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Pregnant women with primary hyperparathyroidism may be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms such as fatigue, thirst, constipation, or transient depression. Transfer of calcium from mother to fetus leads to increased fetal calcium concentrations, suppressing fetal parathyroid hormone synthesis, and stimulating calcitonin secretion leading to neonatal hypocalcemia. Here, we present a report of a newborn admitted on day 10 of life with recurrent tonic convulsions. On investigation, it was found that the baby had severe persistent hypocalcemia which when further evaluated was due to asymptomatic maternal hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid adenoma.

Background- Premature births are on a rise. Mechanical ventilation (MV) is required by very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates with respiratory failure. Optimal extubation remains challenging, as approximately 30% of ventilated preterm infants fail extubation. The incidence and risk factors for extubation failure (EF) may vary from country to country. Methods- This prospective observational study was conducted among VLBW neonates to find the EF rate and risk factors. Results- Of the 60 enrolled neonates with a mean gestational age of 30.94±1.55 weeks and mean birth weight of 1198±201 grams, 25 (41.7%) failed extubation. The risk factors associated with EF were shock (0.002), use of vasopressor (0.005), presence of complications (pneumothorax, ventilator-associated pneumonia) (0.032), anemia (0.017), culture-positive sepsis (0.042), duration of MV (0.006), post-extubation FiO2 requirement (Conclusion- Forty-one percent of VLBW neonates failed extubation. Post extubation SAS of ≥ 5, anemia (hemoglobin less than 12 grams) were independent risk factors for EF. Neonates with EF had poor outcomes with more deaths and prolong NICU stay.

Despite cobalt (Co)-free/nickel (Ni)-rich layered oxides being considered as one of the promising cathode materials due to their high specific capacity, their highly reactive surface still hinders practical application. Herein, a polyimide/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PI/PVP, denoted as PP) coating layer is demonstrated as dual protection for the LiNi

Highlight of the multimodal characterization of corrosion behaviour of microgram quantities of UO2, enabled by a novel particle-attached microfluidic electrochemical cell.

International audience; The reaction of bulky trimethylsilylanilide (N-TMSA) ligand with various lanthanide salts led us to isolate unusual and unique four-coordinate monomeric Ln(III) complexes which are challenging to isolate and not surprisingly rare in the literature. The single crystal X-ray diffraction unveils that all the complexes are monomeric and isostructural with the general molecular formula of [Ln(N-TMSA)3(THF)] where Ln = Dy (1) or Yb (2). Both complexes are found to possess distorted tetrahedral geometry. For all the complexes, detailed dc and ac susceptibility measurements were performed and both 1 and 2 show frequency-dependent out-of-phase susceptibility signals only in the presence of an optimum external magnetic field. The experimental observations are well supported by theoretical calculations and developed magneto-structural correlation using the various model complexes.

Study Design: We performed a prospective observational study of 52 patients who were clinically suspected of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), based on the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score, and were referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine.Purpose: To evaluate the quantitative parameters of the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) matrix (fractional anisotropy [FA] and apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC] values) and determine the subsequent correlation with the clinical assessment of disease severity in CSM.Overview of Literature: Conventional MRI is the modality of choice for the identification of cervical spondylotic changes and is known to have a low sensitivity for myelopathy changes. DTI is sensitive to disease processes that alter the water movement in the cervical spinal cord at a microscopic level beyond the conventional MRI.Methods: DTI images were processed to produce FA and ADC values of the acquired axial slices with the regions of interest placed within the stenotic and non-stenotic segments. The final quantitative radiological derivations were matched with the clinical scoring system.Results: Total 52 people (24 men and 28 women), mean age 53.16 years with different symptoms of myelopathy, graded as mild (n=11), moderate (n=25), and severe (n=16) as per the mJOA scoring system, underwent MRI of the cervical spine with DTI. In the most stenotic segments, the mean FA value was significantly lower (0.5009±0.087 vs. 0.655.7±0.104, p

Meningitis, i.e., inflammation of membranes covering the brain parenchyma, is a serious problem in children especially in young infants as it is not only associated with adverse short-term outcomes but also leads to abnormal neurodevelopment including sensory neural deafness later in life. Streptococcus pneumoniae is among the leading causative organisms of meningitis in young infants. Advances in the diagnosis and management of such babies have led to decrease in the mortality from meningitis. However, certain areas such as completion of antimicrobial therapy, monitoring of these babies for complications such as post-meningitic hydrocephalus, ventriculitis, need to be addressed. With missed diagnosis, a large cohort of such babies lands up with chronic disability. There is a need to understand the management of such cases including follow-up so that they survive with good neurological outcomes.

