Massive Fluid Requirements and an Unusual BUN/Creatinine Ratio for Pre-Renal Failure in Patients with Cholera

Background

Cholera is an important infectious cause of secretory diarrhea. The primary symptom of infection is the sudden onset of watery diarrhea with subsequent volume depletion causing renal insufficiency. The objective of this research is to study the level of dehydration at presentation and subsequent fluid management in patients with cholera.

Methods

This study was conducted on 191 patients of Cholera admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan during the period of 5 years. Medical charts were evaluated retrospectively for initial hydration status, baseline lab investigations on admission and discharge and fluid therapy given to all the patients while their stay in the hospital and the data was analyzed on SPSS 15.0.

Results

Out of the 191 patients, 83(43%) were males and 108 (57%) were females with mean age of 42.3 years (SD±18.34). The average duration of symptoms was 3.75 days (SD±2.04). Of 191 patients, 175 (92.1%) presented with dehydration, 80 (42.3%) were given Ringer''s Lactate (R/L) + Normal Saline (N/S), 45 (24%) patients were given R/L + N/S + Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORS), 27 (14.3%) of the patients were kept on R/L only and remaining were given various combinations of R/L, N/S, ORS and Dextrose Saline (D/S). On admission mean Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) was 24.54 (SD±16.6), mean creatinine was 2.47 (SD±2.35) and mean BUN/Creatinine ratio was 11.63 (SD±5.7).

Conclusion

Aggressive fluid rehydration remains the cornerstone of management of cholera. Instead of presenting with a classical BUN/Creatinine ratio of >20∶1, patients with pre-renal failure in cholera may present with a BUN/Creatinine ratio of <15∶1.     

Phytochemical screening and anti-oxidant activity of Sargassum wightii enhances the anti-bacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In this study, the phytochemical, phenolic, flavonoid and bioactive compounds were successfully screened from crude extract of Sargassum wightii by LC-MS analysis after NIST interpretation. Bacterial growth inhibition study result was shown with 24 mm zone inhibition at 200 µg/mL concentration against P. aeruginosa. The increased phenolic content was much closed to gallic acid and the range was observed at 250 μg/mL concentration. In addition, flavonoid contents of the algae extract was indicated more significant with rutin at 200 μg/mL. In result, both the phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extract were more correlated with gallic acid and rutin. Further, the total anti-oxidant and DPPH radical scavenging activities were shown increased activity at 200 μg/mL concentrations. Furthermore, the excellent anti-bacterial alteration result was observed at 200 μg/mL concentration by minimum inhibition concentration. Therefore, the result was revealed that the marine algae Sargassum wightii has excellent phytochemical and anti-oxidant activities, and it has improved anti-bacterial activity against P. aeruginosa.     

Physical and chemical mutagens improved Sporotrichum thermophile,strain ST20 for enhanced Phytase activity

ObjectivePhosphorous is an essential micronutrient of plants and involved in critical biological functions. In nature, phosphorous is mostly present in immobilized inorganic mineral and in the fixed organic form including phytic acid and phosphoesteric compounds. However, the bioavailability of bound phosphorous could be enhanced by the use of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The phytases are widespread in an environment and have been isolated from different sources comprising bacteria and fungi.MethodologyIn current studies, we show the successful use of gamma rays and EMS (Ethyl Methane Sulphonate) mutagenesis for enhanced activity of phytases in a fungal strain Sporotrichum thermophile.ResultsWe report an improved strain ST2 that could produce a clear halo zone around the colony, up to 24 mm. The maximum enzymatic activity was found of 382 U/mL on pH 5.5. However, the phytase activity was improved to 387 U/ml at 45 °C. We also report that the mutants produced through EMS showed the greater potential for phytase production.ConclusionThe current study highlights the potential of EMS mutagenesis for strain improvement over physical mutagens.     

Syntheses and anti-depressant activity of 5-amino-1, 3, 4-thiadiazole-2-thiol imines and thiobenzyl derivatives

A number of new imine derivatives of 5-amino-1, 3, 4-thiadiazole-2-thiol have been synthesized, and their anti-depressant activity was tested using imipramine as reference drug. Two compounds namely 5-{[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methoxy-phenyl)prop-2-en-1-ylidene]-amino}-5-benzylthio-1, 3,4 -thiadiazole 4i(b) and 5-{[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-dimethyl-aminophenyl)-prop-2-en-1-ylidene]amino}-5-benzylthio-1,3,4-thiadiazole 4i(c) have shown significant anti-depressant activity, which decreased immobility time by 77.99% and 76.26% compared to the standard imipramine (82%). All the compounds in the series have passed neurotoxicity tests.     

