Intravascular haemolysis during prolonged running on asphalt and natural grass in long and middle distance runners

Surface features such as uneven playing surfaces, low impact absorption capacity and inappropriate friction/traction characteristics are connected with injury prevalence whereas force impact during foot strike has been suggested to be an important mechanism of intravascular haemolysis during running. We aimed to evaluate intravascular haemolysis during running and compare the effect of running on two different types of surfaces on haemolysis. We selected two surfaces (asphalt and grass) on which these athletes usually run. Participants were randomly assigned to group A (asphalt) or group B (grass) with 10 athletes in each group. Each athlete completed one hour of running at the calculated target heart rate (60-70%). Venous blood samples were collected before and immediately after running. We measured unconjugated bilirubin (UBR) (mg · dl(-1)), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (μ · ml(-1)), haemoglobin (g · l(-1)) and serum ferritin (ng · ml(-1)) as indicators of haemolysis. Athletes who ran on grass demonstrated an increase in the haematological parameters (UBR: P < 0.01, LDH: P < 0.05) when compared to athletes who ran on asphalt (UBR: P < 0.05, LDH: P = 0.241). Our findings indicate that intravascular haemolysis occurs significantly after prolonged running. Furthermore, we conclude that uneven grass surface results in greater haemolysis compared to asphalt road.     

Hypocalcemia in an 11 Year Old Child: <Emphasis Type="Italic">A Difficult Case to Treat</Emphasis>

Hypocalcemia is a laboratory and clinical abnormality that is observed especially in neonates and paediatric patients. Laboratory hypocalcaemia is often asymptomatic but it can manifest as central nervous system irritability, paraesthesia, tetany (i.e. contraction of hands, arms, feet, larynx, bronchioles), seizures, and even psychiatric changes in children. Cardiac function may also be impaired because of poor muscle contractility. We report a unique case of an eleven year old male child who presented with chronic kidney disease associated with severe hypocalcemia, tonic-clonic seizures, hypovitaminosis D but normal electroencephalogram and electrocardiography. The child required prolonged intravenous calcium gluconate therapy to correct his ionised calcium levels.     

Dynamic Changes in Circulatory Cytokines and Chemokines Levels in Mild to Severe COVID-19 Patients

Immune dysregulation is a key feature of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). However, disparities in responses across ethnic groups are underappreciated. This study aimed to determine the relationship between chemokines and cytokines and the severity of COVID-19. Multiplex magnetic bead-based Luminex-100 was used to assess chemokine and cytokine levels in COVID-19 patients at admission (day-1) and after 4 days. The mean age of the patients recruited was 54.3 years, with 19 (63.3%) males. COVID-19 patients had significantly lower lymphocyte, monocyte, hemoglobin and eosinophil levels than controls (p < 0.05). COVID-19 patients showed significantly higher neutrophil levels than controls (p < 0.05). The baseline levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IFN-α/γ significantly increased in COVID-19 patients (p < 0.05). Chemokine levels (IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, and CCL-5) were significantly in COVID-19 patients. IL-8, IP-10, and MIG levels were significantly higher in the patients with severe COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Individuals with mild COVID-19 showed significantly higher levels of INF-α, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8, whereas IL-10 levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05). TNF-levels decreased significantly in individuals with severe COVID-19, whereas IL-6, IL-8, and MIG levels increased (p < 0.05). After 4 days, INFα-, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10, and MIG levels were significantly higher in patients with mild disease, whereas IL-6, MIG, and TNF-αlevels were significantly higher in patients with severe disease (p < 0.05). Thus, we conclude that COVID-19 is characterized by INF-α/γ, IL-6, IL-10, IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, and CCL5 dysregulation. IL-8, MIG, and IP-10 levels distinguish between moderate and severe COVID-19. Changes in INF-α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10, and MIG levels can be used to monitor disease progression.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12291-022-01108-x.     

