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Background: Spinal hamartoma is an extremely rare lesion for symptomatic spinal cord compression in adult population. Without any association of spinal dysraphism and neurofibromatosis, only 3 cases have been reported in the literature. Case description: A 40-year-old man presented with lumbago femorica for 6 months. Gradually the symptoms worsened and he developed features of Cauda equina syndrome. Magnetic Resonence Imagimg demonstrated a heterogeneously hyperintense intradural extramedullary mass in both T1 and T2WI, involving conus medullaris and cauda equina, opposite to L1. Patient underwent near total resection of lesion through posterior midline approach. Histopathological features were consistent with hamartoma. Patient neurologically improved and follow up MRI at 6 months showed static small nodular tumor residue. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, current report is the fourth case of spinal hamartoma in adult male, without any association of spinal dysraphism and neurofibromatosis .This may be the first reported case from Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND Several feed additives have been used in recent past to reduce enteric methane production in ruminants. But most of them also inhibit feed digestibility and rumen fermentation, thereby lowering animal performance. Phytogenic feed additives are gaining importance owing to their safety in regard to human health issues. The present study examined the effect of dietary supplementation of phytogenic feed additive containing a blend of poplar (Populus deltoides) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) leaves on feed utilization, milk production, methane emissions and health status of Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). RESULTS The daily milk yield, 6% fat corrected milk yield, and fat-protein corrected milk yield were increased (P

Tea (Camellia sinensis) being the most consumed beverage worldwide. The safety evaluation of tea needs to be monitored during pregnancy, prenatal as well as postnatal developmental period beside its beneficial roles toward health and disease. Black Tea extract (BTE) may have an impact on thyroid hormone physiology and reproductive health during pregnancy. The objective of present study was to evaluate the role of BTE on thyroid physiology of pregnant rat during prenatal and postnatal period. Among three experimental groups, Group 1 was the control pregnant female rats respectively treated orally with saline, Group 2 and Group 3 were pregnant female rats treated with 50 mg and 100 mg BTE/kg body weight/day, p.o. respectively throughout prenatal and postnatal periods. All three groups of rats were provided balance diet and drinking water ad libitum. Animals were examined through their T3, T4, TSH, E2 and P4 hormone assay and histology of thyroid, ovary and uterus. All data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation with significance between the controls and the treated groups (n = 6). Experimental data were subjected to the ANOVA and Tukey test; P

Ruminant livestock production processes are the major sources of methane production in agriculture sector triggering global environmental pollution. Above 90% of world buffalo population present in Asian countries, India ranks first and contributes significantly to the environmental pollution by enteric methane emissions. In this study, we examined the effect of dietary composite feed additive supplementation on ruminal methane production, nutrient utilization, milk production and immune status of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Eighteen lactating Murrah (Bubalus bubalis) buffaloes at early stage of lactation were divided into two groups of nine animals and fed a composite feed additive [consisted of (%, w/w) dried and ground leaves of Cordia dichotoma and Holoptelea integrifolia, 31.4 each; garlic oil, 0.6; sodium nitrate, 3.1; magnesium sulphate, 8.4; mustard oil, 12.6 and cottonseed oil, 12.5] which contained an ideal combinations of methane inhibitors, alternate hydrogen sinks and rumen stimulating agents to treatment (CFA) group animals along with basal feed of chaffed green sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) fodder, chaffed wheat straw and concentrate mixture for maintenance and milk production. The results showed a decrease (44.6%) in methane concentration in exhaled air of CFA group buffaloes with increase (p

