Multiple-pulse-mediated electrofusion of intact erythrocyte onto human term placental amnion

The creation of surface modified human term placental amnion by electrofusing human cells onto its surface has been thought of. A multiple-pulse electrofusion protocol with 10 square pulses of 10-micros pulse length, and electric field of 0.2 kV cm(-1), can make erythrocyte-amnion tissue electrofusion possible. The protocol devised merge the cell-tissue-adherence steps with fusogenic pulse. The finding opens up a new avenue of cell electrofusion onto human tissue with minimal procedural complexities.

Assessment of Performance of Blind Center Lathe Operators

Although sight is generally considered to be necessary for the performance of most industrial jobs, this study found that blind persons can be trained to operate a center lathe and to perform various tasks on it accurately. The study assessed the blind subjects’ efficiency of performance of tasks when they utilized various adjustments to the lathe and to procedures that had been developed earlier specifically for blind people. It was found that the efficiency of the blind subjects, compared to that of sighted lathe operators, was 85 percent for moderately complex jobs. The factors of complexity, repetition, and mode of presentation of specifications had some bearing on the speed of work. The study demonstrated that even under adverse conditions, blind lathe operators can achieve satisfactory results.

A user-oriented validation method for clinical data

The patient data in hospitals is prone to many errors during computerization because of the large human element involved during the processes concerned. A user-oriented validation method, which has been found to be practical and acceptable, is suggested. A non-statistical approach is adopted in this regard. The qualitative requirements of all users for validation have been taken as the guidelines to achieve maximum user acceptability. A user-oriented data code sheet, whose format changes for different disease groups, has been devised to prevent most of the typographical errors. These code sheets have also been found to be of considerable help to doctors in keeping a check on any missed or incomplete investigations, examinations and history recording. The validation program detects all errors of a typographical nature and all commonly possible logical errors. In addition, the program outputs data values, whose accuracy is doubtful, in the form of warning messages like WARNED DATA and ERRONEOUS DATA. The data fields which do not contain any data are also output to help the clinicians to take note of investigations and clinical tests not done or whose results are awaited. The logical errors, if any, also help them in detecting and identifying atypical cases in any given disease group at the earliest possible stage of a patient's hospitalization. In this paper, the need for a user-oriented and non-statistical approach to the validation of clinical data has been discussed in detail and its advantages enumerated.

Interplay of matrices in cartilage synovial fluid combine under moderate & high loadings

Interplay of the constituents of the articular cartilage synovial fluid combine and its role was examined through the biochemical and rheological studies on bovine joints. The results showed an inverse relationship between the changes in the hyaluronic acid of synovial fluid and the proteoglycans content in articular cartilage together with alterations in the rheological properties of synovial fluid. The study indicated that the inter-movement of fluid solutes across the cartilage and synovial fluid may have an important role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis.

Mucocutaneous manifestations of HIV infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with various mucocutaneous features, which may be the first pointer towards the existence of HIV infection. This study was done to note the different mucocutaneous lesions present in the HIV population in eastern India.

METHODS

Four hundred and ten HIV seropositive patients attending the outpatient and inpatient departments were included in the study.

RESULTS

Out of 410 HIV positives, 40% had mucocutaneous involvement at presentation. The mean age of the study population was 29 years and male to female ratio was 2.5:1. The common mucocutaneous morbidities included oral candidiasis (36%), dermatophytosis and gingivitis (13% each), herpes zoster (6%), herpes simplex and scabies (5% each). A striking feature, noted in 36% males, was straightening of hairs. Genital herpes was the commonest genital ulcer disease. Lesions associated with declining immunity included oral candidiasis, oral hairy leukoplakia and herpes zoster with median CD4 counts of 98, 62 and 198/ L respectively.

CONCLUSION

Early recognition of mucocutaneous manifestations and associated STDs help in better management of HIV/AIDS.

Factors responsible for delayed enrollment for anti-retroviral treatment

BACKGROUND

Late presentation followed by delayed diagnosis and further delayed initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) increases the risk of opportunistic infections and neoplasms among the HIV infected patients. Furthermore, this leads to not only poor response to therapy but also early death among them.

METHODS

An institution based cross-sectional study was undertaken to identify the factor(s) responsible for delayed registration for initiation of therapy among the HIV infected patients with absolute CD4 count <250 cells/μL based on self reports. ART naïve adult HIV patients (age ≥18 years) with baseline CD4 count of <250 cells/μL were included in this study.

