles and the hyperfine splitting values reveal that the addition of cholesterol increases the phase transition temperature and alignment temperature of the DMPC/DHPC bicelles.

Interaction of alamethicin with ether-linked phospholipid bilayers: oriented circular dichroism, 31P solid-state NMR, and differential scanning calorimetry studies.

The arrangement of the antimicrobial peptide alamethicin was studied by oriented circular dichroism, 31P solid-state NMR, and differential scanning calorimetry in ether-linked phospholipid bilayers composed of 1,2-O-dihexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC). The measurements were performed as a function of alamethicin concentration relative to the lipid concentration, and results were compared to those reported in the literature for ester-linked phospholipid bilayers. At ambient temperature, alamethicin incorporates into the hydrophobic core of DHPC bilayers but results in more lipid disorder than observed for ester-linked 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) lipid bilayers.

Magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers with large q ratios stabilize magnetic alignment with high order in the gel and L(alpha) phases.

The magnetic alignment behavior ofbicelles (magnetically alignable phospholipid bilayered membranes) as a function of the q ratio (1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycerol phosphatidylcholine/1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycerol phosphatidylcholine mole ratio) and temperature was studied by spin-labeled X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and solid-state 2H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. Well-aligned bicelle samples were obtained at 45 degrees C for q ratios between 2.5 and 9.

Lead in paint and soil in Karnataka and Gujarat, India.

Blood lead surveys in several areas of India have found very high percentages of children with elevated blood lead levels. Fifty-three percent of children under 12 years of age in a seven-city screening had blood lead levels equal to or greater than 10 microg/dL, the level currently considered elevated by the U.S.

Mine Blast Injuries - Our Experience.

Background: The sudden increase in incidence and magnitude of mine blast injuries prompted us to highlight the problem and its management.

Methods: The cases of mine blast injuries occurring during mining and demining in a particular geographical area were analysed. Total 27 cases of mine blast injuries occurred during mining or demining operations in a period of 13 months.

Investigating the dynamic properties of the transmembrane segment of phospholamban incorporated into phospholipid bilayers utilizing 2H and 15N solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

(2)H and (15)N solid-state NMR spectroscopic techniques were used to investigate the membrane composition, orientation, and side-chain dynamics of the transmembrane segment of phospholamban (TM-PLB), a sarcoplasmic Ca(2+)-regulator protein. (2)H NMR spectra of (2)H-labeled leucine (deuterated at one terminal methyl group) incorporated at different sites (CD(3)-Leu28, CD(3)-Leu39, and CD(3)-Leu51) along the TM-PLB peptide exhibited line shapes characteristic of either methyl group reorientation about the C(gamma)-C(delta) bond axis or by additional librational motion about the C(alpha)-C(beta) and C(beta)-C(gamma) bond axes. The (2)H NMR line shapes of all CD(3)-labeled leucines are very similar below 0 degrees C, indicating that all of the residues are located inside the lipid bilayer.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopic studies of an integral membrane protein inserted into aligned phospholipid bilayer nanotube arrays.

This communication demonstrates for the first time that solid-state NMR spectroscopic studies can be used to investigate aligned phospholipid bilayer nanotube arrays. Also, an integral membrane peptide can be successfully incorporated into the oriented phospholipid bilayer nanotube arrays and studied with 2H solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Investigating fatty acids inserted into magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers using EPR and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

This is the first time (2)H solid-state NMR spectroscopy and spin-labeled EPR spectroscopy have been utilized to probe the structural orientation and dynamics of a stearic acid incorporated into magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers or bicelles. The data gleaned from the two different techniques provide a more complete description of the bilayer membrane system. Both methods provided similar qualitative information on the phospholipid bilayer, high order, and low motion for the hydrocarbon segment close to the carboxyl groups of the stearic acid and less order and more rapid motion at the end towards the terminal methyl groups.

Investigating structural changes in the lipid bilayer upon insertion of the transmembrane domain of the membrane-bound protein phospholamban utilizing 31P and 2H solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Phospholamban (PLB) is a 52-amino acid integral membrane protein that regulates the flow of Ca(2+) ions in cardiac muscle cells. In the present study, the transmembrane domain of PLB (24-52) was incorporated into phospholipid bilayers prepared from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine (POPC). Solid-state (31)P and (2)H NMR experiments were carried out to study the behavior of POPC bilayers in the presence of the hydrophobic peptide PLB at temperatures ranging from 30 degrees C to 60 degrees C.

Solid-state 2H NMR studies of the effects of cholesterol on the acyl chain dynamics of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers.

We report the utilization of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) to study the effects of cholesterol in phospholipid bilayers for both chain perdeuterated DMPC and partially deuterated alpha-[2,2,3,4,4,6-d(6)]-cholesterol using (2)H solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The quadrupolar splittings at 40 degrees C were 25.5 and 37.

Calculating order parameter profiles utilizing magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers for 2H solid-state NMR studies.

Solid-state deuterium NMR spectroscopy was used to study the structural and dynamic properties of stearic acid-d(35) in magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers as a function of temperature. Magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers or bicelles are model systems, which mimic biological membranes for magnetic resonance studies. Paramagnetic lanthanide ions (Yb(3+)) were added to align the bicelles such that the bilayer normal is colinear with the direction of the static magnetic field.

Redox switchable NIR dye derived from ruthenium-dioxolene-porphyrin systems.

Newly synthesised Ru(bp)2(sq)(+)-derivatives, covalently linked to a porphyrin-core, show very high epsilon values in the NIR region; which exhibit fast on/off switching depending on the redox state of the coordinated dioxolene functionality.