Introduction There is some evidence that homeopathic treatment has been used successfully in previous epidemics, and currently some countries are testing homeoprophylaxis for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There is a strong tradition of homeopathic treatment in India: therefore, we decided to compare three different homeopathic medicines against placebo in prevention of COVID-19 infections. Methods In this double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, four parallel arms, community-based, clinical trial, a 20,000-person sample of the population residing in Ward Number 57 of the Tangra area, Kolkata, was randomized in a 1:1:1:1 ratio of clusters to receive one of three homeopathic medicines (Bryonia alba 30cH, Gelsemium sempervirens 30cH, Phosphorus 30cH) or identical-looking placebo, for 3 (children) or 6 (adults) days. All the participants, who were aged 5 to 75 years, received ascorbic acid (vitamin C) tablets of 500 mg, once per day for 6 days. In addition, instructions on healthy diet and general hygienic measures, including hand washing, social distancing and proper use of mask and gloves, were given to all the participants. Results No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in the target population during the follow-up timeframe of 1 month—December 20, 2020 to January 19, 2021—thus making the trial inconclusive. The Phosphorus group had the least exposure to COVID-19 compared with the other groups. In comparison with placebo, the occurrence of unconfirmed COVID-19 cases was significantly less in the Phosphorus group (week 1: odds ratio [OR], 0.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06 to 0.16; week 2: OR, 0.004; 95% CI, 0.0002 to 0.06; week 3: OR, 0.007; 95% CI, 0.0004 to 0.11; week 4: OR, 0.009; 95% CI, 0.0006 to 0.14), but not in the Bryonia or Gelsemium groups. Conclusion Overall, the trial was inconclusive. The possible effect exerted by Phosphorus necessitates further investigation. Trial registration: CTRI/2020/11/029265.

COVID-19 has become an alarming pandemic for our earth. Worldwide, healthcare workers including neurosurgeons are facing challenges in prioritizing neurosurgical patients. Here we have tried to draw attention to the effective management of patients with limited resources. Prioritizing surgical cases in emergencies, overseeing triage framework for neurosurgeries, rebuilding of the inpatient service, should be of utmost priority. Neurosurgeons should point in the amendment as far as a good life for everybody, while still prioritizing equity in the distribution of services.

Current treatment options of glioblastoma include chemotherapy and limited surgical resection. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the current therapeutic choice for chemotherapy. Still, it has severe limitations due to the development of resistance that occurs by genetic modification and constitutive activation of several cell signaling pathways. Therefore, it is essential to develop combination therapy of TMZ with other novel compounds to prevent the development of chemo-resistance. In this study, we used two inhibitors; ICA, an inhibitor of PKC-ι and ζ-Stat, an inhibitor of PKC-ζ. T98G and U87MG glioblastoma cells were treated with either ICA or ζ-stat or TMZ monotherapies, as well as TMZ were combined with either ICA or ζ-stat for five consecutive days. Our in vitro results exhibited that ICA when combined with TMZ, significantly decreased the viability of cancerous cells compared with untreated or TMZ or ICA monotherapies. Additionally, glioblastoma cells were remarkably undergoing apoptosis against the combination treatment of TMZ and ICA nucleotide compared with untreated control cells, as suggested by our Annexin-V/PI flow cytometric analysis. Moreover, the combination of TMZ and ICA also decreased the invasion of glioblastoma cell lines by acting on FAK/Paxillin pathway, as evidenced by scratch assay, transwell invasion assay, Western blot and immunoprecipitation analysis. Furthermore, our in vivo data presented that the combination of ICA and TMZ also reduced glioblastoma tumor growth and volume in mice. These data suggest that atypical PKCs, particularly PKC-ι might be an important therapeutic target as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of glioblastoma.

This study was to evaluate the changes in blood and liver parameters caused by oral dose of black tea extract (BTE) in experimental albino rats throughout pregnancy and lactation periods. Pregnant female Wister albino rats were chosen for this study. Group 1 was control group treated with saline. Group 2 and Group 3 were pregnant female rats treated with 50 and 100 mg BTE/kg/day respectively throughout pregnancy and lactation periods. All three groups of rats were provided with food and drinking water ad libitum. Animals were examined through their hematological profile, SEM of RBC and liver function test. BTE (100 mg/kg/day) produced significant alterations in hemoglobin concentration, total RBC and WBC count compared to control groups. BTE (100 mg/kg/day) also induced significant changes in the histology of liver and serum enzymes for liver function test compared to control groups. This study confirmed that BTE altered the parameters of blood and liver in pregnant and lactating experimental albino rats.

