Characterizing blood microparticles: Technical aspects and challenges

Although long considered to be cellular debris, microparticles (MPs) are more recently considered reflective of cellular stimulation, activation, and degeneration/apoptosis. MPs that arise from the cellular components of blood and the endothelial lining of blood vessels are referred to as blood MPs and by general consensus are small (≤1.5 μm), expose the anionic phospholipid (PL) phosphatidylserine (PS) on the outer leaflet of their membrane, and bear surface membrane antigens reflecting their cellular origin. This brief review summarizes the different approaches used by several groups to study blood MPs. The aim of this article is to review the technical aspects of characterizing the morphological and functional properties of blood MPs with emphasis on the preanalytical and analytical variables involved in these studies

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VARIOUS OBJECT DETECTION AND FEATURE EXTRACTION ALGORITHMS

Agriculture is the most important sector in the Indian economy's development. In today's agriculture, there is a high demand to transition from tedious time-consuming manual harvesting to a fully automated operation. The combination of both autonomous harvesting and segregation of tomato fruit and three different phases or conditions of tomato is classified in this study. This project uses an image processing technique to classify the tomato's condition using a sample OpenCV tool. A Raspberry Pi camera is used to capture video continuously and this R-pi converts real time input video into frame, then object detection and image processing algorithm is performed on those image frame to detect shape of tomato, color filter is applied on tomato image to detect color of tomato. This paper suggests various important approaches for image processing and also suggests the most popular and widely used algorithms for object detection.     &nbsp

Clade C HIV-1 isolates circulating in Southern Africa exhibit a greater frequency of dicysteine motif-containing Tat variants than those in Southeast Asia and cause increased neurovirulence

Background: HIV-1 Clade C (Subtype C; HIV-1C) is responsible for greater than 50% of infections worldwide. Unlike clade B HIV-1 (Subtype B; HIV-1B), which is known to cause HIV associated dementia (HAD) in approximately 15% to 30% of the infected individuals, HIV-1C has been linked with lower prevalence of HAD (0 to 6%) in India and Ethiopia. However, recent studies report a higher prevalence of HAD in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana, where HIV-1C infections predominate. Therefore, we examined whether Southern African HIV-1C is genetically distinct and investigated its neurovirulence. HIV-1 Tat protein is a viral determinant of neurocognitive dysfunction. Therefore, we focused our study on the variations seen in tat gene and its contribution to HIV associated neuropathogenesis. Results: A phylogenetic analysis of tat sequences of Southern African (South Africa and Zambia) HIV isolates with those from the geographically distant Southeast Asian (India and Bangladesh) isolates revealed that Southern African tat sequences are distinct from Southeast Asian isolates. The proportion of HIV − 1C variants with an intact dicysteine motif in Tat protein (C30C31) was significantly higher in the Southern African countries compared to Southeast Asia and broadly paralleled the high incidence of HAD in these countries. Neuropathogenic potential of a Southern African HIV-1C isolate (from Zambia; HIV-1C1084i), a HIV-1C isolate (HIV-1IndieC1) from Southeast Asia and a HIV-1B isolate (HIV-1ADA) from the US were tested using in vitro assays to measure neurovirulence and a SCID mouse HIV encephalitis model to measure cognitive deficits. In vitro assays revealed that the Southern African isolate, HIV-1C1084i exhibited increased monocyte chemotaxis and greater neurotoxicity compared to Southeast Asian HIV-1C. In neurocognitive tests, SCID mice injected with MDM infected with Southern African HIV-1C1084i showed greater cognitive dysfunction similar to HIV-1B but much higher than those exposed to Southeast Asian HIV − 1C. Conclusions: We report here, for the first time, that HIV-1C from Southern African countries is genetically distinct from Southeast Asian HIV-1C and that it exhibits a high frequency of variants with dicysteine motif in a key neurotoxic HIV protein, Tat. Our results indicate that Tat dicysteine motif determines neurovirulence. If confirmed in population studies, it may be possible to predict neurocognitive outcomes of individuals infected with HIV-1C by genotyping Tat

Community-Based Interventions : Implications for childhood anemia prevention and control in India

