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Biomedical subjects

D Mukherjee

Publications and source records attributed to D Mukherjee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

On local(ly) ESS of a pair of prey-predator system with predatory switching.

This paper concentrates on the study of ecological stability for guaranteeing evolutionary stable strategies (ESS) in a two pre-predator system taking into consideration of handling time, with predatory switching. Here predators are polyphagous in nature. The conditions for ESS of the model system are obtained at the equivalence point. We also derive the invasion conditions of a mutant predator.

Animals

Carotid endarterectomy: changing practice patterns.

BACKGROUND: Cost-effective carotid endarterectomy implies a good outcome; low morbidity, a short hospital stay and selective use of non-invasive preoperative diagnostic tests done alone. METHODS: A solo surgeon's clinical experience with two hundred and eighteen consecutive operations, over seven years, at two Community Hospitals in Northern Virginia. RESULTS: There were three perioperative strokes, of which one resulted in death, for a mortality rate of 0.45%, and a stroke rate of 1.4%. The majority of the operations in the past two years were done on the basis of Duplex ultrasonography and magnetic resonance angiography, but without invasive angiography. General anesthesia, routine use of shunt and use of autogenous vein patch in almost every case was employed. Patients were selectively observed in the Intensive Care Unit postoperatively. Forty eight percent of the series and 75% of the most recent 121 patients operated on in 1995 and 1996 were discharged on the first postoperative day without any need for re-admission to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Carotid endarterectomy can be performed with a short hospital stay and an extremely low morbidity and mortality. Carotid endarterectomy is a highly effective surgical procedure both from the medical and economy stand-points.

Aged

Extension of the Taylor patch concept to infrainguinal sequential arterial bypass.

Infra-inguinal bypass to popliteal and tibial vessels for limb salvage is a well established procedure with excellent results when saphenous vein is used as a conduit for the bypass. Infra-popliteal bypass, using a prosthetic conduit, is generally accompanied by poor results Taylor et al. recently obtained impressive results using PTFE as a conduit and a vein patch at the distal anastomosis. Extension of the Taylor patch concept to infrainguinal sequential arterial bypass in case report form is presented.

Aged

Antitumor activity of Hygrophila spinosa on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and sarcoma-180 induced mice.

Petroleum ether extract from H. spinosa root exhibited antitumor activity in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and Sarcoma-180 bearing mice Processed extract suppressed significantly the tumor fluid volume at the end of 3 weeks experiment. It decreased about 50% of packed cell volume and increased life span of EAC/S-180 bearing mice in a day dependent manner. Red blood cell count, hemoglobin content and white blood cell count were more or less normal after processed extract treatment of the tumor bearing mice. In tumor control animals, neutrophils increased (273.7% in EAC and 263.4% in S-180 bearing mice respectively with respect to normal mice) whereas lymphocytes decreased (60.0% in EAC and 56.5% in S-180 bearing mice respectively with respect to normal mice). It also inhibited the rapid increase of body weight of tumor bearing mice.

Animals

Effect of time lag on non-living resource in a simple food chain.

This paper deals with a system of one non-living resource detritus, detritivores and their predators where time delay has been considered in the detritus formation. Local stability criteria are derived in the absence of delays. Conditions are derived under which there can be no change of stability whatever the value of time lag and finally we obtain criteria under which the system admits a finite number of stability switchings as the time lag increases.

Ecology

Incorrect diagnosis of thyroid disease by junior doctors.

Thyroid function tests (TFTs) are commonly performed on elderly patients admitted to hospital. Several diseases and commonly used drugs may alter thyroid function test results. We assessed the knowledge of such interactions among 50 junior doctors in our departments: 60% were unaware that (in our laboratory) the normal range for TFTs is the same in those above 65 years as in those below; 72% correctly noted the effect of an acute illness, while only 48% correctly noted the effect of a chronic illness on test results; 72% were well aware of common drug effects such as those of the oral contraceptive pill, but only 22% and 42% knew of the potentially more important interactions in the elderly with the salicylates and phenytoin respectively. Thyroid screening in elderly people is important. The knowledge of interactions between drugs, disease states and the normal range of biochemical assays used in routine thyroid screening needs to be improved if thyroid function tests are to be interpreted appropriately.

Clinical Competence

HLA phenotype frequencies in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Susceptibility and/or immune response to tuberculosis may or may not be associated with particular histocompatibility leucocyte antigen (HLA) phenotype frequencies. The present study was undertaken to north eastern Indian population to verify any association between HLA phenotypes and immune response to mycobacterial antigen. HLA-typing was done in 60 well Tarasaki trays and T-cell subsets in each group were measured using Ficoll-hypaque nylon wool columns and dynabeads (M-450). No universal association with particular HLA-type and pulmonary tuberculosis has been confirmed.

Adolescent

Can nitroglycerin convert effort-induced angina in men into silent myocardial ischemia?