In vivo glucose-6-phosphatase inhibitory,toxicity and antidiabetic potentials of 2-picolylamine thioureas in Swiss albino mice

The 2-picolylamine is a simplest analogue of the alkaloid that has secondary and tertiary nitrogen function in its cyclic structure like that of alkaloids that can be derivatized to a number of biologically active compounds. In connection to our previous work, in the present work, three thiourea derivatives (I = 1,3-bis(2-benzyl-3-phenyl-1-(pyridine-2-yl) propyl) thiourea, II = 1,3-bis (pyridin-2-ylmethyl) thiourea, and III = 1-(2-benzyl-3-phenyl-1-(pyridine-2-yl) propyl)-3-phenylthiourea) were synthesized using 2-picolylamine template which is a readily available synthetic analogue of naturally occurring alkaloid. The biological effect of the synthesized derivatives were monitored on the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase in Swiss albino mice (21-days). The derivatives were also tested for their potential toxicity in a 28-days sub-chronic toxicity studies by assessing their effects on different parameters like hematological, serum biochemistry and liver histology. The therapeutic effect of the safe derivative (I) was examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice as well. The derivatives showed inhibition of the enzyme activity from good to an excellent degree. Compound I had the highest inhibition with 21.42 ± 5.113 mg of the released phosphate as compared to that of the positive control group (84.55 ± 3.213 mg). Only I turned out to be safe for use in animals without exerting any toxic or lethal effects on any of the assessed parameters in the used animal model. Compound I efficiently reversed the effects like hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and weight loss in the test animals. Out of these three-tested compounds, I was found safe to be use as therapeutic agent in diabetes complications. However, further toxicological studies in other animal models are needed as well.     

Technique of Porcine Liver Procurement and Orthotopic Transplantation using an Active Porto-Caval Shunt

The success of liver transplantation has resulted in a dramatic organ shortage. Each year, a considerable number of patients on the liver transplantation waiting list die without receiving an organ transplant or are delisted due to disease progression. Even after a successful transplantation, rejection and side effects of immunosuppression remain major concerns for graft survival and patient morbidity. Experimental animal research has been essential to the success of liver transplantation and still plays a pivotal role in the development of clinical transplantation practice. In particular, the porcine orthotopic liver transplantation model (OLTx) is optimal for clinically oriented research for its close resemblance to human size, anatomy, and physiology. Decompression of intestinal congestion during the anhepatic phase of porcine OLTx is important to guarantee reliable animal survival. The use of an active porto-caval-jugular shunt achieves excellent intestinal decompression. The system can be used for short-term as well as long-term survival experiments. The following protocol contains all technical information for a stable and reproducible liver transplantation model in pigs including post-operative animal care.     

In vitro propagation of Caralluma tuberculata and evaluation of antioxidant potential

Present study describes rapid in vitro propagation of Caralluma tuberculata, a traditional medicinal plant, and antioxidant potential of calli and plants extracts. The highest callus induction rate (93.3%) with maximum weight of calli 5.2 g was achieved from shoot tip explants on MS medium supplemented with 9.04 μM 2,4-D and 4.44 μM BA. The maximum shoot induction rate (71.1%) with mean number of shoots 3.66 ± 1.53 and 4.6 cm average shoot length was observed on 13.32 μM BA, 4.52 μM 2,4-D and 2.89 μM GA3 appended in MS medium. The developed shoots were best rooted in the presence of 5.07 μM IAA with 3.0 ± 0.15 roots per plantlet. The plants were successfully acclimatized under in vivo conditions. The plants and calli extracts exhibited good antioxidant activities, however, plant extract activities were more pronounced. The phenolic compounds in plant and calli extracts were 0.16% and 0.057%, respectively. While the flavonoids were 0.092% in plant and 0.039% in calli extract. Total Phenolics, flavonoids; DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power potential distributed among different fractions depending upon polarity of the solvent. The highest DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power was exhibited by water fractions; 4.95 mg/mL and 0.729 OD at 10 mg/mL, respectively. The micropropagation protocol can be successfully used for large-scale multiplication and conservation of germplasm of this threatened plant. Furthermore, antioxidant value describes importance of this valuable plant as food and medicine.     

Wnt and SHH in prostate cancer: trouble mongers occupy the TRAIL towards apoptosis

Prostate cancer is a serious molecular disorder that arises because of reduction in tumour suppressors and overexpression of oncogenes. The malignant cells survive within the context of a three-dimensional microenvironment in which they are exposed to mechanical and physical cues. These signals are, nonetheless, deregulated through perturbations to mechanotransduction, from the nanoscale level to the tissue level. Increasingly sophisticated interpretations have uncovered significant contributions of signal transduction cascades in governing prostate cancer progression. To dismantle the major determinants that lie beneath disruption of spatiotemporal patterns of activity, crosstalk between various signalling cascades and their opposing and promoting effects on TRAIL-mediated activities cannot be ruled out. It is important to focus on that molecular multiplicity of cancer cells, various phenotypes reflecting expression of a variety of target oncogenes, reversible to irreversible, exclusive, overlapping or linked, coexist and compete with each other. Comprehensive investigations into TRAIL-mediated mitochondrial dynamics will remain a worthwhile area for underlining causes of tumourigenesis and for unravelling interference options.     

A tabu search algorithm for post-processing multiple sequence alignment

Tabu search is a meta-heuristic approach that is proven to be useful in solving combinatorial optimization problems. We implement the adaptive memory features of tabu search to refine a multiple sequence alignment. Adaptive memory helps the search process to avoid local optima and explores the solution space economically and effectively without getting trapped into cycles. The algorithm is further enhanced by introducing extended tabu search features such as intensification and diversification. The neighborhoods of a solution are generated stochastically and a consistency-based objective function is employed to measure its quality. The algorithm is tested with the datasets from BAliBASE benchmarking database. We have observed through experiments that tabu search is able to improve the quality of multiple alignments generated by other software such as ClustalW and T-Coffee. The source code of our algorithm is available at http://www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/~tariq/tabu/.