Spontaneneous hydrops in pellucid marginal degeneration: documentation by OCT-III.

Corneal pellucid marginal degeneration (PMCD) is an idiopathic condition characterized by non-inflammatory, non-ulcerative thinning of inferior peripheral cornea. PMCD has been reported occasionally complicated with hydrops owing to break in descemet membrane. We herein report a 38-year-old man, who presented with sudden dimness of vision in right eye.

The nurse's role in contributing to new device development.

Nurses are in an ideal position to use their clinical observations to highlight unmet needs in relation to device use. This paper explores issues that relate to medical devices. An overview is given of the medical device field and examples are given from a survey of the healthcare literature to determine the level of user involvement in device development.

Detecting polio through surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP).

Accurate surveillance for polio is essential for eradication. Surveillance systems for polio has been developed under the guidance of the global polio eradication initiative. Surveillance of cases of acute flaccid paralysis among children less than 15 years of age is a key component for a well functioning polio surveillance system.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 and autoimmune diseases.

Matrix metalloproteinases (also named matrixin or MMPs) are a major group of enzymes that regulate cell-matrix composition by using zinc for their proteolytic activities. They are essential for various normal biological processes such as embryonic development, morphogenesis, reproduction tissue resorption, and remodeling. Metalloproteinases also play a role in pathological processes including inflammation, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases and cancer.

A synthetic dengue virus antigen elicits enhanced antibody titers when linked to, but not mixed with, Mycobacterium tuberculosis HSP70 domain II.

Domain II of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), spanning amino acid residues 161-370, was covalently linked to a recently described synthetic dengue virus antigen to study the influence of the former on the immunogenicity of the latter. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, dengue antigen-specific antibody titers elicited by the fusion protein in Balb/c mice were an order of magnitude higher than those elicited by either the synthetic dengue antigen alone or a physical mixture of the dengue antigen plus Mtb HSP70 domain II protein. Our data demonstrate that (i) Mtb HSP70 domain II is capable of potentiating B-cell response and (ii) it should be covalently linked to the target antigen to do so.

Controlled systemic delivery of indomethacin using membrane-moderated, cream formulation-based transdermal devices.

The present study was carried out to design a viable and practically effective transdermal systems of indomethacin using cream-based drug reservoirs and suitable rate controlling membranes. As vehicles, a more lipophilic base (F(1)) and a cream formulation containing predominant aqueous phase (F(2)) were chosen to study the influence of vehicle nature and role of permeation enhancers that increases thermodynamic activity and to provide diffusible species of drug to skin. Rate controlling membranes of cellulose acetate (CA) and ethyl cellulose (EC) with polyvinyl pyrollidine and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose were used to design transdermal devices.

Structural basis of Src tyrosine kinase inhibition with a new class of potent and selective trisubstituted purine-based compounds.

The tyrosine kinase pp60src (Src) is the prototypical member of a family of proteins that participate in a broad array of cellular signal transduction processes, including cell growth, differentiation, survival, adhesion, and migration. Abnormal Src family kinase (SFK) signaling has been linked to several disease states, including osteoporosis and cancer metastases. Src has thus emerged as a molecular target for the discovery of small-molecule inhibitors that regulate Src kinase activity by binding to the ATP pocket within the catalytic domain.

Pityriasis versicolor in the pediatric age group.

Background: Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a mild chronic infection of the skin caused by Malassezia yeasts. Although it is primarily seen in adults, children are often affected in the tropics .

Methods: Over a period of 2 years, children (up to the age of 14 years) who were clinically and mycologically diagnosed as PV were included in the study.

Immunomodulatory effects of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) against chromium (VI) induced immunosuppression.

The present study reports the immunomodulatory effects of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) leaf extract on cellular and humoral immune response by studying delayed-type hypersensitivity response, IL-2, IL-4 and gamma-IFN levels and antibody titres in chromium-induced immunosuppressed animals. Oral feeding of chromium (30 mg/kg bw) significantly inhibited antibody production and S-RBC induced delayed-type hypersensitivity response.

Antioxidant activities of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) during hypoxia induced oxidative stress in glial cells.

The present study reports the cytoprotective and antioxidant properties of alcoholic leaf extract of seabuckthorn (SBT) against hypoxia induced oxidative stress in C-6 glioma cells. Exposure of cells to hypoxia for 12 h resulted in a significant increase in cytotoxicity and decrease in mitochondrial transmembrane potential compared to the controls. Further an appreciable increase in nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was noted which in turn was responsible for fall in intracellular antioxidant levels and GSH/GSSG ratio.

Optimization of water and nitrogen application to menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) through sugarcane trash mulch in a sandy loam soil of semi-arid subtropical climate.

Studies were carried out to optimize the use of water and nutrients by the crop with three moisture regimes [0.9, 1.2 and 1.

Identification of a cytoskeleton-bound form of phospholemman with unique C-terminal immunoreactivity.

