Meat production depends on several environmental factors and management practices. Meat animal ca... more Meat production depends on several environmental factors and management practices. Meat animal carcasses vary in composition through genetic, age and sex of animal, nutritional, and environmental effects. Carcass composition of various species differs considerably in terms of carcass weight, percentages of fat, muscle and bone. As animals become older and heavier the proportion of fat in their carcasses increases and the proportion of muscles and bones decreases. Uncastrated male animals produce carcasses with more muscle than do castrated males. At a particular fat level the value of a carcass is influenced by the muscle: bone ratio. A higher ratio is obviously better since it equates to more saleable lean meat as well as better carcass conformation. Beef breeds have a higher ratio than dairy breeds and entire males have a higher ratio than castrates. Several factors within control of livestock producers may be manipulated to achieve desirable effects in carcass.
There is paucity of literature on liver histological spectrum of acute-on-chronic liver failure (... more There is paucity of literature on liver histological spectrum of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The aims of this study are to (a) to characterize the liver histological features in ACLF, (b) to correlate histological parameters with prognosis, and (c) to investigate whether etiology influences prognosis. We retrospectively studied liver biopsies of patients with ACLF. The histological findings were correlated with the clinical outcome. Fifty cases (median age, 39 years [10-69 years]; M/F, 3:1) were included. Etiology of acute insult was viral or alcohol in majority of the cases. Twenty-five patients survived (good outcome, 50%) and 25 died (poor outcome, 50%). On a univariate analysis, the outcome correlated with fibrosis, ballooning, eosinophilic degeneration, ductular proliferation, pericellular fibrosis, Mallory's hyaline, foci of confluent necrosis and/or bridging necrosis (CN/BN), cholestasis, apoptosis (present), and parenchyma left. However, on a multivariate analysis, only fibrosis, ballooning, ductular proliferation, apoptosis, and parenchyma left were found to be independently associated with outcome. Two distinct patterns of liver histology were observed: pattern I, observed in cases with poor outcome, showing marked ductular proliferation, coarse inspissated ductular bile plugs, eosinophilic degeneration of hepatocytes, foci of CN/BN, higher apoptosis, pericellular fibrosis, Mallory's hyaline, and higher stage of fibrosis. Pattern II is seen in cases with good outcome, show prominent hepatocyte ballooning with lesser parenchymal involvement by fibrosis and necrosis. Histological features of liver biopsy are: extent of fibrosis, ballooning, ductular proliferation, apoptosis, and lesser degree of parenchymal replacement by fibrosis or necrosis which correlates with the outcome in patients with ACLF. Two distinct patterns of liver histology are seen which help in prognostication.
A multivariate likelihood method to measure electroweak couplings with the Drell-Yan process at t... more A multivariate likelihood method to measure electroweak couplings with the Drell-Yan process at the LHC is presented. The process is described by the dilepton rapidity, invariant mass, and decay angle distributions. The decay angle ambiguity due to the unknown assignment of the scattered constituent quark and antiquark to the two protons in a collision is resolved statistically using correlations between the observables. The method is applied to a sample of dimuon events from proton-proton collisions at ffiffi ffi s p ¼ 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1:1 fb À1. From the dominant u " u, d " d ! Ã =Z ! À þ process, the effective weak mixing angle parameter is measured to be sin 2 eff ¼ 0:2287 AE 0:0020 ðstat:Þ AE 0:0025 ðsyst:Þ. This result is consistent with measurements from other processes, as expected within the standard model.