Mosaic Recombination Inflicted Various SARS-CoV-2 Lineages to Emerge into Novel Virus Variants: a Review Update

Human Coronaviruses (hCoVs) belongs to the enormous and dissimilar family of positive-sense, non-segmented, single-stranded RNA viruses. The RNA viruses are prone to high rates of mutational recombination resulting in emergence of evolutionary variant to alter various features including transmissibility and severity. The evolutionary changes affect the immune escape and reduce effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic measures by becoming undetectable by the currently available diagnostics and refractory to therapeutics and vaccines. Whole genome sequencing studies from various countries have adequately reported mosaic recombination between different lineage strain of SARS-CoV-2 whereby RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene reconnects with a homologous RNA strand at diverse position. This all lead to evolutionary emergence of new variant/ lineage as evident with the emergence of XBB in India at the time of writing this review. The continuous periodical genomic surveillance is utmost required for understanding the various lineages involved in recombination to emerge into hybrid variant. This may further help in assessing virus transmission dynamics, virulence and severity factor to help health authorities take appropriate timely action for prevention and control of any future COVID-19 outbreak.     

Circulating Cell-Free DNA Level in Prediction of COVID-19 Severity and Mortality: Correlation of with Haematology and Serum Biochemical Parameters

Lymphocyte dysregulation in coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a major contributing factor linked to disease severity and mortality. Apoptosis results in the accumulation of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in circulation. COVID-19 has a heterogeneous clinical course. The role of cfDNA levels was studied to assess the severity and outcome of COVID-19 patients and correlated with other laboratory parameters. The current case series included 100 patients with mild COVID-19 (MCOV-19) and 106 patients with severe COVID-19 (SCOV-19). Plasma cfDNA levels were quantified using SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR through amplification of the β-actin gene. CfDNA level was significantly higher in SCOV-19 at 706.7 ng/ml (522.6–1258) as compared to MCOV-19 at 219.8 ng/ml (167.7–299.6). The cfDNA levels were significantly higher in non-survivor than in survivors (p = 0.0001). CfDNA showed a significant correlation with NLR, ferritin, LDH, procalcitonin, and IL-6. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of cfDNA in the discrimination of SCOV-19 from MCOV-19 were 90.57% & 80%, respectively. CfDNA showed a sensitivity of 94.74% in the differentiation of non-survivors from survivors. CfDNA levels showed a significant positive correlation with other laboratory and inflammatory markers of COVID-19. CfDNA levels, NLR, and other parameters may be used to stratify and monitor COVID-19 patients and predict mortality. CfDNA may be used to predict COVID-19 severity with higher diagnostic sensitivity.     

‘Whatever she may study,she can’t escape from washing dishes’: gender inequity in secondary education – evidence from a longitudinal study in India

Using unique panel data from Young Lives study conducted in undivided Andhra Pradesh, India, this mixed-method paper analyses gender differentials in completion of secondary education. Results show biased secondary school completion rates in favor of boys. Probit regression results highlight certain variables such as mothers’ education, wealth, high self-efficacy, early reading skills, lower birth order, and not engaging in more than two hours of domestic work and paid work at age 12, as positively associated with educational outcomes for girls. Decomposition analysis highlights that engaging in domestic chores at age 12 is the most contributory factor (36%) for the persisting gender gap. The other unexplained contributory factors may well be existing discriminatory social norms and son preference, which is captured by the qualitative case studies. The findings suggest that unless we are able to address persisting gender norms, universalizing secondary education with gender equity, will remain a distant dream.     

Virtual education in universities: a technological imperative

Many educational journals have debated the issue of the "virtual university". As technology is improving and evolving, such "virtuality" becomes a reality. The forecasts are that, in the not too distant future, it will be possible for courses to be completed solely by the use of the World Wide Web or Internet. These "virtual classrooms" will take the place of the solid buildings where students currently attend lectures, at set times in set rooms. The information will be gathered at the student's convenience and assignments will be handed in via this medium. There is potentially an advantage for everyone involved, from the reduced building resource costs to the availability of teaching support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Whilst many of these studies identify the benefits of technology in education there are dissenting voices from many other quarters. However there are also arguments identifying the disadvantages to the technology based delivery systems proposed. Either way, there are going to be radical changes in the methods which students will use to tackle the workload involved in studying towards a degree. This paper will explore both sides of the argument. The main contention of this paper is that technology undoubtedly will offer many benefits for the learner, however, the pitfalls need careful consideration in the design of the learning environment. This paper uses examples from educational institutions across different cultures.