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Biomedical subjects

D Debnath

Publications and source records attributed to D Debnath.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Digestive enzymes and metabolic profile of Labeo rohita fingerlings fed diets with different crude protein levels.

Labeo rohita, commonly called rohu is one of the most important fish species for aquaculture in India. Digestive enzyme response and metabolic profile of fingerling L. rohita to different dietary crude protein (CP) levels (viz. 25, 30, 35 and 40%) were studied in an attempt to optimize a practical diet formulation for this species. After 45 days of feeding, activity of digestive enzymes and metabolite concentrations were assayed. Amylase, lipase and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were not influenced by the dietary protein, but proteolytic and acid phosphatase (ACP) activities varied (P<0.05) between the treatments. Proteolytic activity showed a second order polynomial relationship with dietary crude protein (CP) as Y = 0.0734X(2) + 4.937X - 68.37, r(2)=0.97. A positive correlation was observed between dietary CP and amylase (r(2)=0.78). All the metabolites except muscle glucose showed significant change corresponding to the dietary protein levels. Glucose and glycogen levels corresponded to the dietary carbohydrate levels. Muscle and plasma pyruvic acid increased as the crude protein in the diet increased, whereas liver pyruvic acid showed the opposite trend. Muscle protein content was not affected by dietary CP. Protein fractions in plasma (total protein, albumin and globulin) showed maximum values in 30% CP fed group. It is concluded that proteolytic activity and ACP are the major digestive enzymes responsive to dietary CP in L. rohita fingerlings. Considering the cost effectiveness of the diet, and based on liver and plasma free amino acid levels and plasma protein fractions, 30% crude protein is recommended as the optimal dietary protein for L. rohita fingerlings.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2004

Activity analysis of telemedicine in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine is a new way of delivering health care to people, particularly in remote areas. The UK has experienced a surge of telematic projects in recent years. However, there is little information available in the literature regarding the past and present of telemedicine in the UK. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the state of telemedicine in the UK. METHODS: All the projects that took place in UK since 1991 were considered for the study and evaluated according to the population and area served. RESULTS: A total of 216 projects were identified. The number of projects was highest in England (172). Emergency medicine, medical specialties, and educational projects received most consideration (9.7% each). With the exception of Wales, the number of projects increased steadily with time. The projects, when correlated in accordance with the area (per 10 000 sq km) and population (per million), were found to be highest in England (49.5%) and Northern Ireland (36.2%) respectively. No dedicated educational project took place in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. CONCLUSIONS: The UK embraced telemedicine in the early 1990s and the overall growth had been steady. Scotland, in spite of being the most likely beneficiary in UK, has lagged behind in telemedicine schemes and merits more projects. The issue of tele-education needs urgent review. Multisite trials and a combined approach involving the government, health professionals, technologists, and patients' representatives would facilitate such developments and help widen the application of telemedicine.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Lesson learnt: don't prescribe heparin for hemoperitoneum!

This paper describes a case of spontaneous rupture of the spleen that was misdiagnosed as pulmonary embolism. Because of a lack of history of trauma, rarity of occurrence, and confusing clinical presentations, an unwary clinician may fail to diagnose this condition in time. It may result in erroneous treatment of a condition, which is potentially curable.

Anticoagulants↗
PubMed2002

Guidelines, compliance, and effectiveness: a 12 months' audit in an acute district general healthcare trust on the two week rule for suspected colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The Department of Health had recently introduced guidelines so that all suspected colorectal cancer patients could be seen by a specialist within two weeks of referral by their general practitioners. The usefulness and practicality of such a decision had been questioned. The aims of this study were to measure the compliance to the guidelines and evaluate the effectiveness of such referrals. METHODS: All patients who were referred to the rapid access colorectal clinic between August 2000 and July 2001 were included. SETTINGS: Darlington Memorial Hospital and Bishop Auckland General Hospital, both under South Durham Health Care Trust, were considered for the study. MEASURES: Date of referral, referring practitioner, time of appointment, reasons for referral, and diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 239 referrals were made; 96.2% of patients were given appointments within two weeks. Rectal bleed was the commonest (32%) cause for referral. Diverticular disease was the most frequent (29%) condition diagnosed. Altogether 97.4% of referrals were incomplete and 37.6% did not comply with the guidelines. Twenty one colorectal cancers (8.9%) were diagnosed. The early cancer detection rate was 4.6%. CONCLUSIONS: This audit showed that compliance to the guidelines was associated with a higher cancer detection rate. The majority of patients received appointments within two weeks. Contrary to some speculations, the number of referrals was not limitless. However a high number of referrals failed to adhere to the guidelines. The cancer (particularly early cancer) detection rate was disappointingly low. This does not reflect an efficient system of referral and potential benefits to patients remain questionable.

