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Biomedical subjects

S Rai

Publications and source records attributed to S Rai.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

A study of the risk of strangulation and obstruction in groin hernias.

BACKGROUND: Complications that develop in groin hernias, such as irreducibility and obstruction, with or without strangulation may make an easily treatable condition a life-threatening one. Identification of risk factors that may predict development would help place the patient in a high-risk group. Priority admission and early elective surgery for such a patient would avoid significant mortality and morbidity. METHODS: This is a 10-year combined prospective and retrospective study of children and adults. Records of complicated groin hernias were identified from July 1985 to July 1995 from the outpatient department and available inpatient medical records. The same number of controls of simple uncomplicated hernias were then chosen using random number tables from among the large number belonging to the same time period. These two groups were then compared and analysed using statistical methods for age, sex, side of hernia, site of hernia (inguinal/femoral), duration of hernia, length of the waiting list for elective surgery, and contents of the hernial sac along with some other parameters to identify patients with high-risk factors. RESULTS: Age was found to be a significant risk factor and predicted complications in both elderly adults and very young children. Sex of the patient (male) and side of hernia (right) were significant risk factors in children only. Site of hernia was an important risk factor and adults with femoral hernia were most likely to experience complications. Duration of hernia for less than a year proved to be the most important risk factor for both children and adults. The majority of patients with complicated hernias had not presented earlier in the outpatient department, which implies that most hernias that become complicated do so within a very short time before patient referral. Mortality was high in patients with coexisting diseases, while morbidity was affected by viability of contents of the hernial sac which in turn was directly affected by duration of irreducibility or delay in presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors useful in predicting complications in an adult patient with groin hernia were age (older age group), duration of hernia (short duration), type of hernia (femoral more than inguinal) and coexisting medical illness. In children, the risk factors were age (very young), gender (male), short duration of hernia and side (right side).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Human vocalis contains distinct superior and inferior subcompartments: possible candidates for the two masses of vocal fold vibration.

It is not understood how different parts of the thyroarytenoid muscle contribute to vocal fold vibration. This study investigated the medial part of the thyroarytenoid muscle, the vocalis compartment, for anatomic differences that might suggest functionally distinct areas. Twenty human vocal folds were frontally sectioned and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. A single section from the middle of each vocal fold was magnified, and the muscle fascicles of the most superficial 25% of the vocalis compartment were then examined. In all 20 specimens the vocalis compartment could be separated into 2 plainly distinct subcompartments: the inferior vocalis compartment was composed of a single large muscle fascicle that contained densely packed muscle fibers of similar size; the superior vocalis compartment was composed of multiple small fascicles in which the muscle fibers were loosely arranged and varied greatly in size. On average, the inferior vocalis subcompartment composed 60% of the medial surface of the thyroarytenoid muscle. The superior subcompartment composed the remaining 40% of the medial surface, but also continued past the vocal ligament to make up the superior surface of the thyroarytenoid muscle. It is concluded that 2 distinct entities make up the vocalis compartment of the thyroarytenoid muscle. Their anatomy is so markedly different it suggests that they may function independently. One possibility is that they reflect the 2 masses observed in the superior and inferior aspects of the vocal fold during vibration.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

MCF-7 and T47D human breast cancer cells contain a functional peroxisomal response.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated nuclear receptors that regulate transcription of target genes. Since attempts have been made to correlate the ingestion of high-fat diets, itself a peroxisome proliferator, with the occurrence of breast cancer, we set about to determine if human breast cancer cells contained a functional PPAR. In this report we demonstrate the presence of an mRNA in two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T47D) which is specifically recognized by a mouse PPARgamma2 probe. Furthermore, in gel shift assays a consensus PPAR response element (PPRE) was specifically bound by nuclear extracts from MCF-7 cells and was further retarded by antibodies raised to mouse PPARgamma. Finally, when transfected with a PPRE-luciferase transcriptional reporter construct, transcription was increased in response to activators of PPAR and its dimmeric partner the retinoic acid X receptor (RXR). These data indicate that peroxisomal proliferators are capable of mediating transcription in human breast cells and suggest the possibility of a physiological role in the breast.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1996

Unilateral nephrectomy induces the expression of the Wilms tumor gene in the contralateral kidney of the adult rat.