RESULTS

Most patients 95 (95%) were unaware of the available 'Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres'. Although 13 (13%) respondents had multiple reasons for delayed enrollment, majority 47 (47%) of the delays were due to the physician's failure to suspect and refer them for HIV testing at the earliest opportunity. Other causes include health seeking behavior 13 (13%), fear of stigma 5 (5%), depression 3 (3%), and lack of family support 6 (6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Even though delays in pre-ART enrollment have been realized since long, prevention efforts are poor, mostly due to the lack of understanding of the nature of the problem in its social context. Lack of clinical suspicion for HIV infection at the primary and secondary levels of health care still remains the most important reason for the delay. In order to prevent these delays in enrollments, intervention efforts need to be focused on not only the people infected with HIV but the primary health care providers as well, especially the practicing physicians.

Efficacy of sodium antimony gluconate and ketoconazole in the treatment of kala-azar--a comparative study

The present study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of ketoconazole in comparison to sodium antimony gluconate (SAG) in the treatment of kala-azar. The study was conducted at two centres: All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi and Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta. A total of 180 patients with proven kala-azar were recruited. After preliminary investigations, the patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: One group received ketoconazole in a dose of 600 mg/ day in 3 divided doses for 4 weeks while the other group was treated with SAG at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day up to a maximum of 850 mg/day for 4 weeks. The patients were followed up by clinical examination, liver functions, haemogram and the bone marrow/splenic aspiration. Responders were followed up at 3 and 9 months of intervals. Of 90 cases in SAG, 78 (81.7%) got cured initially while under ketoconazole group, only 26 (33.3%) of 78 patients responded initially (p < 0.001). After 3 months of follow up, 75 of 78 SAG-responders (96.2%) and 24 of 26 ketoconazole-responders (92.3%) continued to be in remission. Despite the fact that 2 patients in each group were lost to follow up at 9 months, similar observations were noted with only one relapse in SAG group. The response to SAG was comparable at the two centres. However, the response to ketoconazole was better at Delhi centre as compared to that at Calcutta. There were no significant side effects or hormonal changes in any of the patients in ketoconazole group at Delhi centre. Significantly higher side effects were reported at Calcutta centre in ketoconazole group (P < 0.05). No satisfactory explanation can be given for this difference in response to ketoconazole at two centres. However, it is known that leishmanial parasites of different geographical origin differ in their response to different drugs and this could be one of the reasons for difference observed in response rate to ketoconazole as the study involved different populations of people.

A simple and inexpensive clinical whole body counter

The conventional radioisotope scanner has been used as a whole body counter. The background index of the system is 10.9 counts per minute per ml of sodium iodide crystal. The sensitivity and derived sensitivity parameters have been evaluated and found to be suitable for clinical studies. The optimum parameters for a single detector at two positions above the lying subject have been obtained. It has been found that for the case of 131I measurement it is possible to assay a source located at any point in the body with coefficient of variation less than 5%. To add to the versatility, a fixed geometry for in-vitro counting of large samples has been obtained. The retention values obtained by the whole body counter have been found to correlate with those obtained by in-vitro assay of urine and stool after intravenous administration of 51Cr-albumin.

Minimum temperature felt as hot (MTH)--a new concept for grading the loss of temperature sensation in leprosy patients

In order to grade the loss of the temperature sensation in the skin of leprosy patients, a newly designed instrument called the Temperature-Sensation-Testing-and-Grading device has been employed to determine the minimum temperature felt as hot (MTH) at the skin area. The MTH in normal subjects was observed to vary from one region of the body to another; it was generally higher on the distal parts of the extremities compared to the proximal parts; and it was also higher on the lower extremities compared to the upper ones. The abdomen and the back generally had the lowest values. There were no variations according to age (11-80 years) or sex and no differences on symmetrical sites of the body. The MTH value, however, showed a dependence on the environmental temperature, the values being lower at low environmental temperatures and higher at high environmental temperatures. But at the same site and the same environmental temperature, the MTH value was found to be almost constant. Different individuals had different MTH values at the same body site and even at the same environmental temperature. The unaffected skin of leprosy patients showed values comparable to the controls. At the leprosy lesions, however, the degree of sensory loss could easily be determined in comparison with the MTH at the contralateral/adjoining unaffected skin. Out of 54 leprosy patients, 7 patients had no sensory loss; in 27 patients the loss varied between 1 degree C and 20 degrees C; while in 20 patients the loss was complete--they could not perceive even 50 degrees C as hot.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Objective grading of the loss of pain and touch sensations in leprosy patients