Objective An experiment was conducted to examine the effect of dietary supplementation of dried and ground foliage of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) on feed intake and utilization, and production performance of crossbred lactating cows. Methods Eighteen lactating crossbred (Bos taurus×Bos indicus) cows (body weight 330.93± 10.82 kg) at their second and mid lactation (milk yield 6.77±0.54 kg/d) were randomly divided into three groups of six each in a completely randomized block design. Three supplements were formulated by quantitatively replacing 0, 50, and 100 per cent of dietary wheat bran of concentrate mixture with dried and ground foliage of black gram. The designated supplement was fed to each group with basal diet of rice straw (ad libitum) to meet the requirements for maintenance and milk production. Daily feed intake and milk yield was recorded. A digestion trial was conducted to determine the total tract digestibility of various nutrients. Results The daily feed intake was increased (p0.05), the fibre digestibility was increased (p0.05) among the groups, milk yield was increased by 10 per cent with total replacement of wheat bran in concentrate mixture with of black gram foliage. The economics of milk production calculated as feed cost per kg milk yield (INR 10.61 vs 7.98) was reduced by complete replacement of wheat bran with black gram foliage. Conclusion Black gram foliage could be used as complete replacement for wheat bran in concentrate mixture of dairy cows in formulating least cost ration for economic milk production in small holders’ animal production.

This study was to determine the different parameters that affect the outcome and the functional recovery after surgical evacuation of spontaneous hypertensive supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage. This cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in the Department of Neuro- surgery, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during a period of 4 years from January 2016 to December 2019 and total 96 patients were included in this study. Patients with post-traumatic hematomas, intracranial space-occupying lesions with bleeds, haemorrhagic transformation of an ischemic stroke, vascular malformations, aneurysms, and infratentorial haemorrhages were excluded from the study. Decompressive craniotomy and evacuation of clot was performed in most of the cases. The outcome of the patients was categorized according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Outcome was classified as “favourable” if the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score was 5 or 4, and classified as “unfavorable” if GOS score was 3 or less. The mean age of the patients was 57.99±12.74 years with male and female ratio was 1.66. The mean blood volume was 28±19.99 cc and all patients were hypertensive. There was significant difference (p 70 years, GCS

