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Background: Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) emerging in developed as well as developing countries, with the complicated pathogenesis. The study of expression of the genes related to kidney cells e.g. podocytes has been shown to be associated with the condition, helping in the elucidation of pathogenesis of the disease. Previously the gene expression associated was studied in urine samples. Material and Methods: In the present study, it was attempted to analyze the mRNA expression of podocyte related genes viz. podocalyxin, podocin and synaptopodin in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) in patients with diabetes with and without nephropathy in comparison with healthy controls by reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), followed by semi-quantitative PCR. Results: The expression of Synaptopodin (SYNPO) was increased in diabetics than the controls, while no significant difference was found for Podocalixyn (PODXL) and Podocin (NPHS2). The expression of PODXL and NPHS2 was significantly up-regulated; SYNPO was unaltered in microalbuminuric patients than healthy controls. PODXL and SYNPO were increased significantly in nephropathy subjects than controls, with no significant change in NPHS2. The expression of only PODXL was found to be upregulated in microalbuminuric patients as compared to T2DM patients without nephropathy. PODXL, SYNPO were significantly up-regulated and NPHS2 was significantly down-regulated in nephropathy subjects as compared to T2DM patients without nephropathy. A significant down-regulation was found for NPHS2 expression in nephropathy patients than microalbuminuric patients of T2DM with nephropathy. Conclusion: The detection of gene expression of these proteins can be used as an early marker for the detection of development of nephropathy in T2DM patients and preventive measures can be taken to prolong the onset of nephropathy in these patients, increasing the life expectancy.

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the leading non-communicable disorders, leading to various complications viz. cardiovascular diseases, retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and peripheral vascular disorders. Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) patients further develop into End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and they have to undergo the repeated blood transfusions, increasing the social and economic burden. The number of risk factors are known for causation of diabetic nephropathy including the environmental, biochemical as well as genetic factors. The association of nephropathy with various genes has been proved. Aim and Objectives: In the present study we attempted to check the association of Insertion/Deletion (I/D) polymorphism of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) in diabetic patients with and without nephropathy and also with the biochemical markers. Material and Methods: Each group consisted of 110 individuals viz. diabetics with and without nephropathy and age and gender matched healthy controls. Results: The determination of I/D polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction revealed the significant increased 'D' allele frequencies in patients of diabetes with and without nephropathy than the controls, while no significant difference was noted in genotype frequencies. The odds ratios for this polymorphism were calculated to be 1.84 and 2.41 for DM and DN respectively in comparison with the healthy controls. The regression analysis indicated I/D polymorphism is associated positively with all the lipid parameters, except High Density Lipoprotein- Cholesterol (HDL-C) which was negatively associated with the polymorphism. The levels of lipid parameters were also significantly increased in patients of diabetes with and without nephropathy carriers for 'D' allele than the patients having 'I' allele, while the level of HDL-C was significantly decreased. Conclusion: The conclusion can be made from these results that, the presence of I/D polymorphism of ACE may increase the risk of development of nephropathy in general population, with the role of 'D' allele in its causation, along with its effect on the biochemical markers.

The utilization of organic compounds has been established to be perhaps the best, most proficient, and most powerful method for controlling corrosion. Organic compounds extend into benefits by complexing at the metal-environment interface applying their electron-dense centers, which are known as binding centers. Though, because they have small molecular size, they do not have satisfactory corrosion protection. Accordingly, there is an exceptional requirement for major atomic changes. Toward this path, unique accentuation is put on the utilization of epoxy resins (ERs)-based synthetic monomers as inhibitors for corrosion. The nature of the structure that includes polar functional groups makes the monomers adsorb strongly on the metal surface and give remarkable metal protection. This review report gives a concise outline of the most recent improvements in the utilization of ERs as corrosion inhibitors. This report gives a short outline of the consumption and general utilization of various sorts of ERs and corrosion inhibition processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted among 60 farmers to know the socio economic status of the farmers owning Kalyana Gidda cattle in Raichur and Yadgir districts of Northern Karnataka and they were exposed to a structured interview schedule. The study found that the family type of the respondents was majorly joint type and most of the respondents were in middle age category, followed by old age and young age category. It was found that majority of the farmers had no education followed by primary education and large majority of the respondents had agriculture as their primary occupation followed by agricultural labour, business and animal husbandry. It was evident from the results that the majority of the farmers had animal husbandry (66.66 %) as secondary occupation. A considerable size (35 %) of the respondents belonged to small farmers category, followed by 33.33, 18.33, 8.33, and 5 % of respondents belonged to medium, marginal, large and landless category, respectively. The family income of most of the farmers (70 %) was below Rs. 40,000 followed by Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 80,000 (23.33 %) and only 6.67 % of them had higher income (>Rs. 80,000). It was observed that the average breeding bull holding by the farmers in the study area was higher in Yadgir block followed by Devadurga, Lingasugur and Surapur. Similar trend was observed for male and female calves holding. The average milking female holding was highest in Devadurga block followed by Yadgir, the female holding of Surpur and Lingasurgur was lesser. Similar trend was observed for bullock holding. The average milk yield recorded among all blocks was 2.27 L/day/cow in Kalyana Gidda cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disseminated tuberculosis (TB) is the presence of two or more noncontiguous sites resulting from hematogenous dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report a case of disseminated TB with testicular involvement. Case: A 21-year-old male patient presented to the outpatient department with bilateral testicular enlargement and tenderness for last six months. It was suspected to be a case of epididymo-orchitis and empirical antimicrobial therapy was initiated. However, ultrasonography findings were inconsistent with epididymo-orchitis. Two weeks later the patient again presented with increased nodularity in the right testes. Non-seminomatous germ cell tumor was suspected. However, tumor markers came back normal. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed enlarged lymph nodes in the right inguinal and retroperitoneal region raising a suspicion of testicular lymphoma. Positron emission tomography with computed tomography showed multiple lymphadenopathies. Histopathology of the left axillary lymph node finally confirmed the diagnosis to be tuberculosis. No drug resistance were found and the patient responded well to anti-tubercular drugs. Conclusion: Diagnosing disseminated TB is difficult as it mimics conditions, such as infarction, cancer, torsion, etc. Attention to small details is necessary. We faced a similar situation in our patient. The patient went through a myriad of tests before finally being diagnosed with TB. Histopathological study was able to get it whereas cytology could not. Similar and totally opposite cases were found in the literature. This highlights the difficulty and importance of these type of cases.

