Synthesis, characterization of nano-sized anatase TiO2 and its adsorption behaviour for environmental contaminant

TiO2 is one of the most studied material due to its unique properties like chemical stability, non toxicity and cost effectiveness.  Nano-sized TiO2   has been prepared by sol -gel method using titanium butoxide as precursor. X- ray diffraction analysis was used to characterize the phase and crystal size of the synthesized TiO2 particles. It was found that sizes of the particles ranged from 6 to 12 nanometre. FT-IR spectrum was also recorded for the TiO2  particles to detect the remaining organic residue .Heavy metals like Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni etc are considered major environmental contaminant in water due to their non biodegradable nature and adverse health effect in living beings. In this work the adsorption behavior of heavy metals towards nano-sized TiO2 was investigated.

Nuclear morphometry and texture analysis on cytological smears of thyroid neoplasms: a study of 50 cases

BACKGROUND

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a reliable and reproducible diagnostic technique for thyroid lesions with certain limitations. Computed morphometric methods have been introduced with a view to improve the diagnostic yield of thyroid aspirates. However, a review of the existing literature revealed conflicting reports regarding morphometric parameters in thyroid neoplasms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study included 50 cases of thyroid lesions (20 cases of colloid goitre, 15 of follicular adenoma, 5 of follicular carcinoma and 10 papillary carcinomas). Digital images of cytologic smears of these cases were captured using a dedicated photomicrography system and nuclear profiles traced manually. With self-designed image analysis software, nuclear morphometric measurements, including texture analysis, were performed. Discriminant analysis was performed including the morphometric parameters and percentage of correctly classified nuclei noted.

RESULTS

Nuclear morphometry parameters showed that papillary thyroid carcinoma had the highest perimeter, area, radius and elongation factor compared to other thyroid lesions. Discriminant analysis revealed that altogether 77.9% of cells could be correctly classified to their lesion category based on the nuclear morphometric and textural parameters. Of the neoplastic cases, 84.5% of cells of follicular neoplasms and 72.5% of papillary carcinoma were classified to the respective category.

CONCLUSION

Nuclear morphometry, including texture analysis, can assist in the cytologic diagnosis of thyroid lesions, considering the high degree of accuracy of classification. Further studies and methodological refinements can achieve higher accuracy.

Abstract P4-03-05: Role of stromal discoidin domain receptor-1 in breast cancer

This abstract was not presented at the symposium.

Comparison of diagnostic tests for the detection of bovine brucellosis in the natural cases of abortion

Rapid and precise diagnosis in natural field cases of bovine abortion caused by Brucella abortus warrants the use of the most sensitive and reliable diagnostic methods. In the present study, bacterial isolation, serology, gross, histopathology, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction technique(s) were applied. Sero-prevalence studies showed the rate of 28.86% positive cases using the competitive ELISA. Histopathological changes were mainly seen in the placenta, fetal lungs, kidney, liver and spleen. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of Brucella spp. was evident as brown, finely granular intracytoplasmic staining in trophoblasts of placental sections and in section(s) of liver, lung, kidney and spleen. Twenty-eight out of the 103 samples (17 from stomach contents, 3 from placental cotyledons, 2 from vaginal discharges and 6 from pooled fetal tissues) produced 193 bp amplicon specific for Brucella genus. Moreover, the species-specific primers amplified a 498 bp amplicon which corresponded to B. abortus. Comparison of diagnostic tests revealed PCR and IHC provide a reliable test for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in aborted fetal tissue and placental cotyledons whereas serology is most important for detection of Brucella positive animals in a herd.

Basic concepts for sample size calculation: Critical step for any clinical trials!

Quality of clinical trials has improved steadily over last two decades, but certain areas in trial methodology still require special attention like in sample size calculation. The sample size is one of the basic steps in planning any clinical trial and any negligence in its calculation may lead to rejection of true findings and false results may get approval. Although statisticians play a major role in sample size estimation basic knowledge regarding sample size calculation is very sparse among most of the anesthesiologists related to research including under trainee doctors. In this review, we will discuss how important sample size calculation is for research studies and the effects of underestimation or overestimation of sample size on project's results. We have highlighted the basic concepts regarding various parameters needed to calculate the sample size along with examples.

Shape Description of Curved Surfaces from Contact Sensing Using Surface Normals

We describe a spline-based framework for incorporating both position and surface-normal information into estimates of curvaturebased shape parameters. Such position and normal data can be obtained with different types of contact sensors, for example, tactile sensors, force-moment sensors, etc. The heart of our framework is an extended B-spline formulation that incorporates the surfacenormal information into a B-spline surface fit of the position data. The surface-normal information provides additional constraints for the surface fit, and can also significantly improve the approximation of the surface. Curvature-based shape parameters applied to this B-spline surface are then used to characterize the local shape of the object surface. Preliminary experiments with simple primitives—spherical, cylindrical, and planar shapes—and an off theshelf force/moment sensor to obtain the position and surfacenormal data show that despite coarse resolution of the sensor, this approach succeeds in qualitative shape recognition.

