Reserpine Improves Working Memory

Despite exhaustive search, no drug is in sight for AD. Earlier, we reported that reserpine, an antihypertensive and antipsychotic drug, ameliorates Amyloid beta (Aβ-AD causing peptide) toxicity and confers several positive enhancements in the C. elegans model system. Here, we evaluate whether reserpine can provide protection against working memory and against AD in the mouse model. Reserpine (0.08 mg) was administered orally on alternate days to the non-Tg and accelerated Aβ deposition (at 2 months of age)and cognitive deficit (4 months of age) developing 5XFAD AD Tg mouse model expressing mutant human APP (3 familial mutations) and human Presenilin1(2 familial mutations) in the neurons, and follow their working memory for 2 months using the spontaneous Y-maze alteration behavioral paradigm. Reserpine enhanced working memory in non-Tg mice and improved the cognitive deficit in the 5XFAD AD Tg mice. Hence, reserpine can be considered for a detailed evaluation in the 3X Tg AD mouse model and a pilot study in AD patients.

Effect of flaxseed supplementation on metabolic state,endocrine profiles,body composition and reproductive performance of sows

Objective:To assess the effect of flaxseed supplementation on metabolic profile,endocrine concentrations,non-esterified fatty acids(NEFA),body composition variables,and reproductive performance of sows.Methods:All the 21 crossbred Large White Yorkshire sows were considered in the study period starting at day 1 of current farrowing when the feeding of specific supplemental ration was started until the day of subsequent farrowing(days 150-155)and were equally allocated into three groups.Group 1 served as the control group and followed their normal feeding schedule.Group 2 and group 3,in addition to their normal feeding schedule,were supplemented with flaxseed at a rate of 0.5%and 1.0%of the dry matter,respectively.Blood samples were collected 15 days prior to farrowing,on the day of farrowing(day 0),at weekly intervals until day 28 of lactation and at monthly intervals during gestation to harvest the plasma.Plasma was used to assess the metabolic and endocrine status of sows.Body weight of each sow and individual birth weight of all piglets born were measured.Results:Flaxseed supplementation led to decrease in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the supplemented groups than in the control group(P<0.05).Plasma estradiol-17βlevel was higher in group 2 than that in group 1 and 3 on day 90 of the gestation period(P<0.05).The mean plasma level of insulin-like growth factor 1 was higher in group 3 than that in group 1 and 2 both in late lactation(day 28)as well as in early gestation(day 30)(P<0.05).Plasma NEFA and weight gain were greater in sows of group 2 and 3 compared to those fed with the normal control diets(P<0.05).The proportion of pregnant sows relative to sows bred was 100.0%in group 2 and 3 and 85.7%in the control group.Piglet mortality was lower in group 2 and 3 compared to group 1(P>0.05).Conclusions:Flaxseed improves endocrine profiles,NEFA concentrations and body weight,resulting in better pregnancy rate and litter size.

Improvement in cryosurvival of buffalo bull (Bubalus bubalis) sperm by altering freezing rate within critical temperature range

Objective:To optimize the cryopreservation of buffalo bull semen by altering freezing rates within critical temperature range (4℃ to -60℃). Methods: A total of 20 ejaculates each from 5 Murrah buffalo bulls were cryopreserved using programmable biofreezer in 2 phases. In the 1st phase, 9 freezing rates were applied at -2, -5, -10, -20, -30, -40, -50, -60 or -4℃/min (control) from 4℃ to -15℃;at -40℃/min from -15℃ to -60℃. In the 2nd phase, a fixed freezing rate was applied at -30℃/min from 4℃ to -15℃. Six freezing rates were applied at -10, -20, -30, -40 (control), -50 or -60℃/min from -15℃ to -60℃. The freezing from -60℃ to -140℃ were fixed at -50℃/min in both the phases. Post thaw semen quality was assessed in terms of motility, viability, membrane integrity (hypo-osmotic swelling test), sperm abnormalities, and active mitochondria. Data were arc sine transformed and analyzed through one-way analysis of variance using SPSS software. Results: In the 1st phase, percent individual motility, progressive motility and viability were similar among various protocols. Percent hypo-osmotic swelling reactive sperm was higher with freezing at -30℃/min. In the 2nd phase, percent individual motility, viability and hypo-osmotic swelling reactive sperm was higher with freezing at -50℃/min. Sperm head abnormalities were lower at -30℃/min in the 1st phase, but were similar among the protocols of the 2nd phase. Percent active mitochondria were higher at -30℃/min in the 1st phase and at -50℃/min in the 2nd phase.Conclusions:The optimum post thaw semen quality of buffalo bull could be obtained by applying freezing rate at -30℃/min (4℃ to -15℃) and at -50℃/min (-15℃ to -140℃), followed by plunging of straws in into liquid nitrogen for storage.