Neuroblastoma, the pediatric cancer of the early nerve cells, has the tendency to become resistant to traditional therapeutics due to its highly heterogeneous nature. Atypical Protein Kinase C-iota (PKC- ι) has been found to promote cell proliferation in neuroblastoma cells through the PKC- ι /Cdk7/Cdk2 signaling pathway. In this study we utilized various cell lines; I-type (intermediate) CHP-212& BE(2)-C, N-types (neuroblastic); BE(2)-M17& SH-SY5Y and S-types (substrate adherent); SK-N-BE(2) & LAI-5s, representing neuroblastoma heterogeneity to investigate the use of aPKC inhibitors as potential neuroblastoma therapeutics. The aPKC inhibitors, 5-amino-1-2,3-dihydroxy-4-(methylcyclopentyl)-1H-imidazole-4-carboxamide (ICA-1S) (PKC- ι specific) and 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid (ζ-Stat) (PKC- ζ specific), both display the ability to reduce neuroblastoma proliferation in a cell type specific manner. ICA-1S was shown to reduce proliferation of BE(2)-C, BE(2)-M17, LAI-5s and SK-N-BE(2) to varying degrees. ζ-Stat was able to consistently reduce proliferation of BE(2)-C, BE(2)-M17, SK-N-BE(2), LAI-5s. The degree of proliferation inhibition varied by drug and cell line. Increasing concentration of ICA-1S displayed an inverse relationship between increasing concentration and a decrease in cell proliferation in the four cell lines previously mentioned. ζ-Stat showed a similar relationship to ICA-1S, however had a lower level inhibition than ICA-1S. WST-1 analysis showed that both drugs displayed varying degrees of toxicity in a cell line dependent manner. The results show that I-type cell lines showed the most linearly proportional toxicity to ICA-1S and ζ-Stat in that increasing concentration increased drug toxicity. N-type cell lines displayed a disproportional relationship between concentration and toxicity. The S-type cell lines followed suit with the N-type in their varying degrees of toxicity. Western blot analysis shows that both inhibitors were effective in reducing the expression of total aPKC levels. We observed the downregulation of various mesenchymal markers using the inhibitors. In particular, ICA-1S appears to have a high percentage of decreased expression of N-cadherin. We also accessed the degree of phosphorylation of Vimentin, S33, S39 and S56 positions which are crucial for its activation. In summary both inhibitors prove to be promising potential neuroblastoma therapeutics. The drugs appear to behave in a more cytostatic manner inhibiting the proliferation of neuroblastoma cells. Further western blots ae still ongoing to determine other pathways through which the drugs act to decrease proliferation. Ongoing experiments include the analysis of tumors collected from mouse models to ascertain the effects of the drugs in vivo as well as the analysis of human tumor samples to ascertain the expression of aPKCs and other markers in patient populations. Experiments also include the use of gene expression knockdowns to compare with the effects from the inhibitors as well as the use of microscopy techniques; fluorescent and electron miscopy to observe the localization of mesenchymal and proliferative markers. Citation Format: Sloan Breedy, Wishrawana S. Ratnayake, Christopher Apostolatos, Avijit Dey, Mildred Acevedo-Duncan. Atypical PKC inhibitors ICA-1S and ζ-Stat show inhibition of neuroblastoma cell proliferation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5216.

There is no effective therapy exists for Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) till now. Few studies have been done on protective effects of green tea in pulmonary fibrosis but there is no single report on black tea extract (BTE) in pulmonary fibrosis so far. This study aims to investigate the anti-fibrotic effect of BTE against experimental pulmonary fibrosis. Four groups of animals were selected for this study. Group 1: control group mice. Group 2: mice exposed to bleomycin for 21 days, Group 3 and Group 4: bleomycin exposed mice treated with 25 mg BTE/kg b.w./day, p.o and 50 mg BTE/kg b.w./day, p.o. respectively for 21 days. Bleomycin exposed mice showed increased collagen deposition and wet/dry weight ratio, which were attenuated upon 50 mg BTE/kg b.w. treatment. The increased level of histopathological parameters in bleomycin-induced mice was significantly decreased after 50 mg BTE/kg b.w. treatment. Furthermore, 50 mg BTE/kg b.w. administration also decreased the expression of α-SMA in bleomycin-induced mice. This treatment with 50 mg BTE/kg b.w. also down regulated the expression of TGF-β and up regulated IFN-γ expression in experimental pulmonary fibrosis. The results of the present study put-forward BTE as a potential anti-fibrotic agent due to its attenuating effect on potential fibrotic markers.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of condensed tannins (CT) from Ficus bengalensis leaves on the feed utilization, milk production and health status of crossbred cows. Eighteen crossbred dairy cows at their second and mid lactation (avg. BW 351.6±10.6 kg) were randomly divided into two groups of nine each in a completely randomized block design and fed two iso-nitrogenous supplements formulated to contain 0% and 1.5% CT through dried and ground leaves of Ficus bengalensis. The diets were designated as CON and FBLM, respectively and fed to cows with a basal diet of rice straw to meet requirements for maintenance and milk production. The daily milk yield was significantly (p

