Leprosy and tuberculosis concomitant infection: a poorly understood, age-old relationship

Historically, archaeological evidence, post-mortem findings and retro- spective analysis of leprosy institutions’ data demonstrates a high observed incidence of concomitant infection with leprosy and tuberculosis (TB). However, reports of concomitant infection in the modern literature remain scarce, with estimates of annual new case detection rates of concomitant infection at approximately 0·02 cases per 100,000 population. Whilst the mechanism for this apparent decline in concomitant infections remains unclear, further research on this topic has remained relatively neglected. Modelling of the interaction of the two organisms has suggested that the apparent decline in observations of concomitant infection may be due to the protective effects of cross immunity, whilst more recently others have questioned whether it is a more harmful relationship, predisposing towards increased host mortality. We review recent evidence, comparing it to previously held understanding on the epidemiological relationship and our own experience of concomitant infection. From this discussion, we highlight several under-investigated areas, which may lead to improvements in the future delivery of leprosy management and services, as well as enhance understanding in other fields of infection management. These include, a) highlighting the need for greater understanding of host immunogenetics involved in concomitant infection, b) whether prolonged courses of high dose steroids pre-dispose to TB infection? and, c) whether there is a risk of rifampicin resistance developing in leprosy patients treated in the face of undiagnosed TB and other infections? Longitudinal work is still required to characterise these temporal relationships further and add to the current paucity of literature on this subject matter

Yoga therapy for Metabolic Syndrome - A Review

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that increase the chance of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Lifestyle changes like losing weight, exercise, and dietary changes can help prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is now considered as a serious public health problem. It is estimated that 20 - 25% of the world adult population is suffering from this disorder. Yet most recommendations currently focus on diet and exercise and do not consider stress reduction strategies. Yoga is a effective tool for stress management, that may reduce blood pressure (BP) increase parasympathetic activation. In this review, we examined the basic principles of Pancha Kosha (five sheaths of human existence) concept from an Indian scripture Taittiriya Upanishad and the pathophysiology of a disease from the Yogic approach of Yoga Vasistha’s Adhi (originated from mind) and Vyadhi (ailment/disease) concept and focused on Yoga and HPA axis. Based on these concepts, a Yoga module is recommended as a remedial therapy to manage Metabolic Syndrome

Negative discriminant states in N=4 supersymmetric string theories

Single centered BPS black hole solutions exist only when the charge carried by the black hole has positive discriminant. On the other hand the exact dyon spectrum in heterotic string theory compactified on T^6 is known to contain states with negative discriminant. We show that all of these negative discriminant states can be accounted for as two centered black holes. Thus after the contribution to the index from the two centered black holes is subtracted from the total microscopic index, the index for states with negative discriminant vanishes even for finite values of charges, in agreement with the results from the black hole side. Bound state metamorphosis -- which requires us to identify certain apparently different two centered configurations according to a specific set of rules -- plays a crucial role in this analysis. We also generalize these results to a class of CHL string theories.Comment: LaTeX file, 32 pages; v2: reference added; v3: added new section 3.

Discrete Information from CHL Black Holes

AdS_2/CFT_1 correspondence predicts that the logarithm of a Z_N twisted index over states carrying a fixed set of charges grows as 1/N times the entropy of the black hole carrying the same set of charges. In this paper we verify this explicitly by calculating the microscopic Z_N twisted index for a class of states in the CHL models. This demonstrates that black holes carry more information about the microstates than just the total degeneracy.Comment: LaTeX file, 24 pages; v2: references adde

Logarithmic Corrections to Extremal Black Hole Entropy from Quantum Entropy Function

We evaluate the one loop determinant of matter multiplet fields of N=4 supergravity in the near horizon geometry of quarter BPS black holes, and use it to calculate logarithmic corrections to the entropy of these black holes using the quantum entropy function formalism. We show that even though individual fields give non-vanishing logarithmic contribution to the entropy, the net contribution from all the fields in the matter multiplet vanishes. Thus logarithmic corrections to the entropy of quarter BPS black holes, if present, must be independent of the number of matter multiplet fields in the theory. This is consistent with the microscopic results. During our analysis we also determine the complete spectrum of small fluctuations of matter multiplet fields in the near horizon geometry.Comment: LaTeX file, 52 pages; v2: minor corrections, references adde