Colorectal Neoplasms↗
PubMed2002

Atraumatic rupture of the spleen in adults.

Atraumatic rupture of the spleen is an uncommon but important clinical entity. Unfortunately, the diagnosis is often missed due to the absence of any history of trauma. Various aspects of atraumatic rupture of the spleen, including those of 'pathologic' and 'spontaneous' rupture of the spleen, have been reviewed. Increased awareness of this condition would enhance early diagnosis and effective treatment. Further research is required to identify the possible risk factors associated with spontaneous rupture of the spleen.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A novel RNA polymerase binding site upstream of the galactose promoter in Escherichia coli exhibits promoter-like activity.

RNA polymerase is known to bind and utilize the overlapping promoters P1 and P2 in Escherichia coli galactose operon. We have identified an additional specific site upstream of P2, where RNA polymerase binds in a heparin-resistant manner. Binding of polymerase to this site, termed P3, occurs simultaneous to its binding at P1/P2. We have located this P3 site by DNase I footprinting. A 63 base pair region centered around position - 100 with respect to galP1 is protected by polymerase. Interestingly, a Pribnow box TATAAT is present within this protected region (-103 to -108). We have shown that transcription occurs from P3 in vitro. Primer extension analysis provides direct evidence that P3 is transcribed in vivo. The start site of transcription has been mapped at -96 position relative to galP1. beta-galactosidase assays with different gal promoter constructs reveal that while P3 alone functions as a weak in vivo promoter, it has a synergistic effect on transcription from the gal operon, since deletion of P3 or specifically mutating its -10 region result in a substantial reduction in the gal promoter activity.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2000

Improving reporting of sharp injuries.

There is considerable under-reporting of contaminated needlestick and other sharp object injuries among health-care workers. Some general and psychological factors contribute to such low reporting. Continued training of staff, a sympathetic attitude and clarification of some general issues might improve reporting of such incidents.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1999

Structural changes of horseradish peroxidase in presence of low concentrations of urea.

The presence of very low concentrations of the widely used denaturant urea induces structural changes in the monomeric heme-containing enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Structural alterations in the protein were reflected in quenching studies of tryptophan fluorescence using the widely used quencher acrylamide. Stern-Volmer quenching constants measured in presence of urea, even in concentrations below 100 mm, were higher than those measured in absence of the denaturant. The fluorescence emission maximum of 1, 8-ANS, used as a probe for monitoring conformational changes in the enzyme, was blue-shifted from 530 nm in aqueous buffer to 518 nm when incorporated in native HRP. This blue shift increased further by 3 nm in presence of HRP preincubated with 100 mm urea, whereupon it steadily decreased with increasing urea concentration to become zero at 8 m urea. The mean fluorescence lifetime of 1,8-ANS incorporated in HRP was much higher than that of ANS in aqueous buffer, and showed continuous variation with the concentration of urea in which the enzyme was incubated. Systematic changes in the microenvironment of the heme moiety in HRP were also reflected in the visible CD spectra of the enzyme incubated with low concentrations of urea. These results are consistent with those of our earlier studies performed with the denaturant guanidinium chloride and indicate structural relaxation of HRP, with retention of enzymatic activity and native-like secondary structure, in presence of millimolar concentrations of urea.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗
PubMed1998

Interaction of the antitumour alkaloid coralyne with duplex deoxyribonucleic acid structures: spectroscopic and viscometric studies.

