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Biomedical subjects

A K Mukherjee

Publications and source records attributed to A K Mukherjee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

An environmental survey in chrysotile asbestos milling processes in India.

Environmental monitoring to determine airborne asbestos fiber levels has been carried out in four different mills processing chrysotile asbestos in the Cuddapah District (Andhra Pradesh) of India. The "membrane filter method" comprising standard asbestos sampling techniques, acetone-triacetin method for sample preparation, fiber counting, and sizing using the phase contrast optical microscope were adopted in the study. Fiber concentrations both with respect to personal exposures and processing areas were found in most of the cases to be much higher than the prescribed Threshold Limit Value (TLVs) of the developed and developing countries for chrysotile asbestos. By optical microscopy, fiber length distribution showed 70% of fibers in the milling processes were in size range > 5-10 microns, whereas in > 10-20 and > 20 microns, 20% and 8%, respectively. Fiber identification for major elemental content, also done by using scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer, indicated the presence of tremolite along with chrysotile. The study stresses the urgent need to adopt suitable engineering controls at the dust generating sources to reduce the fiber level in the mill environment below the threshold limit.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of indirect immunofluorescent antibody test for detection of IgM specific antibodies in malaria.

Indirect immunofluorescent antibody test using Plasmodium falciparum antigen from in vitro culture was evaluated for detecting IgM antibodies in order to determine the feasibility of its application in serodiagnosis of malaria. Test was compared with the already adapted IgG-IIF test using the same antigen. It was found that none of the healthy controls and slide negative fever cases had malaria IgM antibodies whereas 8 per cent of healthy controls and 49.01 per cent of the slide negative fever cases had malaria IgG antibodies. The sensitivity of IgM-IIF test was 94.68 per cent and that of IgG-IIF test was 96.81 per cent. IgM antibodies could be detected very early even on the first day of fever and titre rose gradually with increasing number of days of illness before institution of treatment. The IgM antibodies, being short lasting are able to reflect recent infection. The test although highly sensitive and specific is laborious and expensive. Therefore, it may be used as a serodiagnostic test in advanced laboratories only for confirmation of selected slide negative cases.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Detection of malaria antigen in blood by inhibition ELISA.

Demonstration of parasite associated antigen in blood by inhibition ELISA in malaria patients and controls is described. The test was negative in all the healthy controls and positive in 90 per cent of the Plasmodium vivax malaria cases. The test was found to be quite sensitive, being able to detect 5 parasites/10(6) RBC in a case of natural P. falciparum infection. There was 95.3 per cent agreement between the results of this test and IgM-IIF test.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The completeness and accuracy of health authority and cancer registry records according to a study of ovarian neoplasms.

The completeness and accuracy of Hospital Activity Analysis (HAA) and Regional Cancer Registry (RCR) records were investigated in a series of 868 histologically reviewed cases in which primary ovarian neoplasms had been diagnosed according to one or more of seven data sources including HAA and RCR. All the women concerned were residents of Manchester and Salford who had presented in 1979-83 aged 15 years or more. The histological review confirmed the diagnosis of ovarian neoplasia in 829 of these women and excluded it in 39. Among the 829 confirmed cases, 333 were malignant or of borderline malignancy and therefore eligible for registration with the RCR, and 496 were benign. Only 611 (74%) of the 829 cases were listed as ovarian neoplasms or cysts in HAA records of hospital admissions from the study area during the study period, and the HAA diagnosis was incorrect in 40% of the 611 listed cases. Among the 333 borderline or malignant cases, only 241 (72%) appeared among the RCR's registrations of ovarian neoplasms for the study period and area. The RCR record of histological diagnosis was inaccurate in over 20% of these 241 registered cases, although most of the inaccuracies did not affect whether the neoplasm was classified as borderline or malignant. Five per cent of the cases listed as ovarian neoplasms in the HAA file and 15% of those listed as registrable ovarian neoplasms by the RCR should not have been so listed. The findings highlight the limitations of these routine health information systems, both as sources of cases for research and as National Health Service management tools.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Effects of pyridoxine supplementation on blood glucocorticoids level, aspartate aminotransferase activity and glucose tolerance pattern under acute hypoxic stress.