Background: Nutritional iron deficiency is the number one cause of anemia worldwide. Iron deficiency anemia has morbidity and mortality effects borne predominantly by premenopausal women and children living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Community-based interventions have successfully addressed several global health problems, although there is limited evidence of their effectiveness for childhood anemia. The overall aim of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that community-based education and counseling delivered to mothers of anemic children by health workers would improve anemia cure rates. Methods: The thesis included 4 studies, two of which (Study I and II) were cross sectional studies constituting the background for intervention design. The social cognitive theory framework guided the development of the intervention, which consisted of five monthly education sessions delivered by a health worker covering: i) maternal anemia awareness, ii) adherence to iron treatment, iii) dietary modification, and iv) hygiene and sanitation. The intervention was evaluated in a pragmatic mixed methods trial conducted among 12-59 month old children from 55 villages of the Chamarajnagar district, Karnataka. Villages (and health workers therein) were randomly assigned 1:1 to provide anemic children either the usual iron treatment alone or the same treatment complemented by education and counseling of their mothers/caregivers. The primary trial outcome was the difference in anemia cure rates (return of hemoglobin to ≥11g/dL) at the end of six months. Thematic analysis with the framework method was utilized to understand health workers acceptance of the intervention and their perceptions of obstacles and opportunities connected to its implementation (Study III). A cluster randomized trial contrasting intervention to usual treatment condition was used to study the effects of the intervention (Study IV). The statistical analysis was conducted taking into account the cluster design, using multilevel regression. Results: A high prevalence of childhood anemia was found in healthy rural toddlers (75%) mainly due to iron deficiency anemia (Study 1). Coverage of children with iron supplements from the national anemia control program was low (Study II). Health workers delivering the intervention found it acceptable and feasible to implement during routine work activities (Study III). After six months, anemic children in the intervention group had significantly higher anemia cure rates compared with anemic children in the usual treatment group (55.5% vs. 41.4%; relative risk ratio 1.33, confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.69). The proportion of anemic children consuming >75% of prescribed iron was higher in the intervention group compared with the usual treatment group (61.7% vs. 48.4%; p=0.001). The results indicated that seven mothers needed to be counselled in order to cure one anemic child (Study IV). Conclusions: The studies included in this thesis indicate that mother/caregiver education achieved a perceivable improvement to the cure rate of nutritional iron deficiency anemia in children from rural India, probably through improved adherence to iron treatment. High intervention acceptance at the health worker level suggests that wider implementation is possible. Scientific evaluations of community-based interventions are feasible even in rural disadvantaged environments

A critical review on Padamshika Krama - A transition technique

Introduction: Padamshika Krama is a unique concept in Ayurveda, which is to be observed during the change from Apathya to Pathya. Padamshika Krama is a technique of gradual adopting and leaving that can be used for both Ahara and Vihara. According to various Acharya’s, opinion on this notion varies. Sudden abandonment and transition to new things is the source of so many health conditions that are left unnoticed. Sudden withdrawal from certain diet practice will lead to the vitiation of Dosha. Method: Literature review Discussion: The study tries to develop the concept of Padamshika Krama in relation to Ahara-Vihara as well as Rutucharya. Various notions regarding the method and days of transition has been discussed along with its significance. Conclusion: Padamshika Krama is a method, which helps to maintain the body equilibrium. It can be correlated to the concepts such as tapering dose and withdrawal symptoms. This method prevents the occurrence of diseases due to incompatibility

Developing a mHealth intervention to promote uptake of HIV testing among African communities in the UK: a qualitative study

Background: HIV-related mHealth interventions have demonstrable efficacy in supporting treatment adherence, although the evidence base for promoting HIV testing is inconclusive. Progress is constrained by a limited understanding of processes used to develop interventions and weak theoretical underpinnings. This paper describes a research project that informed the development of a theory-based mHealth intervention to promote HIV testing amongst city-dwelling African communities in the UK. Methods: A community-based participatory social marketing design was adopted. Six focus groups (48 participants in total) were undertaken and analysed using a thematic framework approach, guided by constructs from the Health Belief Model. Key themes were incorporated into a set of text messages, which were pre-tested and refined. Results: The focus groups identified a relatively low perception of HIV risk, especially amongst men, and a range of social and structural barriers to HIV testing. In terms of self-efficacy around HIV testing, respondents highlighted a need for communities and professionals to work together to build a context of trust through co-location in, and co-involvement of, local communities which would in turn enhance confidence in, and support for, HIV testing activities of health professionals. Findings suggested that messages should: avoid an exclusive focus on HIV, be tailored and personalised, come from a trusted source, allay fears and focus on support and health benefits. Conclusions: HIV remains a stigmatized and de-prioritized issue within African migrant communities in the UK, posing barriers to HIV testing initiatives. A community-based participatory social marketing design can be successfully used to develop a culturally appropriate text messaging HIV intervention. Key challenges involved turning community research recommendations into brief text messages of only 160 characters. The intervention needs to be evaluated in a randomized control trial. Future research should explore the application of the processes and methodologies described in this paper within other communities