102 research outputs found
Hepatitis E virus: epidemiology, diagnosis, pathology and prevention
No full textHEV, a positive stranded RNA virus, is responsible for most of the epidemics of hepatitis in the developing world and is transmitted through contaminated water. It is the major aetiological agent for acute hepatitis and acute liver failure in endemic regions. It causes severe liver disease among pregnant females and patients with chronic liver disease. Serodiagnosis of HEV is now available and should be used routinely for diagnosis. The available evidence suggests that HEV may also be transmitted parenterally as well as vertically particularly in endemic areas. Experimental studies suggest that an HEV vaccine is a distinct possibility in the near future. In the absence of an effective vaccine, public health measures such as clean water supply, improved sanitation and public education are the major tools to prevent HEV epidemics in developing nations
Digital workflow feasibility for the fabrication of intraoral maxillofacial prosthetics after surgical resection: a systematic literature review.
No full textOBJECTIVES
To evaluate the current evidence of digital workflow feasibility based on the data acquisition methods and the software tools used to fabricate intraoral prostheses for patients with partial or total maxillary and mandibular defects.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
An electronic search was performed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science using a combination of relevant keywords: digital workflow, digital designing, computer-assisted design-computer aided manufacturing, 3D printing, maxillectomy, and mandibulectomy. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool was used to assess the quality of evidence in the studies reviewed.
RESULTS
From a total of 542 references, 33 articles were selected, including 25 on maxillary prostheses and 8 on mandibular prostheses. The use of digital workflows was limited to one or two steps of the fabrication of the prostheses, and only four studies described a complete digital workflow. The most preferred method for data acquisition was intraoral scanning with or without a cone beam computed tomography combination.
CONCLUSION
Currently, the fabrication process of maxillofacial prostheses requires combining digital and conventional methods. Simplifying the data acquisition methods and providing user-friendly and affordable software may encourage clinicians to use the digital workflow more frequently for patients requiring maxillofacial prostheses
Quantum chemical study on the NLO and NBO properties of 4-hydroxy quinoline-2-carboxylic acid
No full textDevelopment and evaluation of a quantitative competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for hepatitis C virus RNA in serum using transcribed thio-RNA as internal control
No full textA method for quantitation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA was developed based on competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using in vitro transcribed mutated thio-RNA as a competitor template. The thio-RNA is more resistant to RNAse and is stable over a year. This assay was compared with the commercially available Roche Amplicor HCV Monitor assay V 2.0 and real time PCR using SYBR green 1 dye method. A total of 18 pre-therapy serum samples from chronic hepatitis C cases were tested in parallel by the three assays. All samples could be quantitated using the in-house competitive RT-PCR and real time PCR and there was a significant correlation in the virus titer (P<0.05). However, 8 (44%) samples could not be quantified by Amplicor HCV Monitor assay, which has a lower detection range (102 to 105.5 copies/ml). The in-house method of competitive RT-PCR showed a detection range of 103 to 1010 copies/ml. In the patients the mean viral titer was found to be (9.66± 9.3)× 106 copies/ml. Ten (55%) of the samples, assessed by the Amplicor HCV Monitor assay showed a mean viral titre of (1.13± 0.75)× 106 copies/ml, which was lower than the other two tests. The competitive PCR method and real time PCR could amplify all prevalent genotypes. This in-house quantitative competitive RT-PCR method is simple, cheap, reproducible and useful for estimation of HCV RNA load
A 20-year single-center experience with acute liver failure during pregnancy: is the prognosis really worse?
