Lung surfactant

Lung surfactant, a lipo-protein complex, is a highly surface-active material found in the fluid lining the air-liquid interface of the alveolar surface. Surfactant plays a dual function of preventing alveolar collapse during breathing cycle and protection of the lungs from injuries and infections caused by foreign bodies and pathogens. Varying degrees of structure-function abnormalities of surfactant have been associated with obstructive lung diseases, respiratory infections, respiratory distress syndromes, interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and smoking. For some pulmonary conditions, especially respiratory distress syndrome, surfactant therapy is on the horizon.     

Face the Books: A Leadership Journey

Leadership, as a topic, has seen a lot of interest in academics as well as with practitioners. The search, however, has not yielded a concrete formula, though there are quite a few theories which have worked well in certain contexts. The context of special libraries is one such area which has a huge potential in discovering what leadership actions have worked well and what can be a framework for success in other special libraries, especially when the utility of special libraries is being questioned in a corporate environment. The dearth of leadership and leadership development literature in special libraries, from a practitioner's point of view, provides a good opportunity for sharing a small journey of success. The column builds upon the application of leadership actions deriving from diverse and merging fields like learning and development, organizational behavior, marketing, and human psychology of reading in making a case for the utility of corporate libraries in the development of employees.     

Effect of supplementation of vitamin C and E on oxidative stress in osteoporosis

Osteoporosis encompasses a wide spectrum of conditions associated with imbalance of osteoclastic and osteoblastic activities. The increased activity of osteoclasts leads to increased free radical formation and hence lipid peroxidation. Present study probes into the role of antioxidants as a palliative treatment for osteoporosis. It involved 50 healthy controls and 75 clinically diagnosed osteoporosis patients. Both the groups underwent baseline assessment of biochemical markers viz. osteoblastic markers: serum Alkaline phosphatase. Free or ionic calcium and Inorganic phosphorus, osteoclastic markers: serum Tartarate resistant acid phosphatase and Malondialdehyde and the antioxidant status: serum Superoxide dismutase and Erythrocyte reduced glutathione. The osteoporotic group was then divided into groups A (Vitamin E-Evinal 400 mg), B (Vitamin C-Celin 500 mg), C (Vitamin E+C-Evinal+Celin) for antioxidant supplementation for a period of 90 days. The results reveal that there is significant fall in concentration of serum MDA (p<0.001), TrACP (p<0.01). Improvement in antioxidant status is reflected by significant rise in concentration of serum SOD (p<0.001) and erythrocyte GSH (p<0.001) after 90 days of antioxidant supplementation in osteoporosis. The findings indicate that on the whole bone status improved with prolonged antioxidant vitamin supplementation, which can be used as a palliative treatment for osteoporosis. The efficacy is not affected whether the vitamins are administered singly or conjointly.