PURPOSE: The tumor suppressor gene WT-1 encodes a nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid binding protein that is a transcriptional regulator. This gene is commonly deleted or defective in Wilms tumors and the Denys-Drash syndrome. Recently WT-1 was demonstrated to be essential for the development of the urogenital tract. We determined whether we could induce WT-1 expression in mature kidneys induced to grow by performing contralateral nephrectomy in mature rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Northern analysis with a 32phosphorus-labeled antisense riboprobe synthesized by in vitro transcription of a 731 bp complementary deoxyribonucleic acid insert spanning exons 1 to 7 of the rat WT-1 in a pT7 Blue vector was used to demonstrate the expression of WT-1 in the developing and adult Sprague-Dawley rat kidney. RESULTS: Transcript levels of WT-1 in the rat kidney decreased from day 0 (day of birth) to day 16, after which WT-1 transcripts were undetectable in the normal rat kidney. Unilateral nephrectomy in the adult male Sprague-Dawley rat (250 to 300 gm.) induced the expression of WT-1 ribonucleic acid in the contralateral kidney to detectable levels by Northern analysis 0.25 hours after nephrectomy. Subsequently levels of WT-1 ribonucleic acid decreased progressively to undetectable by 3 hours after nephrectomy. Expression of this gene was not detected in the normal kidneys of adult rats or sham operated adult rats. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the WT-1 gene product is involved in normal renal growth in the adult and developing rat kidney.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Selective inactivation of viruses in the presence of human platelets: UV sensitization with psoralen derivatives.

Inactivation of viruses in blood products requires that the method employed display selectivity in its action for viral elements while not affecting the biological entity of interest. Several methods have been developed for the treatment of human plasma or products derived from human plasma. An effective technique for the treatment of the cellular components of blood has been lacking, in part due to the inability to develop agents capable of selectively targeting viral agents in the milieu of cellular material. In this paper, we examine the behavior of a group of viral sensitizers designed to be added to cellular samples and be activated upon exposure to UVA light. Upon activation, these agents are capable of disrupting nucleic acids of the virus in a manner that renders them inactive for proliferation. The selectivity observed in this inactivation is determined by the chemical structure of the sensitizer, which can be varied to increase viral killing capacity while diminishing collateral damage to cellular and protein constituents.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1994

Athermal physiological effects of microwaves on a cynobacterium Nostoc muscorum: evidence for EM-memory bits in water.

Athermal physiological effects of continuous wave and modulated microwaves were studied on a cynobacterium Nostoc muscorum. The study shows that different microwave frequencies in continuous wave and modulated modes produced significantly different physiological effects on the algae. Water-mediated bioeffects further present additional proof that water has the capability to remember the imposed electromagnetic field characteristics for an extended period of time.

Culture Media↗
PubMed1993

Dramatic improvements in viral inactivation with brominated psoralens, naphthalenes and anthracenes.

Amino or polyamino derivatives of naphthalene (N-H), anthracene (A-H) and 8-alkoxypsoralen (PSR-H) were prepared along with their monobrominated analogs (N-Br, A-Br and PSR-Br). The ammonium salts of these compounds are all water soluble and bind strongly to calf thymus DNA and to lambda phage, a double-helical DNA, protein-coated virus. Binding of the sensitizer to DNA occurs, presumably by a mixture of hydrophobic, intercalative and electrostatic interactions. Relative binding constants to calf thymus DNA and to lambda phage were measured by the ethidium bromide fluorescence quenching assay. In general the brominated analogs bind more tightly to calf thymus DNA and to the virus than to the nonhalogenated analogs. It is demonstrated that the brominated aromatics are much more effective at inactivating lambda phage upon photoactivation (lambda approximately 310 or 350 nm) than are their nonbrominated analogs. At identical sensitizer concentrations (by weight) and light flux N-Br, A-Br, and PSR-Br produce 5-6 more logs of viral inactivation than their nonbrominated counterparts (N-H, A-H and PSR-H, respectively). The bromine effect may originate from light-induced electron transfer and subsequent cleavage of the C-Br bond of the sensitizer radical anion bonds to form aryl radicals. Singlet oxygen cannot be responsible for the viral inactivation because the brominated sensitizers are equally effective in the presence and absence of oxygen. Dithiothreitol does not protect lambda phage from light-induced inactivation by the brominated sensitizer thereby demonstrating that the photogenerated reactive intermediates responsible for the effect are complexed to the virus and are not generated free in solution.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Behavior problems among preschool children.