Phospholemman (PLM) is a 72-amino acid transmembrane protein thought to function in Na,K-ATPase regulation or assembly, similar to other members of the FXYD family of proteins. Unique to PLM among these regulatory proteins are sites for C-terminal phosphorylation by PKA and PKC, although a role for phosphorylation in PLM function remains unclear. To study PLM phosphorylation, we used PLM phosphopeptides to generate antibodies to specifically detect phosphorylated PLM.

Optical and electrochemical properties of poly(o-toluidine) multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite Langmuir-Schaefer films.

Conducting poly(o-toluidine) (POT) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanocomposite (POT-MWNTs) was synthesized by oxidative polymerization. Chloroform solutions of the material were used for the optical characterizations by means of UV-visible spectroscopy and for the fabrication of Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) films. LS films were fabricated at the air-liquid interface by using 0.

Body fat distribution and leptin correlation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Endocrine and biochemical evaluation in south Indian population.

 Obesity is associated with the increased prevalence of infertility and is also an independent risk factor in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which the ob gene product, leptin, alone or in combination with other metabolic and endocrinal parameters, may be correlated to infertility with the incidence of PCOS. Serum leptin levels were measured in both PCOS and non-PCOS subjects of the following categories, such as thin, overweight, obese and morbidly obese, and compared with normal weight women.

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of calsequestrin on CK2-sensitive sites in heart.

Calsequestrin (CSQ) concentrates in junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) where it functions in regulation of Ca2+ release. When purified from heart tissue, cardiac CSQ contains phosphate on a cluster of C-terminal serine residues, but little is known about the cellular site of kinase action, and the identity of the kinase remains uncertain. To determine basic features of the phosphorylation, we examined the reaction in canine heart preparations.

Cardiac MRI in Congenital Heart Disease - Our Experience.

A significant recent advance that has occurred world over in the continuously evolving field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) practice is the introduction of Cardiac applications. Cardiac MRI has moved to the centre stage of clinical management strategy by non-invasively imaging the structure as well as function of the heart. It has a wide range of specific applications such as delineation of morphological anatomy, quantification of flow and pressure across cardiac valve dysfunction, evaluation of myocardial function, assessment of infarcts, mapping coronary arteries and so on.

Oxidative stress and glucose levels in a population-based sample.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between markers of oxidative status and glucose on a population basis.

Study Design And Setting: We report here on a population-based sample of 1315 women and 981 men, aged 35-79 years, randomly selected from residents of Erie and Niagara Counties in western New York between 1996 and 1999. Thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), erythrocyte glutathione (GSH) and plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured as markers of oxidative status.

Calsequestrin mutant D307H exhibits depressed binding to its protein targets and a depressed response to calcium.

Objective: A point mutation in human cardiac calsequestrin (CSQ-D307H) is responsible for a form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT). When overexpressed in heart cells, the mutated CSQ leads to diminished Ca(2+) transients, consistent with defective regulation of intralumenal sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+).

Methods: To analyze the D307H mutant and determine whether the D307H mutation results in loss of normal protein-protein interactions, we prepared recombinant human wild-type (WT) and D307H forms of CSQ in mammalian cells.

Drinking pattern and risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction: a population-based case-control study.

Aims: Alcohol consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease incidence and mortality. However, most studies have focused on an average volume per specific time period and have paid little attention to the pattern of drinking. The aim of this study was to examine the association between various drinking patterns and myocardial infarction (MI).

Metabolites of lesser grain borer in grains.

Many volatile alcohol and ester metabolites of the lesser grain borer (LGB, Rhyzopertha dominica) cultured on wheat grain were identified. Volatiles from infested samples at 80 degrees C were collected on Tenax absorbent, thermally desorbed, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) using infrared (IR) and mass (MS) detectors for component identification. A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique was used to analyze selected samples with a GC-MS system set up for obtaining chemical ionization mass spectra.

Lung cancer in humans is not associated with lifetime total alcohol consumption or with genetic variation in alcohol dehydrogenase 3 (ADH3).

Although there is clear evidence that smoking is the primary risk factor for lung cancer, not all variation in disease risk is understood. There is some evidence that alcohol may contribute to risk. We examined lifetime and recent (12-24 mo previous) alcohol consumption in relation to risk of lung cancer in a case-control study in western New York.

Bone-targeted pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-ones: potent inhibitors of Src tyrosine kinase as novel antiresorptive agents.

The design of bone-targeted pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-ones as Src tyrosine kinase inhibitors is described. Leveraging SAR from known compounds and using structure-based methods, we were able to rapidly incorporate bone binding components, which maintained, and even increased potency against the target enzyme. Compound 4 displayed a high affinity for hydroxyapatite, a major constituent of bone, and demonstrated antiresoprtive activity in our cell-based assay.

Bone-targeted 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines: novel inhibitors of Src tyrosine kinase for the treatment of bone diseases.

Novel bone-targeted 2,6,9-trisubstituted purine template-based inhibitors of Src tyrosine kinase are described. Drug design studies of known purine compounds revealed that both positions-2 and -6 were suitable for incorporating bone-seeking moieties. A variety of bone-targeting groups with different affinity to hydroxyapatite were utilized in the study.