COVID-19 presentation as acute pancreatitis:A case report

Rationale:The gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19 include anorexia,nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and diarrhea.However,pancreatitis as the presentation of COVID-19 is rarely reported.Patient’s Concern:A 63-year-old COVID-19 patient presented with complaints of abdominal pain and difficulty breathing for 5 d.Diagnosis:Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen suggested acute interstitial pancreatitis without any biliary tract obstruction.Interventions:The patient was resuscitated with intravenous fluids based on dynamic parameters of fluid responsiveness.The patient was started on enteral feeding,analgesics,antibiotics,dexamethasone,low molecular weight heparin,and supportive therapy.Outcomes:The patient developed severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and died 6 days after admission.Lessons:Management of COVID-19 in the presence of pancreatitis is challenging.Adequate early fluid resuscitation is an important aspect of medical management for COVID-19 patients with pancreatitis and restrictive strategies must be followed.Increased liver enzymes and renal dysfunction in acute pancreatitis can also limit the use of specific therapies like remdesivir.Dexamethasone,even though it has shown a beneficial effect in treating COVID-19,can have an additive effect in causing hyperglycemia in these cases.Clinicians should be aware of this atypical presentation of COVID-19 with pancreatitis and adjust their management strategies,keeping in mind the considerations for both diseases.

Post Operative Sensorineural Hearing Loss Following Middle Ear Surgery—A Study of 100 Cases

Background: Drill and surgical tools can cause noise induced hearing loss when used on or adjacent to the ossicular chain and stapes footplate or while working on the mastoid bone. Therefore the drill generated noise has been incriminated as a cause of sensorineural hearing loss in the operated ear. Objective: This study has been undertaken to estimate the proportion of sensorineural hearing loss following middle ear surgery and to assess the bone conduction thresholds of operated ear following middle ear surgery at different follow up periods. Methods: 100 cases of chronic suppurative otitis media posted for middle ear exploration surgery were included in the study. Results: Sensorineural hearing loss was present in 3 cases out of 100 cases (3%) after undergoing mastoid surgery. There was a mean increase in bone conduction thresholds of 0.75 dB at 500 Hz, 1.4 dB at 1 kHz, 1.7 dB at 2 kHz and 2.7 dB at 4 kHz at 6th month of follow up period after surgery with statistical significance at 2 kHz (p = 0.011) and 4 kHz (p Conclusion: Post mastoidectomy hearing loss is of high frequency in nature.

Boosting the energy harvesting performance of cantilever structured magneto-mechano-electric generator by controlling magnetic flux intensity on magnet proof mass

A cantilever-structured magneto-mechano-electric(MME)generator comprising a magnetoelectric composite with a magnet proof mass is a potential candidate for powering autonomous wireless sensor networks.Recently,the concept of a magnetic flux concentrator(MFC)to enhance the output performance of the MME generator by focusing the ultralow-intensity magnetic field into the MME generator was introduced.However,the MFC-concentrated magnetic flux mostly focused on the end tip of the MME cantilever rather than at the magnet proof mass located on the cantilever beam.Considering that the torque generated by the magnet proof mass contributes more than half of the output power of an MME generator,optimizing the volume and position of the proof-mass with MFC is crucial for better performance.Furthermore,a smaller proof-mass is desirable for the long-term reliability of cantilevertype harvesters.Hence,we investigated the effect of the position and weight(volume)of the magnet proof mass with respect to the MFC on the output performance of the MME generator through finite element analysis and experiments.The MME generator with the lighter magnet proof mass at the optimized position generated a maximum power of 5.35 mW under a 10 Oe magnetic field,which was 210%of that of the MME configuration used in our previous study.Furthermore,the MME generator showed broadband characteristics around the practical frequency of 60 Hz,which could provide more freedom to design the harvester with high performance.

AN EFFICIENT METHOD FOR MULTIOBJECTIVE OPTIMAL CONTROL AND OPTIMAL CONTROL SUBJECT TO INTEGRAL CONSTRAINTS

We introduce a new and efficient numerical method for multicriterion optimal control and single criterion optimal control under integral constraints. The approach is based on extending the state space to include information on a ＂budget＂ remaining to satisfy each constraint; the augmented Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman PDE is then solved numerically. The efficiency of our approach hinges on the causality in that PDE, i.e., the monotonicity of characteristic curves in one of the newly added dimensions. A semi-Lagrangian ＂marching＂ method is used to approximate the discontinuous viscosity solution efficiently. We compare this to a recently introduced ＂weighted sum＂ based algorithm for the same problem [25]. We illustrate our method using examples from flight path planning and robotic navigation in the presence of friendly and adversarial observers.