Of 200 preschool children (aged 3-6 years) screened in the Pediatric Outpatient Department, over a period of six months, 44 (22%) had behavior problems. The prevalence of behavior problems was higher among boys. Second-born boys and the eldest girls had a higher prevalence of temper tantrums, destructive nature, difficulty in management and hyperactivity. Fearful reactions and attention seeking behavior was encountered only in girls. Behavior problems were more common in children from nuclear families and a lower socio-economic status.

Child↗
PubMed1993

Right thoracotomy revisited.

From September 1991 through August 1992, 38 patients (34 female and 4 male) underwent mitral valve surgery through a limited right anterior thoracotomy. The ascending aorta was easily cannulated for arterial return in all patients. Although there was no operative mortality, 8 patients required reoperation for bleeding, usually associated with the site of chest-wall puncture for the left atrial pressure line and epicardial pacing wires, a problem that we were able to correct. Right lower lobe collapse occurred in 2 patients, but the lungs were fully expanded in all patients before hospital discharge. We believe that a return to this older surgical approach is particularly suited to young patients and provides the important advantages over median sternotomy of superior mitral valve exposure and a cosmetically acceptable scar.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Physical and sexual growth pattern of affluent Indian children from 5 to 18 years of age.

The present study was conducted to study growth parameters on 12,899 boys and 9,951 girls of affluent class from 8 States of the country. In pooled data, the 50th centile height approached 30-40th centile till 6 1/2 years in boys and up to 10 years in girls, and ultimately the height growth curves for both fell between the 10-20th centile of NCHS standards. Similarly, for weight, they approached 10-20th centile of NCHS at the age of 17 yr. Comparison with other European countries showed that Indian affluents are shorter and lighter; however, they are similar to their counterparts of Asian origin. The secular trend for height in Delhi showed increase of 2.1 cm for boys, and 2.7 cm for girls per decade at 17 yr and 14 yr, respectively. In Varanasi, the corresponding trend was 1.5 and 2.1 cm at 16 yr for boys and girls, respectively. The mean ages for genital development stages G 2-5 were 11.9, 13.3, 14.6 and 15.9 yr; respectively. In girls, the breast development Stages B 2-5 had mean ages of 10.9, 12.8, 13.9 and 14.8 yr, respectively. The mean age for menarche was 12.6 yr. In 14 yr old boys, the mean height may vary between 150.3, 155.8, 161.2 and 165.2 cm and mean weight between 38.0, 42.5, 46.8 and 52.9 kg for genital stages G 2-5, respectively. Similarly, girls of 12.5 yr (close to menarcheal age of 12.6 yr) had mean height 145.3, 150.3, 152.1 and 153.8 cm and mean weight 34.7, 41.2, 45.4 and 54.4 kg for breast stages B 2-5, respectively. It is recommended that for growth assessment during adolescence these charts in relation to sexual development and age be used for comparison.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Enuresis: an analysis of 82 cases.

Of 400 children over the age of four years, 82 (20.5%) were found to be enuretics. Enuresis was found to be statistically higher (p less than 0.001) in lower social class and between the age group 3 to 5 years. Enuresis was found to be significantly more among boys as compared to girls (p less than 0.001). Various stress factors (e.g. negligence, overprotection, strictness of parents etc) and other associated habit disorders (e.g. fear reactions, nailbiting, temper-tantrums etc) were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in enuretics as compared to control group. The group who was put on combined drug (imipramine) and psychological treatment showed a better long term response than the patients who were put only on drug or psychological treatment (p less than 0.001).

Child↗