The interaction of coralyne, an antitumour alkaloid with natural and synthetic duplex DNAs was investigated under conditions where the drug existed fully as a true monomer for the first time using spectrophotometric, spectrofluorimetric, circular dichroic and viscometric techniques. The absorption spectrum of coralyne monomer showed hypochromic and bathochromic effects on binding to duplex DNAs. This effect was used to determine the binding parameters of coralyne. The binding constants for four natural DNAs and four synthetic polynucleotides obtained from spectrophotometric titration, according to an excluded site model, using McGhee-von Hippel analysis, were all in the range of (0.38-9.8) x 10(5) M-1, and showed a relatively high specificity for the GC rich ML DNA and the alternating GC polynucleotide. The binding of coralyne decreased with increasing ionic strength, indicating that the binding affinity has a strong electrostatic component. Coralyne stabilized all the DNAs against thermal strand separation. The intense steady state fluorescence of coralyne was effectively quenched on binding to DNAs and the quantitative data on the Stern-Volmer quenching constant obtained was sequence dependent, being maximum with the GC rich DNA and alternating GC polymer. Circular dichriosm studies further evidenced for a strong perturbation of the B-conformation of DNAs consequent to coralyne binding with the concomitant development of extrinsic circular dichroic bands for the bound drug molecules suggesting their strong intercalated geometry in duplex DNAs. Further tests of intercalation using viscosity measurements on linear and covalently closed plasmid DNA conclusively proved the strong intercalation of coralyne in duplex DNA. Binding of the closely related natural alkaloid, berberine under these conditions showed considerably lower affinity to duplex DNAs in all experiments. Taken together, these results suggest that coralyne binds strongly to duplex DNAs by a mechanism of intercalation with specificity towards alternating GC duplex structure.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Thermodynamics of the interaction of berberine with DNA.

The interaction of berberine [7,8,13,13a-tetrahydro-9-10-dimethoxy-2,3-(methylene dioxy)-berberinium] with calf thymus DNA has been studied by spectrophotometry in buffers of various salt concentrations and temperatures. Binding parameters obtained are best fit by the neighbour exclusion model. The salt and temperature dependence of the binding constants are used to estimate thermodynamic parameters involved in the complex formation of berberine with DNA. The binding process is exothermic over the entire range and the values of enthalpy and entropy change are strongly dependent on the salt concentration. The negative enthalpy and positive entropy changes compensate one another to produce a relatively small Gibbs' free energy change. Possible molecular contribution to the enthalpy and entropy changes is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Conformational aspects of poly(dI-dC).poly(dI-dC) and poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) on binding of the alkaloid, berberine chloride.

Interaction of berberine chloride with poly(dI-dC).poly(dI-dC) and poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) has been studied by various spectroscopic methods. Comparative data on binding parameters, fluorescence enhancement and Tm measurements indicate a stronger binding of berberine to the IC polymer than to the GC one. Conformational changes as monitored by circular dichroic spectra indicate change of the unusual circular dichroism of poly(IC) to a conformation similar to A-conformation, while in poly(GC) only a B-conformational change is observed. Extrinsic CD bands developed in the visible absorption region of berberine on interaction with poly(IC) are of much higher intensity compared to poly(GC). It is concluded that berberine induces a conformational change similar to the A-conformation on binding to poly(IC).

Berberine↗
PubMed1991

Circular dichroism studies of the structure of DNA complex with berberine.

The binding of the benzodioxolo-benzoquinolizine alkaloid, berberine chloride to natural and synthetic DNAs has been studied by intrinsic and extrinsic circular dichroic measurements. Binding of berberine causes changes in the circular dichroism spectrum of DNA as shown by the increase of molar ellipticity of the 270nm band, but with very little change of the 240nm band. The molar ellipticity at the saturation depends strongly on the base composition of DNA and also on salt concentration, but always larger for the AT rich DNA than the GC rich DNA. The features in the circular dichroic spectral changes of berberine-synthetic DNA complexes were similar to that of native DNA, but depends on the sequence of base pairs. On binding to DNA and polynucleotides, the alkaloid becomes optically active. The extrinsic circular dichroism developed in the visible absorption region (300-500nm) for the berberine-DNA complexes shows two broad spectral bands in the regions 425-440nm and 340-360nm with the maximum varying depending on base composition and sequence of DNA. While the 425nm band shows less variation on the binding ratio, the 360nm band is remarkably dependent on the DNA/alkaloid ratio. The generation of the alkaloid associated extrinsic circular dichroic bands is not dependent on the base composition or sequence of base pairs, but the nature and magnitude of the bands are very much dependent on these two factors and also on the salt concentration. The interpretation of the results with respect to the modes of the alkaloid binding to DNA are presented.

Animals↗