Effect of simultaneous sodium oxalate and methionine feeding with and without Varuna (Crataeva nurvala hook & Frost) therapy on urolithogenesis in guinea pigs

The effect of sodium oxalate and methionine supplementation on stone-related constituents of urine was studied in 18 adult male guinea pigs. Their serum and tissue chemistry and histological changes in urinary tract and liver were also studied. The calciuretic effect of methionine was blocked by oxalate. The decrease in uric acid and citric acid, caused by oxalate, was offset by methionine. Oxalate-induced crystalluria and calcium and oxalate deposition in kidney tissue were lessened by methionine. Administration of Varuna, an indigenuous drug, to oxalate and methionine-supplemented animals prevented either totally or partially most of the urolithogenic effects of oxalate and methionine.     

Turn Around Time (TAT) as a Benchmark of Laboratory Performance

Laboratory analytical turnaround time is a reliable indicator of laboratory effectiveness. Our study aimed to evaluate laboratory analytical turnaround time in our laboratory and appraise the contribution of the different phases of analysis towards the same. The turn around time (TAT) for all the samples (both routine and emergency) for the outpatient and hospitalized patients were evaluated for one year. TAT was calculated from sample reception to report dispatch. The average TAT for the clinical biochemistry samples was 5.5 h for routine inpatient samples while the TAT for the outpatient samples was 24 h. The turnaround time for stat samples was 1 h. Pre- and Post-analytical phases were found to contribute approximately 75% to the total TAT. The TAT demonstrates the need for improvement in the pre- and post-analytical periods. We need to tread the middle path to perform optimally according to clinician expectations.     

Studies on a new antitubercular drug, trifluoperazine: Its effect in combination with conventional antitubercular drugs in tubercular lymphadenitis

After demonstrating that trifluoperazine (TFP) possesses invitro antitubercular activity against drug (single and multidrug) resistantMycobacterium tuberculosis, we initiated preliminary clinical studies in a few patients of tubercular lymphadenitis. Effect of TFP was assessed by testing the antitubercular activity of the serum of patients receiving TFP in addition to regular therapy. Patients were divided into two groups of 30 each. For ethical considerations, patients of both groups were treated initially for one month with antitubercular therapy (ATT) consisting of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide and TFP was tried for 15 days only. Patients of group1 were given a single dose of TFP (5mg/day) daily from days 31 to 45 in addition to ATT, while those in group 2 received ATT only. Assessment of the antitubercular activity of the serum (testedin vitro in Youmans and Karlson’s liquid medium) revealed that the serum of patients (collected on 45th day) of group1 (ATT+TFP treated) possessed much higher antitubercular activity than that of group 2 (ATT only treated) patients. Clinical examination indicated that overall improvement was seen much earlier in group1 (ATT+TFP) patients than in group 2 (ATT alone) patients. At the end of the follow up period of 6 months with ATT from 46th day onwards to both groups, there were no side effects due to TFP. Hematology and liver function tests were normal in both the groups. We suggest that TFP has good potential and therefore deserves further studies either in combination with other drugs of ATT or as one of the drugs of ATT, for the treatment of tuberculosis due to MDR strains to find a suitable effective dose without side effects.     

Quantum computing 1. Building blocks of a quantum computer

In this article we have seen how the principles of quantum physics can be exploited in making a computational device. However, we still haven’t seen the kind of algorithms a quantum computer would use and how they would be different from traditional algorithms. We will look at these issues in the next part of this article, with the help of Shor’s famous factorization algorithm. We will also briefly mention some practical issues and the progress achieved so far.     