Complete or partial depletion of resource in a freshwater habitat is a common phenomenon. As a consequence, aquatic fauna including bivalve molluscs may be exposed to dietary stress on a seasonal basis. Haemocyte based innate immune profile of the freshwater mollusc Lamellidens marginalis (Bivalvia: Eulamellibranchiata) was evaluated under starvation induced stress for a maximum period of 32 days in a controlled laboratory condition. During starvation, the bivalve haemocytes maintained a homeostasis in phagocytic efficacy and nitric oxide generation ability with respect to the control. The mollusc maintained a significantly high protein content in its haemolymph and tissues under the nutritional stress with respect to the control. The dietary stress had no significant impact on the activity of digestive tissue derived α-amylase till sixteenth day but by 32 days the enzyme activity went down significantly. The histopathological profile revealed that the bivalve was adapted to maintain a steady immune profile by incurring degeneration of its own tissue structure. The total haemocyte count surged significantly till 16 days but differed insignificantly with respect to the control at 32 days implying probable haematopoietic exhaustion. The study reflects the instinctive urge of the bivalve to maintain immune physiology at heavy metabolic cost under nutrient limited condition.

BACKGROUND Arsenic, acting as an endocrine disruptor, causes reproductive malfunctions. Studies have been undertaken to find out whether the co-supplementation of α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid (AT-AA) could reduce the arsenic-induced testicular toxicity caused by oxidative stress and resulting DNA damage. METHODS Adult male Wistar rats (120±10 g) were given arsenic trioxide [3 mg/kg body weight (b.wt.) per day] for 30 consecutive days and the supplement group received α-tocopherol (400 mg/kg b.wt. per day) and ascorbic acid (200 mg/kg b.wt. per day). Reproductive functions were evaluated with respect to the histoarchitecture, gametokinetic activity, androgenic potential, glutathione-dependent antioxidant status and DNA damage of the testis. RESULTS Arsenic treatment caused marked reduction in the relative weight of the testis (p

The aim of this study was to phytochemically investigate the ethanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. calyces and to evaluate the analgesic, anti-microbial and anti-diarrheal activities of this. The calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa were separated from the other plant parts and sun dried and extracted using ethanol and phytochemically and pharmacologically evaluated.Different Phytochemical tests were performed for phytochemical screening and for determining the functional groups. Different methods like Disc diffusion method for antimicrobial activity determination, Castor oil induced diarrhea in mice method for the antidiarrheal study and Acetic acid induced writhing test for analgesic activity were employed. Phytochemical screening of the calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa ensured the presence of alkaloid, flavonoids, saponins, tannins in the crude ethanolic extract. The peripheral analgesic activity was evaluated by acetic acid induced Writhing method. The extract produced 66.85% (p< 0.001) inhibition of writhing in mice at the dose of 500-mg/kg body weight, which is comparable to diclofenac sodium (78.45% (p

The study was to see the effect of administration of ruminal fungi on feed intake, growth rate, rumen fermentation and nutrient digestion of calves (TharparkarxHolstein-Friesian, average age: 10 months, average body weight: 130 kg). The 6 calves in first group were fed a mixture consisted of 50% wheat straw and 50% concentrate (Maize 62%, Groundnut cake 35%, Mineral mix. 2% and Common salt 1%) along with 1 kg green oats animal - 1 day - 1 while second group calves were fed the above-mentioned diet in addition to a dose of 160 ml (10 6 CFU/ml) fungal culture calf 1 week - 1 . The average dry matter intake per day was slightly lowered in fungal fed calves yet feed conversion ratio was higher. The average daily weight gain was significantly higher (15.37%) in fungal administered group as compared to control. The nutrient digestibility was increased for crude fibre, NDF and ADF with fungal administration. Digestible energy value of straw-based diet in terms of percent TDN also increased. The pH and NH 3 -N were lower whereas TVFA, total-N, TCA-N and number of zoospores were higher in rumen liquor in fungal administered group.