Studies were conducted on male adult rabbits to find out the changes in blood glucocorticoid levels along with the changes in aspartate aminotransferase activity in blood and the role of pyridoxine on the glucose tolerance pattern under hypoxic stress. Hypoxic stress was produced by exposing the animals to a simulated altitude of 7,000 m for 6 h. In the first set of experiments 10 rabbits were used. Blood haemoglobin level, plasma and erythrocyte glucocorticoid levels and erythrocyte GOT activity were measured just before and after the exposure to hypoxia. Erythrocyte GOT activity was measured both without and with 50 mg of pyridoxal phosphate addition to the incubation mixture. Glucocorticoid levels in plasma increased by 11% whereas in erythrocytes the increase was 55% after hypoxia. Percent stimulation of erythrocyte GOT activity with pyridoxal phosphate before exposure to hypoxia was 180% but increased to 321% after exposure. In the second set of experiments another 10 rabbits were used. First they were exposed to hypoxia without pyridoxine hydrochloride feeding and then after 7 days with 3 mg of pyridoxine hydrochloride feeding. For glucose tolerance tests the animals were fed with 1 g of glucose immediately after the hypoxic exposures. Plasma reduced glutathione (GSH), LDH and ICDH activities increased and GOT activity was depressed after hypoxic stress, but when the animals were fed pyridoxine hydrochloride prior to the exposure the enzyme activities remained unaltered after hypoxic stress. Pyridoxine hydrochloride did not alter the pattern of glucose tolerance after hypoxic stress.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Flexion osteotomy of the femur for genu recurvatum after poliomyelitis.

We report the results of 21 femoral osteotomies performed in 18 patients for genu recurvatum and flattening of the femoral condyles after poliomyelitis. Before operation the average angle of recurvatum was 31 degrees and all the limbs required bracing. After a mean follow-up of four years there has been partial recurrence in only one case. Nine patients (10 limbs) needed no orthosis and the others had less discomfort and an improved gait. Complete remodelling of the femoral and tibial epiphyses was noted in two of the younger patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Diaphyseal dysplasia associated with anemia.

Five patients in early childhood had moderate to marked anemia and clinically demonstrable thick long bones of the extremities with radiologic features of diaphyseal dysplasia. Although the anemia was persistent and not responsive to hematinics, prednisolone was administered to two of these patients and caused remarkable improvement of the anemia in both. Roentgenologic examination carried out after 1 year of corticosteroid therapy in one patient and after 11 years in another showed considerable improvement of the bony changes. The clinical and radiologic examinations of these patients and their follow-up study suggest that they may constitute an unusual group of patients with diaphyseal dysplasia associated with anemia, hitherto not well defined.

Anemia↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of serology as a tool for malaria surveillance in East Champaran District of Bihar, India.

The indirect immunofluorescence test was evaluated as a tool for malaria surveillance. The population of 12 villages in the East Champaran District of Bihar with a low annual parasitic index and a low annual blood examination rate was surveyed in order to confirm the low endemicity of malaria in these villages. Two specimens of blood, one taken during the pre-transmission season and one taken during the post-transmission season, were collected for parasitological and serological studies. The paired samples showed no parasite positivity in the study population in both surveys. All the villages had very low serological titres. However, the presence of malaria antibodies in the zero to five years age group (the sentinel group) indicated that malaria transmission occurred in the study area at a very low level. The seropositivity and the geometric mean titre were lower in the pre-transmission season than in the post-transmission season, but the overall reduction in geometric mean titre, which was very low throughout the study, was not statistically significant. The study emphasizes the importance of serological tests in malaria surveillance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Epidemiology. The incidence and management of joint contracture in India.

An epidemiologic study in India showed that 50% of the severely disabled (1.8% of the total population) had locomotor disorders. There is a considerable difference in the incidence of disability and disease in rural and urban populations. The deformities from poliomyelitis are encountered predominantly in the rural areas (53.5%). The incidence in urban areas is only 1%. After poliomyelitis, the pathomechanics of deformity are prominent in the lower limbs. In a developing country, the management of contractures differs considerably from treatment in economically advanced nations. The use of postural exercises with body weight is well illustrated by certain Yoga postures such as paschimottansana or ushtrasana and is a prescribed treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Immunochemical properties of the lipopolysaccharide O-antigen of Vibrio cholerae O1 in relation to its chemical structure.

D-Glucuronic acid and D-glucosamine have an immunodominant role in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen of both the Ogawa and the Inaba subtypes of Vibrio cholerae O1. This was evident from the pronounced inhibitory effect on the LPS precipitin reaction demonstrated by these monosaccharides and by oligosaccharides containing either of them which were isolated from LPS hydrolysate. There was a considerable decrease in the antibody-combining capacity of chemically modified LPS in which the carboxyl group of the glucuronic acid had been reduced. Similarly, on deamination, the O-specific polysaccharide fraction of the LPS molecule from both subtypes completely lost the ability to precipitate the LPS antibody.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1986

Primary tuberculosis of the retina.

A case of pseudoglioma diagnosed on histopathology to be retinal tuberculosis is presented with a general review of the literature on ocular tuberculosis. The case is peculiar in that retinal tuberculosis occurred without concomitant involvement of the choroid.

Child, Preschool↗