Social sustainability in fisheries focuses on retaining or improving societal welfare in the fishery system without threatening its long-term financial benefits and socio-cultural welfare. However, often social sustainability issues are ignored while implementing any fisheries management actions rather than only focusing on economic and environmental sustainability issues. This study assesses the social sustainability in Bangladesh marine fisheries management gaining insights from the coastal and marine fisheries-dependent communities of Hatiya Upazila in 2021–2022 using a mixed method approach especially focusing on the social issues during the marine fishing ban. Results have shown positive effects on fish production but negative implications on the socio-economic circumstances of the reliant households after the implementation of the marine fishing ban. During the ban, the ability of around 33 % of fisher households to have 3 meals a day has drastically reduced to 2 or 1 meal per day. Households' average fish intake has reduced from 7 kg to 4 kg per week during the ban. Similarly, there have been detrimental effects on family relationships, healthcare access and children's education during the ban. Moreover, pregnant women and children have suffered greatly from protein deficiencies as fishers could not buy protein-rich foods for their families during the ban. Due to the shortage of alternate income-generating activities (AIGAs), almost 71 % of fishers became indebted during the ban. To assist the fishers during the ban, the government has implemented several measures, such as offering incentives (40 kg of rice per registered fisherman per month) and/or AIGA but those are too scant to recompense for the loss that is incurred due to the fishing ban. Finally, this study provides some way forward to bring social sustainability that is affected due to the marine fishing ban as well as to partly meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 14 and 15.

Introduction: Execution of COVID-19 lockdown measures caused variations in air pollution worldwide. This paper investigates the impact of COVID-19 stringency measures on the spatio-temporal dynamics of air pollution in Mumbai, India, using a comprehensive two-and-a-half-year pandemic period dataset. Materials and methods: We classified the pandemic period into 7 phases and 21 sub-phases based on the severity of the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) Stringency Index (SI). Optimized Hotspot analysis (OHS) and Ordinary Least Square Regression models explored the spatio-temporal fluctuations and the effect of stringency measures on air quality. Results: The R2 value varied; with the best model R2 of 0.61 for Particulate Matters (PM10) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and lowest of 0.23 for Sulfur dioxide (SO2). A 10-point increase in SI caused a 3-7% reduction in air pollutants. Substantial reduction in average PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and Carbon monoxide (CO) was observed throughout the COVID-19 phases. Meteorology and SI collectively caused maximum reduction of 82.6%, 72.7%, 53.8%, 52.2%, 49.1%, 28.4% for NO2, PM2.5, PM10, NH3, CO, and SO2 respectively, during complete or extreme lockdown phases. Except SO2, seasonality significantly influenced the pollutant concentrations. Winter was the worst period while monsoon was the best. OHS identified central Mumbai wards as hotspots and areas close to the national park as coldspots. Conclusion: PM10, NO2 and CO were more affected by SI measures than NH3 and SO2. For a rapid emergency response to high PM10, implementation of SI, very high (≥ 80 score) and above is advised. Findings of this study have significant public health policy implications, especially among global south nations.

Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-associated pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were often associated with hyperinflammation and elevation of several serum inflammatory markers but usually less than what is observed in non-coronavirus disease (COVID) ARDS. Elevated inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-6, etc., are associated with severe infection. This study identified subphenotypes of COVID-19 ARDS patients by latent profile analysis in a cohort of Indian patients.

Background: The lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), including pneumonia, are the fourth most common cause of mortality globally and the second most frequent reason for years of life lost. India is home to one-quarter of the world’s pneumonia cases. Aims and Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the clinical, bacteriological and radiological profile of CAP, HAP and VAP patients from a tertiary care teaching hospital. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted at the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Bharati Vidyapeeth (DTU) Medical College and Hospital, Pune, India. The study included 100 clinically diagnosed patients of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Patients were evaluated for clinical symptoms, microbiological investigations, radiological assessment, treatment given, and final outcome. Severity indices were calculated for CAP, HAP, and VAP patients to predict the severity and rate of mortality. Results: The most common symptoms are cough, fever, and shortness of breath. The most common organisms isolated in sputum cultures of patients with pneumonia are Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, and Acinetobacter. The most common site of consolidation on chest X-ray is bilateral. Mortality rates are highest in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), followed by hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Conclusion: The most common symptoms of pneumonia are cough, fever, crepitation, and expectoration. Mortality rates are highest in patients with VAP, followed by HAP and CAP.