Two new instruments named Pain/Touch Sensation Testing and Grading devices, which provide standardized and graded stimuli of pain and touch, respectively, were employed to grade the sensory loss at the center of 110 lesions in 97 patients. The grades of sensory loss for pain were 0 (no sensory loss) in 8 lesions, 1 in 6 lesions, 2 in 14 lesions, 3 in 26 lesions, 4 in 19 lesions, and 5 (complete loss) in 37 lesions (total 110 lesions). Grades of sensory loss for touch were 0 in 12 lesions, 1 in 3 lesions, 2 in 5 lesions, 3 in 9 lesions, 4 in 15 lesions, and 5 in 22 lesions (total 66 lesions). Reevaluation done after 2-40 weeks in 46 of these lesions revealed that the grade for pain had decreased in 17 lesions, increased in 4, and remained the same in 25. The grade for loss of touch sensation had decreased in 10, increased in 1, and remained the same in 35. Grading of the sensory loss in most of the 1-cm-square areas of the entire lesion, done in 19 patients (26 lesions), revealed that the sensory loss was not uniform all over the lesion and it was also not maximum at the center of the lesion, though generally it was less at the margin in comparison with the central area. Follow up of 11 of these lesions revealed a decrease in the grades in 7 lesions for both pain and touch sensations, while 2 lesions showed a decrease in the grades for touch sensation only.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Castlemans disease in HIV infected patient from eastern India

Castlemans disease is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. We report a patient of Castlemans disease with advanced HIV infection who responded well to conventional HAART. This case is interesting because of the rarity of the disease in the eastern part of India and its good out come with antiretroviral therapy.

Brain glucose bisphosphatase requires inosine monophosphate

Glucose bisphosphate phosphatase has been partially purified from the cytosol of mouse brain. Enzyme activity required Mg2+ and a heat-stable cofactor. The activator was present in boiled extracts of mouse brain mitochondrial-nuclear fraction, of red blood cells, or of rabbit muscle. The chemical properties of the activator are consistent with its identification as inosine monophosphate (IMP), including its mobility in a high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) system capable of resolving all of the biologically important mononucleotides. A large number of other biologically important compounds were not effective, including AMP, cAMP, cGMP, and UMP, GMP, purified by HPLC, (50 or 74 microM), gave a rate about 35% of that obtained with IMP (5 microM). The enzyme was separated completely from phosphoglucomutase and significantly from glucose bisphosphate synthase. The products of the reaction are glucose-P and Pi. Fructose bisphosphate at 500 microM inhibited only 40% in the presence of 20 microM glucose bisphosphate. The activation by IMP follows hyperbolic kinetics with an apparent Ka of 5 microM in the presence of 12 microM glucose bisphosphate. The apparent Km of glucose bisphosphate was 10 microM in the presence of 50 microM IMP. There was no inhibition by 5 or 50 microM AMP or ADP. The possible regulatory importance of glucose bisphosphate in carbohydrate metabolism and the significance of the regulation of the phosphatase by the nucleotide are discussed.