No full textPregnant patients with acute liver failure (ALF) are believed to have a worse outcome than nonpregnant women and men with ALF. However objective data supporting this supposition are scant. Therefore, the current study compared the outcome, complications, and causes of ALF among pregnant women and girls with age-matched nonpregnant women and girls and men and boys with ALF. One thousand fifteen consecutive ALF patients in the reproductive age group, admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, from January 1986 to December 2006, were included in the study. A total of 249 (38.5%) women were pregnant. They were compared with 341 nonpregnant women and girls and 425 men and boys, aged 15 to 45 years. The mortality rate of pregnant women and girls (53.8%) was similar to age-matched nonpregnant women and girls (57.2%), and men and boys (57.9%); P = 0.572.The clinical and biochemical features, disease severity, and complications were also similar in the three groups. A significantly higher proportion of ALF was attributable to hepatitis E virus (HEV) among women and girls who were pregnant (59.4%), as compared with both nonpregnant women and girls (30.4%), and men and boys (23.1%); P < 0.001. However, the outcome of HEV-related ALF was independent of the sex and pregnancy status of the patients (P = 0.103). Mortality in HEV-ALF and non-HEV-ALF patients in pregnant women and girls was 51% (74/145) and 54.7% (52/95)(P > 0.1), respectively. The outcome of pregnant ALF patients was also unrelated to the trimester of pregnancy. The mortality of non-HEV-related ALF among the pregnant women and girls (54.7%), age-matched nonpregnant women and girls (61.7%), and men and boys (62.8%) were also similar (P > 0.1). Conclusion: The mortality of pregnant patients with ALF is similar to that of nonpregnant women and girls and men and boys and is independent of the cause or trimester. Pregnancy per se should not be regarded as a poor prognostic factor for a patient with ALF
Mutational analysis of glycosylation, membrane translocation, and cell surface expression of the hepatitis E virus ORF2 protein
No full textHepatitis E virus (HEV) is the etiological agent for viral hepatitis type E, which is a major problem in the developing world. Because HEV cannot be cultured in vitro, very little information exists on the mechanisms of HEV gene expression and genome replication. HEV is a positive-strand RNA virus with three potential open reading frames (ORFs), one of which (ORF2) is postulated to encode the major viral capsid protein (pORF2). We earlier showed (S. Jameel, M. Zafrullah, M. H. Ozdener, and S. K. Panda, J. Virol. 70:207-216, 1996) pORF2 to be a ˜88-kDa glycoprotein, carrying N-linked glycans and a potential endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-directing signal at its N terminus. Treatment with the drugs brefeldin A and monensin suggest that the protein may accumulate within the ER. Based on mutational analysis, we demonstrate Asn-310 to be the major site of N-glycan addition. In COS-1 cell expression and in vitro translation experiments, we confirm the ER-translocating nature of the pORF2 N-terminal hydrophobic sequence and show that the protein is cotranslationally, but not posttranslationally, translocated across the ER membrane. Earlier, we had also demonstrated cell surface localization of a fraction of the COS-1 cell-expressed pORF2. Using glycosylation- and translocation-defective mutants of pORF2, we now show that while transit of pORF2 into the ER is necessary for its cell surface expression, glycosylation of the protein is not required for such localization. These results may offer clues to the mechanisms of gene expression and capsid assembly in HEV
Patients with Diabetes Mellitus are Prone to Develop Severe Hepatitis and Liver Failure due to Hepatitis Virus Infection
No full textBackground: Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) is usually a self-limiting illness. Diabetics are prone to develop liver diseases and liver regeneration is impaired in them. Natural course of AVH in diabetics has not been assessed and may be severe. Design: Observational prospective study to evaluate natural course of AVH in patients with and without diabetes mellitus. Consecutive patients with AVH were included and categorized in to those with or without diabetes. Etiology, complications, mortality and recovery parameters of AVH were identified and compared between two groups. Results: 131 consecutive AVH between March 2007 and March 2009 were evaluated; 12 diabetics and 83 non-diabetics (n = 95) were included for analysis. Hepatitis E was the commonest cause (n = 55, 57.89%) in the whole cohort. However, Hepatitis B virus (HBV) as the etiology was significantly higher among diabetics than in non-diabetics (58.33% vs. 25.3%, P = 0.02). In contrast, hepatitis E was the etiology in 61.44% of non-diabetics. Frequency of severe hepatitis was significantly higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics (5/12; 41.67% vs. 9/83; 10.64%, P < 0.005). 5 of 14 (36%) with severe hepatitis were diabetics. Liver failure and death occurred in 2 (16%) diabetics, while none among the non-diabetics had liver failure. Multiple variable logistic regression analysis revealed that acute hepatitis B (OR 4.7 (95% CI 1.34-16.47)) and diabetes (OR 4.0 (95% CI 0.96-16.47)) were associated with severe hepatitis. Conclusion: Patients with diabetes are at risk to contact HBV infection and severe hepatitis
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