In the present report, Ce3+ modified SnO2 compositions [Sn(1−y)CeyO2, for y = 0, 0.05, and y = 0.10, where y is wt.% of Ce3+] were synthesized via co-precipitation and their physicochemical properties were investigated. Crystal structure studies were carried out by using Rietveld refinement which confirmed high phase-purity and rutile-type tetragonal crystallinity with a P42/mnm space group (space group no. 136) for all samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy depicted the antisymmetric vibrations of Sn-O-Sn and stretching vibration of Sn-O, which were confirmed by bends located at 636 cm−1, and 460 cm−1, respectively. All the compositions showed a strong hump at ~ 300 nm in the ultra-violet (UV) region and the peak shifts slightly towards the blue region with increasing Ce3+content. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs depicted pseudospherical particles with an average particle diameter of 12.84 ± 0.17 nm, 15.55 ± 0.31 nm, and 16.52 ± 0.36 nm for y= 0, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images confirmed tetragonal crystallinity for all the compositions. Dielectric studies illustrated that on increasing the concentration of Ce3+ in the host SnO2, the value of dielectric permittivity increased. The value of tanδ is maximum for pristine SnO2. The variation of ac conductivity was due to Maxwell–Wagner type interfacial polarization. For all the compositions, a sharp hump centered at ~ 407 nm was observed in the photoluminescence spectrum, which may be attributed to the presence of oxygen anion vacancies.

A male infant born out of non-consanguineous marriage to a primigravida presented to us as his third hospitalisation with ichthyotic lesions all over the body, cholestatic jaundice, multiple joint contractures and a history of recurrent sepsis. Blood and urine investigations revealed Fanconi syndrome, hypothyroidism and direct hyperbilirubinaemia with elevated liver enzymes and normal gamma glutamyl transpeptidase levels. The combination of arthrogryposis, renal dysfunction and cholestasis led to the suspicion of arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction, cholestasis (ARC) syndrome, which was then proved by genetic testing. The baby was managed conservatively with respiratory support, antibiotics, multivitamins, levothyroxine and other supportive measures but succumbed to the illness on day 15 of hospitalisation. Genetic analysis using next-generation sequencing was confirmatory of a homozygous mutation in VIPAS39 gene leading to ARC syndrome type 2 in the present case. Genetic counselling was provided and prenatal testing was advised to the parents for future pregnancies.

In the present study, pristine and Cd2+ modified SnO2 compositions [Sn(1−y)CdyO2, where y = 0, 0.05, and 0.10] were synthesized by co-precipitation technique. Structural studies were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis which revealed that all the compositions exhibited tetragonal rutile-type crystal structure with P42/mnm space group with high purity (absence of secondary phases). FTIR spectra confirmed the formation of pristine and Cd2+ modified SnO2 nanocrystals as bend at 560 cm−1 attributed to Sn–O–Sn stretching vibrations. UV–Vis optical spectra displayed a sharp peak at ~ 304 nm and ~ 311 nm belonging to UV region (200–400 nm) and a small hump at 561 nm corresponding to the visible region for Cd2+-doped compositions. FESEM micrographs depicted the nano-scale formation of pristine and Cd2+ modified SnO2 nanocrystals calcined at 600 °C and showed that grain size increased from 45.66 ± 1.2 nm to 60.27 ± 2.7 nm with increasing Cd2+ concentrations. HRTEM images confirmed the tetragonal crystallinity of as-synthesized nanocrystals as fringes attributed to (110) plane orientation with d-spacing ~ 0.34 nm exactly matched with XRD studies. Dielectric analysis showed that dielectric constant decreased with increasing Cd2+ in the compositions and I–V curves illustrated linear or ohmic behavior with diminishing values of resistances for higher Cd2+ concentrations.