A Twist in the Dyon Partition Function

In four dimensional string theories with N=4 and N=8 supersymmetries one can often define twisted index in a subspace of the moduli space which captures additional information on the partition function than the ones contained in the usual helicity trace index. We compute several such indices in type IIB string theory on K3 x T^2 and T^6, and find that they share many properties with the usual helicity trace index that captures the spectrum of quarter BPS states in N=4 supersymmetric string theories. In particular the partition function is a modular form of a subgroup of Sp(2,Z) and the jumps across the walls of marginal stability are controlled by the residues at the poles of the partition function. However for large charges the logarithm of this index grows as 1/n times the entropy of a black hole carrying the same charges where n is the order of the symmetry generator that is used to define the twisted index. We provide a macroscopic explanation of this phenomenon using quantum entropy function formalism. The leading saddle point corresponding to the attractor geometry fails to contribute to the twisted index, but a Z_n orbifold of the attractor geometry produces the desired contribution.Comment: LaTeX file, 35 pages; v2: references adde

Selection of the solvent and extraction conditions for maximum recovery of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin

The extraction of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin (CS) was studied. Firstly, the effect of different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and distilled water) on the production of antioxidant extracts was evaluated. All the extracts showed antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH assays), but those obtained with methanol and ethanol had significantly higher (p < 0.05) DPPH inhibition than the remaining ones. Due to the lower toxicity, ethanol was selected as extraction solvent, and further experiments were performed in order to define the solvent concentration, solvent/solid ratio, and time to maximize the extraction results. The best condition to produce an extract with high content of phenolic compounds (13 mg gallic acid equivalents/g CS) and antioxidant activity [DPPH = 18.24 μmol Trolox equivalents/g CS and FRAP = 0.83 mmol Fe(II)/g CS] was achieved when using 60 % ethanol in a ratio of 35 ml/g CS, during 30 min at 60–65 °C.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa Conde, student of Biological Engineering, for the help and interest in this work

Chemical, functional, and structural properties of spent coffee grounds and coffee silverskin

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) and coffee silverskin (CS) represent a great pollution hazard if discharged into the environment. Taking this fact into account, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, functional properties, and structural characteristics of these agro-industrial residues in order to identify the characteristics that allow their reutilization in industrial processes. According to the results, SCG and CS are both of lignocellulosic nature. Sugars polymerized to their cellulose and hemicellulose fractions correspond to 51.5 and 40.45 % w/w, respectively; however, the hemicellulose sugars and their composition significantly differ from one residue to another. SCG and CS particles differ in terms of morphology and crystallinity, but both materials have very low porosity and similar melting point. In terms of functional properties, SCG and CS present good water and oil holding capacities, emulsion activity and stability, and antioxidant potential, being therefore great candidates for use on food and pharmaceutical fields.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal (FCT) through the grant SFRH/BD/80948/2011 and the Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013. The authors also thank the Project "BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes", REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2-O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER. Thanks are also given to Prof. Jose J.M. Orfao, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade do Porto (Portugal), for his assistance with the porosity analyses

Comparative efficacy of topical tetraVisc versus lidocaine gel in cataract surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To compare the clinical efficacy of lidocaine 2% with tetracaine 0.5% for cataract surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a randomized, multi-surgeon, controlled clinical trial,122 consecutive cataract cases eligible for topical anesthesia, were randomly assigned to receive lidocaine 2% gel (1 ml) or tetracaine solution 0.5% (TetraVisc, 0.5 ml) before clear corneal phacoemulsification. Main outcome measure was visual analog scale (0 to 10), which was used to measure intra-operative pain. Secondary outcome measures included patients' discomfort due to tissue manipulation and surgeon graded patients' cooperation. Duration of surgery and intra-operative complications were also recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age in TetraVisc (TV) group was 70.4 years and in the lidocaine gel group (LG) it was 70.6 years (p = 0.89). Patient reported mean intra-operative pain scores by visual analog scale were 0.70 ± 0.31 in TV group and 1.8 ± 0.4 in LG group (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Mean patient cooperation was also marginally better in the TV group (8.3 ± 0.3) compared to LG group (8.4 ± 0.6) (P = 0.25). 96% of patients in TV group showed intra-operative corneal clarity compared to 91% in LG group. TV group had less (1 out of 61 patients, 1.6%) intra-operative complications than LG group (3 out of 61 patients, 4.8%). No anesthesia related complications were noted in either group</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Topical TetraVisc solution was superior to lidocaine 2% gel for pain control in patients undergoing clear corneal phacoemulsification. Lidocaine 2% gel is similar to TetraVisc in patient comfort and surgeon satisfaction.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clinical trials number</b>: ISRCTN78374774</p