Validation of Romanowsky staining as a novel screening test for the detection of faecal cryptosporidial oocysts

Cryptosporidiosis is an emerging waterborne protozoan disease and one of the major causes of neonatal diarrhea in humans and animals. But the disease remains under diagnosed due to lack of availability of special stains in majority of laboratories at primary health centers. Therefore, it requires a rapid screening test for routine diagnosis in conventional laboratory set up. In this pursuit, the present study was planned. During this study, fecal samples from 100 representative animals randomly selected from 17 out breaks of bovine calf diarrhea, were stained with modified Ziehl Neelsen staining (mZN) and Leishman's stain to demonstrate cryptosporidial oocysts and for routine fecal examination, respectively. By mZN staining, 25 cases confirmed the presence of cryptosporidial oocysts. However, examination of Leishman's stained fecal smears revealed round hollow unstained bodies resembling cryptosporidia in 20 cases. Therefore, a comparative morphometric analysis was made between the two techniques to determine their relative efficacy in demonstrating cryptosporidia in the feces of affected animals. The analyses showed that the Leishman's stain can be effective in making a presumptive diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis with a little experience. Confirmation of cryptosporidiosis was done by histopathological examination of intestinal sections of calves died during these out breaks. The findings appear to have great clinical value for routine laboratory screening of fecal samples for cryptosporidiosis as conventional Romanowsky stains are readily available and used for multipurpose examination in most of the laboratories at grass root level. Perusal of literature proved this to be the first attempt at easy diagnostics for cryptosporidiosis.

Aerothermoelastic-Acoustics Simulation of Flight Vehicles

This paper describes a novel computational-fluid-dynamics-based numerical solution procedure for effective simulation of aerothermoacoustics problems with application to aerospace vehicles. A finite element idealization is employed for both fluid and structure domains, which fully accounts for thermal effects. The accuracies of both the fluid and structure capabilities are verified with flight- and ground-test data. A time integration of the structural equations of motion, with the governing flow equations, is conducted for the computation of the unsteady aerodynamic forces, which uses a transpiration boundary condition at the surface nodal points in lieu of the updating of the fluid mesh. Two example problems are presented herein to that effect. The first one relates to a cantilever wing with a NACA 0012 airfoil. The solution results demonstrate the effect of temperature loading that causes a significant increase in acoustic response. A second example, the hypersonic X-43 vehicle, is also analyzed; and relevant results are presented. The common finite element-based aerothermoelastic-acoustics simulation process, its applicability to the efficient and routine solution of complex practical problems, the employment of the effective transpiration boundary condition in the computational fluid dynamics solution, and the development and public domain distribution of an associated code are unique features of this paper.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a biomarker of disease progression in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with early mortality, decreased quality of life and increased health care expenditures. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not urinary NGAL (uNGAL) level is associated with renal damage and kidney disease progression in patients with CKD and to evaluate the predictive value of uNGAL in progression of CKD. Totally, 91 cases of CKD stage II, III, IV, and 50 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The follow-up end-point was 18 months; end-point of the study was progression to an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <15 ml/min and/or CKD stage V. Forty-five cases (49.4%) were progressors and 46 were nonprogressors. uNGAL levels were significantly higher in CKD subjects as compared to healthy controls (log 1.09 ± 0.22 μg/ml in controls versus log 1.22 ± 2.08 μg/ml in stage II, log 3.34 ± 2.74 μg/ml in stage III and log 3.70 ± 0.18 μg/ml in stage IV). Univariate Cox proportional hazards model showed that only eGFR (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93–0.96; P < 0.001) and uNGAL (HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01–1.20; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with end-point of CKD stage V, but multiple Cox proportional regression model showed significant association of uNGAL (HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01–1.20; P < 0.001) and eGFR (HR: 0.962, 95% CI: 0.95–0.98; P < 0.001) with end-point of CKD stage V. This suggests that uNGAL would not be a simple surrogate index of baseline eGFR, but a marker of CKD progression beyond the information provided by eGFR estimation.

Computer aided morphometric analysis of oral leukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

We compared the changes in the cells in the basal layer of normal mucosa, oral leukoplakia with dysplasia and different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using computer aided image analysis of tissue sections. We investigated three morphometric parameters: nuclear area (NA), cell area (CA) and their ratio (NA:CA). NA and NA:CA ratio showed a statistically significant increase from dysplasia to increasing grades of OSCC. Nuclear size was useful for differentiating normal tissue, potentially malignant leukoplakia and OSCC.

Evidence of In Vivo Existence of Borrelia Biofilm in Borrelial Lymphocytomas

Lyme borreliosis, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, has grown into a major public health problem. We recently identified a novel morphological form of B. burgdorferi, called biofilm, a structure that is well known to be highly resistant to antibiotics. However, there is no evidence of the existence of Borrelia biofilm in vivo; therefore, the main goal of this study was to determine the presence of Borrelia biofilm in infected human skin tissues. Archived skin biopsy tissues from borrelial lymphocytomas (BL) were reexamined for the presence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato using Borrelia-specific immunohistochemical staining (IHC), fluorescent in situ hybridization, combined fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)–IHC, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and fluorescent and atomic force microscopy methods. Our morphological and histological analyses showed that significant amounts of Borrelia-positive spirochetes and aggregates exist in the BL tissues. Analyzing structures positive for Borrelia showed that aggregates, but not spirochetes, expressed biofilm markers such as protective layers of different mucopolysaccharides, especially alginate. Atomic force microscopy revealed additional hallmark biofilm features of the Borrelia/alginate-positive aggregates such as inside channels and surface protrusions. In summary, this is the first study that demonstrates the presence of Borrelia biofilm in human infected skin tissues.