COVID infection is not as common in children as in adults. In the first wave, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was less common with mild symptoms in children and neonates. But in the second wave, more children and neonates were affected with severe manifestations. COVID infection in neonates is mostly asymptomatic and published data from various neonatal units of India shows that most COVID positive newborns have good prognosis; poor outcomes are due to perinatal complications and rarely due to COVID. 1 However, in the second wave, newborns too were affected. We are presenting the case of a preterm neonate who developed severe COVID pneumonia on day 10 of life with cytokine storm and succumbed to death.

Dengue infection in perinatal period is associated with many maternal as well as neonatal complications. Vertical transmission of dengue has many complications in neonates too including shock and bleeding. Here we report a case of term neonate born to a dengue positive mother and developed dengue shock syndrome on day 3 of life with good outcome.

Green-route-bioengineered nanoparticles have received significant attention for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the medical technology era due to their non-toxic nature, cost-friendliness, and energy efficiency. Interestingly, tin oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) were synthesized from the root extract of Himalayan herb Rheum emodi by a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method. Structural analysis revealed that biosynthesized SnO2 NPs show a tetragonal crystal symmetry with the space group P4/2mnm as confirmed by the Rietveld refinement method. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the average particle diameter was established as ∼40 nm with a spherical shape. Furthermore, by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, it was revealed that metabolites (hydroxyanthraquinones) present in Rheum emodi root extracts act as capping, reducing and stabilizing agents aiding in the synthesis of SnO2 NPs. Amongst the major metabolites aiding the anticancer activity, aloe-emodin, archin (emodin), chrysophanic acid (chrysophanol) and parietin (physcion) are established anti-cancer agents. It is noteworthy that the Rheum emodi root extract-derived SnO2 NPs deployed the diamagnetic character in a room-temperature magnetic characterization environment of a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was observed that the room-temperature photoluminescence spectra revealed a rich violet emission band of wavelength ∼419 nm. In addition, the anticancer potential of Rheum emodi root extract-derived SnO2 NPs was investigated against the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 at different concentrations. Finally, we docked hydroxyanthraquinones (aloe-emodin, archin, chrysophanic acid and parietin) with anti-cancer proteins (estrogen receptor alpha, epidermal growth factor receptor, N-myristol transferase, mammalian target of rapamycin, vascular endothelial growth receptor-2 and progesterone receptor) to confirm the anticancer potential of Rheum emodi.

Mother's milk is the best milk for neonates. Preterm very low birthweight (VLBW) neonates face many challenges leading to low rates of breastfeeding at discharge.(i) To determine the proportion of32 weeks preterm VLBW neonates who are exclusively breastfed (EB) at discharge and (ii) determinants of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) at discharge.An observational study was conducted for a duration of 1 year, from May 2019 to April 2020 in a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in North India. Consecutive32 weeks preterm VLBW neonates admitted within 72 h of birth and on full enteral feeds (FEF) within 10 days of birth were included in this study and followed up till discharge.Forty-four of 97 (45.4%) preterm VLBW neonates were exclusively breastfed and 31/97 (32%) received more than 80% mother's own milk (MOM) at discharge. Male sex (P = 0.03), those whose first feed had any amount of MOM (P = 0.038) or exclusive MOM in their first feed or when initiated on first FEF (P = 0.002), and neonates with longer duration of hospital stay (P = 0.035) had an increased chance of being exclusively breastfed at discharge.Preterm VLBW neonates who receive any amount of MOM in their first feed or first FEF, male infants and those who stay longer in hospital are more likely to be exclusively breastfed at discharge.