The relief of anginal pain with nitroglycerin may not correspond to the disappearance of ischemia. To evaluate the possible lack of the elimination of ischemia with sublingual nitroglycerin, we studied 25 male patients with stable angina pectoris who underwent exercise stress testing with recording of blood pressure, pulse, and ST-segment displacement. The stress test was repeated 30 minutes after administration of 0.4 mg of sublingual nitroglycerin. All 25 patients had angina and ischemic ST-segment changes in the first stress test. On repeat stress testing, 15 patients had angina and ST-segment changes, 2 patients had angina but no ST-segment changes, and 4 patients had no ST-segment changes and no angina. Four patients, however, had no angina but persistent ischemic ST-segment changes suggesting that angina was converted into silent ischemia. The mean exercise duration was 311 +/- 66 seconds before and 421 +/- 81 seconds after the nitroglycerin test. Peak heart rate and systolic blood pressure before the nitroglycerin stress test were 109 +/- 18 and 155 +/- 23 mm Hg; in the repeat stress test, they increased to 123 +/- 21 and 162 +/- 20 mm Hg, respectively.

Administration, Sublingual

Effects of prolactin and fish pituitary extract on plasma calcium levels in common carp, Cyprinus carpio.

The effects of prolactin (PRL) from both mammalian and piscine sources on plasma calcium levels in common carp, Cyprinus carpio, were investigated. Injections of ovine prolactin (oPRL) or homologous fish pituitary extract or partially purified prolactin of murrel, Channa punctatus pituitary (mPRL), caused significant increases in total and ultrafiltrable plasma calcium. Larger hypercalcemic responses were observed in fish kept in high-calcium fresh water and normal tap water than in fish in low-calcium fresh water. Injections of oPRL caused dose-dependent increases in plasma calcium level. The highest dose (1 mg/kg body wt) of oPRL had a reduced hypercalcemic effect. Administration of EGTA (200 microM/kg body wt) reduced the stimulatory effects of daily injections of oPRL or mPRL on plasma calcium in freshwater common carp under laboratory conditions. These results indicate that PRL may be involved in regulating plasma calcium levels in fish.

Animals

Insecticides: their effect on microorganisms and persistence in rice soil.

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of four insecticides, HCH, phorate, carbofuran and fenvalerate, at recommended doses on the preponderance of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. We also measured the persistence of the insecticides in the rhizosphere soil of rice. HCH and fenvalerate stimulated the proliferation of all of the microorganisms significantly. Phorate increased the population of bacteria and actinomycetes. Carbofuran accentuated the preponderance of actinomycetes in soil. Insecticides, in general, did not have marked influence on the proliferation of Bacillus, Streptomyces, Aspergillus and Fusarium in soil. However, we observed a stimulation of growth of Staphylococcus, Proteus and Sarcina with HCH, Pseudomonas, Corynebacterium, Erysipelothrix and Rhizopus with phorate, Serratia, Corynebacterium, Klebsiella, Escherichia, Rhizopus and Humicola with carbofuran, and Staphylococcus, Sarcina, Klebsiella and Nocardia with fenvalerate. On the other hand, there was an inhibition in growth of Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Nocardia and Penicillium with HCH, of Pseudomonas, Micrococcus and Penicillium with carbofuran, and of Pseudomonas, Micrococcus and Micromonospora with fenvalerate. Different types of insecticides exhibited differential patterns of dissipation in soil. HCH had the highest persistence followed by phorate, carbofuran and fenvalerate, respectively.

Actinomycetales

Quantification of myotrophin from spontaneously hypertensive and normal rat hearts.

A novel peptide, myotrophin, has been isolated, purified, cloned, and sequenced from the hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and from dilated cardiomyopathic human heart tissue. Myotrophin accelerates myocyte growth by stimulating protein synthesis (not by altering myocardial cell division). Our successive studies were conducted to evaluate the pathophysiological significance of myotrophin; a solid-phase radioimmunoassay technique was developed for quantifying the protein in hypertrophied and normal hearts. Specific antipeptide antibody was raised in rabbits against a peptide that represents a selected amino acid sequence of a 17-amino acid myotrophin segment by using the multiple antigenic peptide technique. The specificity of the antibody was evaluated by determining the affinity constant after constructing the Scatchard plot obtained from the ratio of bound to free myotrophin against bound myotrophin. The value obtained was 2.61 x 10(7) L/mol. The specificity was further demonstrated by Western blot analysis, in which a single protein band was obtained in the region of 12 kD. Pretreatment of the antibody with myotrophin completely blocked the binding sites, because no protein band was detected on the immunoblot. The antibody prevented the myocardial protein synthesis induced by myotrophin as revealed by the blockage of the stimulation of [3H]leucine incorporation into myocyte protein. Quantification of myotrophin from different heart tissues was achieved by Western blot and dot blot analyses. Amounts of myotrophin present in different dots were determined by using a video image analyzer. The level of myotrophin in the embryonic tissue was found to be similar in male normal and SHR hearts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of Variance