227 MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL ISOLATION AND CULTURE FROM ADIPOSE TISSUE OF A DEAD DOG

Isolation of cells or stem cells from clinically dead animals may serve applications such as revival of the animal through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or cryopreservation of their cells for a long period so that cells can be used in the future. Thus, combining isolation of cells from clinically dead animals and SCNT of germplasm of elite animals could benefit research into endangered or extinct species. In the present study, we tried to isolate and culture adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSC) from a clinically dead dog. Adipose tissues were collected surgically from the abdomen of a dead dog after 3 h and processed tissues within 10 h of death. The isolated tissues were washed in 70% ethanol for 30 s and washed 5 times in Dulbecco’s PBS supplemented with 50 µg mL–1 gentamicin. These fat tissues were minced to very small pieces and washed in DMEM by centrifugation at 800 rpm for 3 min. The tissue pellet was subjected to enzymatic digestion (collagenase 1 mg mL–1 of Dulbecco’s PBS) at 37°C in CO2 incubator for 1 h, with intermittent shaking after every 10 min. The digestive enzyme was inactivated by equal volume of DMEM/F-12 supplemented with fetal bovine serum (20%) and centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 10 min. The pellet was resuspended in DMEM/F-12 with 10% fetal bovine serum and cultured at 1 × 106 cells mL–1 in 25-cm2 tissue culture flasks. The medium was changed after every 48 h. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were observed under an inverted microscope after 6 days. These cells were subcultured and a confluent monolayer was obtained. We have already standardized the protocol of MSC culture and characterisation as we are treating wounded and paralysed dogs using these MSC in a pet clinic. Characterisation of MSC was performed with specific surface marker genes of CD44, CD29, and CD166 in PCR and by immunocytochemistry of MSC-specific marker of CD44. Differentiation of these MSC into osteogenesis and chondrogenesis were observed after 3 weeks. Chondrogenic differentiation was confirmed by positive expression of chondrocyte-specific marker genes Aggrecan F-TTGGACTTTGGCAGAATACC and R-CTTCCACCAATGTCGTATCC and Collagen II F-AACCCTGGAACTGACGGAAT and R-CTCACCCGTTTGACCTTTCG primer in PCR. The MSC were cryopreserved after 80% confluency was reached. The monolayer cells were scraped out from the culture flask and pelleted down. The pellet was resuspended in DMEM containing 10% DMSO and 20% fetal bovine serum. The number of cells was determined by trypan blue staining using an automatic cell counter and 105 cells mL–1 were added to a 2-mL cryogenic vial. The cryogenic vials were kept in a cryobox at –80°C for slow cooling. Then these vials were transferred to liquid nitrogen tanks after 12 h for long-term storage. We conclude that ADSC were successfully cultured from adipose tissue of a dog within 10 h of death and further subcultured under in vitro conditions. The cells could be used for SCNT to revive the dead animal and cryopreserve these cells for use in the future.

Theoretical aspects of single pulse induced modulation of cell-cell interactions favoring iso-electrofusion

A single pulse-mediated electrofusion of freely suspending widely separated cells could reduce steps in the protocol. Prediction of such electrofusion is still unsolved. In pre-pulse condition, quantitative estimation with three-layered model cell surface reveals electrostatic repulsion (due to negative surface charge) is the major hindrance to membrane-to-membrane contact. On theoretical grounds we predict that designed single high voltage pulsing on widely separated model cell surface can counteract the non-specific repulsive interaction and favor approach of two apposed membranes. But hydrodynamic modulation of pulse exposed cell surface interaction can hamper approach of membranes contact when cells are held at a gap of more than approximately 450 A.

Non-invasive reversal of intraluminal vas deferens polymer injection-induced azoospermia--technology

AIM

The rationale and technique underlying a novel concept of non-invasive removal of an intravasal vas deferens polymeric contraceptive drug to reverse drug injection-induced azoospermia are explained. Thus the conventional methods of surgical exploration to remove vas deferens plugs and intravasal injection of solvents to flush out contraceptive drugs are to be replaced by steps which will be readily accepted by subjects.

METHODS

The approach is based upon the non-invasive application of specific forces to various segments of the vas deferens so that non-sclerosing and non-tissue-adherent compounds, in particular styrene maleic anhydride (SMA) can be expelled. Forces are generated by palpation; percutaneous electrical stimulation; vibration application; and percussion. The forces help to propel the intravasal polymer towards the ejaculatory duct for expulsion during ejaculation. All aspects of the total technique are clinically acceptable, simple, atraumatic, unlikely to cause pain and discomfort even without tranquilizers, local or general anaesthetics. The procedure may be repeated several times in different sittings spaced apart by about one week to achieve adequate plug expulsion.

RESULTS

Model experiments demonstrated the feasibility of the concept. The polymer was nonadherent and could be moved within the vas deferens by the application of specific forces. Sufficient removal was possible to enable spermatic fluid to be transported along a region previously occupied by the polymer. A corroborating subhuman primate study by an independent investigator has shown that the semen profile becomes normal following the reversal.

CONCLUSION

Adoption of the new technique may provide a means of non surgical restoration of normal semen profile after a period of fertility control obtained by intravasal drug injection.