Hydrocephalus is an abnormal excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the cavity and spaces of the brain. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has been an established treatment modality for congenital hydrocephalus. However, in very young infants, the results are challenging. In our study, we have evaluated whether ETV really offers an acceptable complication-free postoperative course.To study the complication and mortality rate in infants having congenital hydrocephalus treated with ETV.This is a single-center prospective study conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, K. G. M. U, Lucknow, from January 2019 to February 2020. We studied 40 infants presenting with clinical and radiological features suggestive of congenital hydrocephalus. Follow-up was done at the first, third, and sixth months after discharge.Nineteen infants (47.5%) required a second CSF diversion procedure at 6 months of follow-up. The failure rate was significantly higher in infants less than 3 months of age (P value of 0.04). The ETV site bulge was the most frequent complication encountered in the postoperative period, occurring in 20% of the cases. Eventually, all these infants required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt; 15% developed clinical features consistent with the diagnosis of post-ETV meningitis. The ETV site CSF leak occurred in 10% of the patients. Subdural hygroma developed in 7.5% of the patients; 17.5% of the patients contributed to mortality with a mean time of expiry of 22 days post-procedure. All these deaths had multifactorial causes and could not be said as a complication or failure of ETV.We do not recommend ETV for infants less than 3 months because of a high failure rate. The ETV site bulge was the most reliable and earliest marker of failure and a second CSF diversion surgery should be immediately considered.

Protein aggregation into amyloid fibrils is a key feature of a multitude of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Prion disease. To detect amyloid fibrils, fluorophores with high sensitivity and better efficiency coupled with the low toxicity are in high demand even to date. In this pursuit, we have unveiled two benzimidazole-based fluorescence sensors ([C15 H15 N3 ] (C1) and [C16 H16 N3 O2 ] (C2), which possess exceptional affinity toward different amyloid fibrils in its submicromolar concentration (8 × 10-9 M), whereas under a similar concentration, the gold standard Thioflavin-T (ThT) fails to bind with amyloid fibrils. These fluorescent markers bind to α-Syn amyloid fibrils as well as amyloid fibrils forming other proteins/peptides including Aβ42 amyloid fibrils. The 1 H-15 N heteronuclear quantum correlation spectroscopy nuclear magnetic resonance data collected on wild-type α-Syn monomer with and without the fluorophores (C1 and C2) reveal that there is weak or no interactions between C1 or C2 with residues in α-Syn monomer, which indirectly reflects the specific binding ability of C1 and C2 to the α-Syn amyloid fibrils. Detailed studies further suggest that C1 and C2 can detect/bind with the α-Syn amyloid fibril as low as 100 × 10-9 M. Extremely low or no cytotoxicity is observed for C1 and C2 and they do not interfere with α-Syn fibrillation kinetics, unlike ThT. Both C1/C2 not only shows selective binding with amyloid fibrils forming various proteins/peptides but also displays excellent affinity and selectivity toward α-Syn amyloid aggregates in SH-SY5Y cells and Aβ42 amyloid plaques in animal brain tissues. Overall, our data show that the developed dyes could be used for the detection of amyloid fibrils including α-Syn and Aβ42 amyloids with higher sensitivity as compared to currently used ThT.

Background Antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) is used in women at risk of preterm births to reduce mortality and morbidity of the neonate born. However it's effect may not always be beneficial especially in the women with risk factors for sepsis which is quiet high in developing countries. Methods Neonates (26–35 weeks gestational age) delivered to mothers who received 2–4 doses of ACS (group1) or 0–1 dose (group 2) were compared for incidence, severity of Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and death. Various morbidities of prematurity were also compared among the two groups. Results Less number of neonates developed RDS in group1 (28.1%) than group 2(37.8%) (p = 0.011). Few babies needed CPAP in group 1 (34.1% vs 53.9%; 0.006), however more babies needed mechanical ventilation (MV) (62.2% vs 41.7%; 0.005) in group 1. Mortality was similar (20.5% vs 20.1%; p = 0.71). Group 1 neonates with 2–4 doses of ACS had less Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (0.3% vs 2.6%; p = 0.04) but sepsis rates (12% vs 6.2%; 0.02) were increased. Other morbidities of prematurity were comparable. Conclusion Similar to the previous literature, decrease in incidence of RDS and IVH was found in neonates with higher (2–4) doses of ACS. However more cases of culture positive sepsis and severe RDS occurred in these neonates.

Despite poor bioavailability of the drug and in vivo stability, curcumin has been reported for many pharmacological activities. Considering the potential of dendrimers as a drug delivery sy...

