Search

Background: Neonatal congenital hypothyroidism screening is performed by measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in a dried blood spot (DBS) sample, whereas acquired hypothyroidism uses serum TSH. There is no established DBS TSH reference interval, but knowing this is useful, as some patients cannot tolerate venepuncture, so DBS collection is seen as an acceptable alternative. The aim of this study was to establish DBS TSH reference intervals in adults and neonates (day 5–8), and determine the relationship between serum and DBS TSH.Methods: Euthyroid adults, not on thyroid medication and with a normal haematocrit, were selected. If they had a paired lithium heparin sample, DBS were prepared by spotting 50 µL of whole blood onto filter paper. Dried blood spot TSH was measured using the PerkinElmer Neonatal hTSH kit on the GSP instrument and serum using the Abbott Architect assay. The relationship between DBS and serum TSH was analysed using Passing–Bablok regression and the adult DBS TSH reference interval calculated using transformed data. The neonatal reference interval was calculated from screening results using the non-parametric method.Results: Overall, 109 adult samples were included in the study (61 female). The Passing–Bablok regression was: DBS TSH = 0.68 × serum TSH + 0.07, and reference interval was 0.49–3.07 mU/L. The neonatal DBS reference interval was 0.40–4.10 mU/L from 8351 results.Conclusion: This study derived adult and neonate TSH DBS reference intervals using the GSP analyser and established the relationship between serum and DBS TSH. Knowing this information will allow for improved interpretation of DBS TSH results.

Background: Presently, the COVID 19 has made its presence all over the world. Since, there is no definitive cure available, prevention is the only mode to control the increase of the disease. Thus, this study was undertaken to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards COVID19 in Mangalore, Karnataka, India. Methods: An online questionnaire was circulated among the medical students using the Google form. The questionnaire contained questions regarding the demographic details, attitude and knowledge of the students to be assessed. The response was typed in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 and data represented as frequency (n) and percentage (%). Results: A total of 321 responses were received from medical students, majority were female (199, 62%), nearly 50% were from Final (Clinical) phase. More than 10% of the students believed that the pandemic will last for more than 1 year. Most of the students were aware of the methods to prevent COVID 19 while most were unsure whether antibiotics (76%), hydroxychloroquine (47%), herbal drugs (97%) useful in prevention of COVID 19. Conclusion: The medical students were aware of the pathogenesis of COVID and IPC practices to be followed to prevent its spread. But they were not sure about the appropriate medication for the disease, which was not clear even to specialist, during the period which the study was undertaken.

Microorganisms residing within the diverse parts of plants play a significant role in the plant growth and defence response. Hence, the current study emphasized the isolation and screening of plant-beneficial traits of isolates obtained from leaves of Musa acuminata cultivated in Kottayam, Kerala. Among the many isolates obtained during screening, MP 11 was found to have promising activity against the tested phytopathogens viz. Fusarium rolfsii, Pythium aphanidermatum, Phytophthora infestans, Sclerotium rolfsii. This isolate was further identified as Pseudomonas sp. by the 16S rRNA-based sequence analysis. Additionally, the isolate was analysed for various plant growth promoting traits, whereby it showed its capability to solubilise zinc and phosphate, IAA, HCN and ACC deaminase production. MP 11 also showed potential to provide post-harvest protection to the rice seeds from P. aphanidermatum and S. rolfsii. Based on all these properties, the isolated PGPB could be developed into a formulation which would induce multiple beneficial impacts in the production of rice.

Biomaterials for tissue scaffolds are key components in modern tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Targeted reconstructive therapies require a proper choice of biomaterial and an adequate choice of cells to be seeded on it. The introduction of stem cells, and the transdifferentiation procedures, into regenerative medicine opened a new era and created new challenges for modern biomaterials. They must not only fulfill the mechanical functions of a scaffold for implanted cells and represent the expected mechanical strength of the artificial tissue, but furthermore, they should also assure their survival and, if possible, affect their desired way of differentiation. This paper aims to review how modern biomaterials, including synthetic (i.e., polylactic acid, polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene terephthalate, ceramics) and natural (i.e., silk fibroin, decellularized scaffolds), both non-biodegradable and biodegradable, could influence (tissue) stem cells fate, regulate and direct their differentiation into desired target somatic cells.