Preliminary study on circulating serum levels of tumor necrosis factor—Alpha in patients of tuberculosis

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several non-infectious and infectious diseases including tuberculosis. In a prospective longitudinal study, TNF-α level in blood was estimated by sandwich ELISA using anti human TNF-α antibody, in 22 patients with active pleuro-pulmonary and lymphnode tuberculosis before and after chemotherapy and 8 healthy controls. Six patients and six controls had detectable levels (> 5 pg/ml) of TNF-α in blood. The mean TNF-α levels in controls and cases before and after treatment were 182.4pg/ml, 896.7 pg/ml and 678.7pg/ml pg/ml respectively. Though not statistically significant, there was a trend towards younger age, shorter duration of symptoms, presence of fever and anorexia, and high ESR, in patient with high serum TNF-α levels.     

Serum ionised calcium in birth asphyxia

Serum total and ionised calcium levels were measured at birth and at 48 hours in 25 term neonates with birth asphyxia (one minute APGAR score of 6 or less) and in 25 normal term neonates (one minute APGAR score of 7 or more). Infants were categorised into two groups TAGA (term appropriate for gestational age) and TSGA (term small for gestational age). Asphyxiated infants had significantly lower serum total and ionised calcium values at birth as well as at 48 hours. Abnormal clinical features were observed in 48% of asphyxiated infants. Low ionised calcium was detected in symptomatic babies, who had otherwise normal total calcium values. Due to hyocalcemia especially ionised calcium in asphyxiated infants and high frequency of functional derangement associated with this hypocalcemioa, serial monitoring of serum isonised calcium levels is necessary.     

Antitubercular activity of garlic (allium sativum) extract on combination with conventional antitubercular drugs in tubercular lymphadenitis

Based on our demonstration earlier that ethanol extract, water extract and a compound purified from garlic possessedin vitro antitubercular activity against drug resistant and susceptibleMycobacterium tuberculosis, we tried the effect of garlic extract in 30 patients of tubercular lymphadenitis. For ethical considerations, two groups of patients, 30 each, were given antitubercular therapy (ATT) consisting of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide for 30 days. For the next 15 days (31 to 45 days) group 1 patients received 3–6 garlic pearls per day in addition to ATT while group 2 patients received ATT only. From 46th day onwards both the groups received ATT only for 6–8 months. Antitubercular activity of the serum samples collected on 45th day was assessed by its effect on the growth ofM. tuberculois. The serum of group 1 patients showed significantly much higher antitubercular activity than that of group 2 patients. Further, there was relief of dyspeptic symptoms caused by ATT therapy in patients of group 1 with garlic plus ATT therapy but no change in group 2 patients with ATT only. Liver function and hematological tests were normal in both the groups after 6 months of therapy. Garlic extracts or compounds have a good potential as antitubercular(s) drug if given as a supplement to ATT.     

Effect of pulse direct current signals on electrotactic movement of nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae

The nematodes (worms) Caenorhabditiselegans and Caenorhabditisbriggsae are well-known model organisms to study the basis of animal development and behaviour. Their sinusoidal pattern of movement is highly stereotypic and serves as a tool to monitor defects in neurons and muscles that control movement. Until recently, a simple yet robust method to initiate movement response on-demand did not exist. We have found that the electrical stimulation in a microfluidic channel, using constant DC electric field, induces movement (termed electrotaxis) that is instantaneous, precise, sensitive, and fully penetrant. We have further characterized this behaviour and, in this paper, demonstrate that electrotaxis can also be induced using a pulse DC electric signal. Worms responded to pulse DC signals with as low as 30% duty cycle by moving towards the negative electrode at the same speed as constant DC fields (average speed of C. elegans?=?296?±?43?μm/s and C. briggsae?=?356?±?20?μm/s, for both constant and pulse DC electric fields with various frequencies). C. briggsae was found to be more sensitive to electric signals compared to C. elegans. We also investigated the turning response of worms to a change in the direction of constant and pulse DC signals. The response for constant DC signal was found to be instantaneous and similar for most worms. However, in the case of pulse DC signal, alterations in duty cycle affected the turning response time as well as the number of responding worms. Our findings show that pulse DC method allows quantitative measurement of response behaviour of worms and suggest that it could be used as a tool to study the neuronal basis of such a behaviour that is not observed under constant DC conditions.