Treating the enantiomerically pure Schiff base ligand (R-H2L1 or S-H2L1) with equimolar copper nitrate led to the isolation of two chiral tetranuclear Cu(II) cubane complexes with the general molecular formula [Cu4(R-L1)4] (R-1) and [Cu4(S-L1)4] (S-1), which are characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both R-1 and S-1 are structurally analogous to each other, which is reflected from their unit cell parameters. The chiral ligands employed efficiently transfer the chirality to the metal complex, which is reflected from their flack parameters and the complex R-1 crystallizes in the chiral, polar point/space group (C2). The chirality is maintained not only in the solid-state but also in the solution state for both R/S-H2L1 and R/S-1. The direct current magnetic susceptibility measurements performed on a polycrystalline sample of a representative complex R-1 exhibits a dominant ferromagnetic interaction resulting in an S = 2 ground state, which is in contrast to the other alkoxide bridged [Cu4O4] complexes reported. The electronic structure and the observed ferromagnetic exchange coupling in R-1 are rationalized by detailed theoretical calculations.

A robust and unusual three coordinate Co(ii) complex [Li(DME)3][Co(L)3] (1, where L = Lithium (2,6-diisopropylphenyl) amide and DME = Dimethoxyethane) shows easy plane magnetic anisotropy (D) which is validated by variable temperature X-band EPR studies. 1 also registered with the largest anisotropic barrier (51.1 K, τ0 = 1.98 × 10-8 s; Hdc ≠ 0) to the magnetization reversal among the three coordinate Co(ii) complexes. The role of its geometry on the SH parameters and the experimental observations are rationalized by theoretical calculations including the origin of magnetic anisotropy.

Rajata Bhasma (RB) is an Ayurvedic formulation and used for the treatment of liver disorders. Till date scientific validation according to modern tool of RB has been not performed. Hence it was planned to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of RB in CCl­4 induced liver cirrhosis rats. The different formulation RB1 (9 puta) and RB2 (17 puta) were prepared by following classical methods. The SGOT, SGPT, ALP, ACP, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin in blood significantly enhance in CCl4 treated rats compared to normal group rats. After treatment with the different doses of RB1 (50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) and RB2 (50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) significantly decreased the CCl4 induced alteration in SGOT, SGPT, ALP, ACP, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin in blood. The RB1 and RB2 treated rats significantly increased the level of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase enzyme, whereas lipid peroxidation was decreased, when compared to CCl4 treated group rats. Theses property confirmed the antioxidant properties of RB. The findings suggest that hepatoprotective activity of RB may be due to free radical scavenging property.

To investigate the influence of the coordination geometry on the magnetization relaxation dynamics, two geometric isomers of a five-coordinate low-spin Co(II) complex with the general molecular formula [Co(DPPE)

Background: Oral application of mother's own milk (MOM) in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates may provide an effective method of cleaning the oral cavity and influencing the immunocompetent cells there. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary level neonatal unit on VLBW neonates; that is, neonates with birth weight

Background: Intestinal parasitic Infections (IPI’S) are major health problem in most parts of the world; especially in the under developed and developing countries. Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm are commonly encountered parasites. The study was planned to estimate the proportion of IPI’s in patients of pediatric age group and do a comparative evaluation of ELISA and Microscopy for Giardia. Materials and methods: Stool samples were taken from 200 patients of pediatric age group with the giveninclusion criter ia, during August 2017 to July 2018. Microscopy, formalin ethyl acetate concentration method and ELISA for Giardia was performed. Results: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in our study was found to be 28%. The most common pathogenic parasite was found to be Giardia lamblia (19.5%) followed by Entamoeba histolytica (4.5%). In our study, stool samples positive by Microscopy and formalin ethyl acetate concentration were 8% and 15%. ELISA and Rapid kit test were found to detect higher proportion of Giardia as compared to Formalin ethyl acetate concentration method and Microscopy (Saline and Iodine mount). Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in our study was 28%. The most common parasite was Giardia lamblia followed by Entamoeba histolytica. The study showed that parasitic infections were common in patients of uneducated families. Patients who did not wash their hands with soap and water before meals and after using toilet were at increased risk.