Background: Liver biopsy has been considered to be a gold standard for assessing hepatic fibrosis... more Background: Liver biopsy has been considered to be a gold standard for assessing hepatic fibrosis. Sample variability, interobserver variability and step-wise evaluation limit its use. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) correlates with hepatic fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD) because of hepatitis C. Aim: To evaluate the utility of HVPG for assessing hepatic fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related CLD. Patients and Methods: Sixty-one patients with HBVrelated CLD who underwent both liver biopsy and hepatic haemodynamic studies were studied. Results: Forty-nine (80.3%) patients had clinically significant portal hypertension (PHT) (HVPGZ10 mmHg), 39 (63.9%) severe PHT (i.e. HVPGZ12 mmHg), six (9.8%) HVPG 5 mmHg and another six (9.8%) had preclinical PHT (i.e. HVPG 4 5 but o 10 mmHg). A positive correlation between HVPG and fibrosis score was found (r = 0.436, P o 0.001). In patients with HVPG o 10 or o 12 mmHg there was a significant correlation with fibrosis score (r = 0.603, P = 0.029 and r = 0.887, P o 0.001 respectively). A positive correlation also existed in patients with HVPGZ10 mmHg and in patients with HVPGZ12 mmHg (r = 0.512, P 0.001 and r = 0.543, P o 0.001 respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve of HVPG for the prediction of advanced fibrosis (stageZ3) had an area under curve of 0.906. HVPG value above 13.0 mmHg had a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 89% for predicting advanced fibrosis on histology. Conclusions: HVPG correlates well with the degree of histological fibrosis in patients with HBV-related CLD.
SummaryVertical transmission of Hepatitis B virus HBV can result in a state of chronic HBV infect... more SummaryVertical transmission of Hepatitis B virus HBV can result in a state of chronic HBV infection and its complications. HBV vaccination with or without hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) prevents transmission of overt infection to the babies. However, whether it also prevents occult HBV infection in babies is not known. Consecutive pregnant women of any gestation found to be HBsAg positive were followed till delivery, and their babies were included in the study. Immediately after delivery, babies were randomized to receive either HBIG or placebo in addition to recombinant HBV vaccine (at 0, 6, 10 and 14 weeks). The primary end‐point of the study, assessed at 18 weeks of age, was remaining free of any HBV infection (either overt or occult) plus the development of adequate immune response to vaccine. The babies were further followed up for a median of 2 years of age to determine their eventual outcome. Risk factors for HBV transmission and for poor immune response in babies were st...
Gingival recession defects (GRD) are one of the most commonly encountered conditions for which pe... more Gingival recession defects (GRD) are one of the most commonly encountered conditions for which periodontal treatment is required. Several attempts have been made to classify GRD. Among all the classifications Millers classification for gingival recessions is the most accepted. Recently, several limitations and drawbacks have been pointed out in Miller's classification system. The aim of the present study is to test the reliability of the recently proposed…
Introduction: Adipocytokines are cytokines secreted primarily by adipose tissue and are soluble m... more Introduction: Adipocytokines are cytokines secreted primarily by adipose tissue and are soluble mediators derived from adipocytes (fat cells) that play an important role in the interaction between adipose tissue, inflammation, immunity, adipose tissue physiology and metabolism. Alterations in the adipocytokine pattern are involved in different obesity-related diseases and progression of hepatic fibrosis. This progression of hepatic fibrosis frequently happens in the chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, apart from non-alcoholic steato hepatitis (NASH). Objectives: To study the prevalence of steatosis, adipocytokines levels, and its relationship with biochemical, metabolic, and histological parameters in patients with CHB and CHC. Patients and Methods: Well-characterized patients of CHB (n = 114) and CHC (n = 63) were included in the study. ELISA for adiponectin (n = 116), leptin (n = 132), resistin (n = 130), TNF-alpha (n = 153) and IL-6 (n = 101) was randomly performed in these patients. Results: Presence of steatosis and fibrosis scores was significantly higher in CHC than CHB patients. Majority of CHC patients (70%) were of genotype 3. In CHC patients, the fibrosis stage was higher with increased steatosis. Patients with CHC and CHB showed increased serum leptin (p = 0.029), TNF-alpha (p = 0.003) with higher HCV RNA and HBV DNA respectively. In CHC patients, there was a significant association between following parameters-higher serum resistin with raised steatosis > 10% (p = 0.01) and raised ALT (p = 0.002). Higher IL-6 with raised serum alkaline phosphates (SAP) (p = 0.001) and higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.004). Higher serum adiponectin with raised triglycerides (TG) (p = 0.004). Higher serum leptin with higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.005). In CHB patient's higher serum leptin have significant association with higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.005). Conclusion: Steatosis is seen in CHB and CHC and it correlates with increased hepatic fibrosis. The altered adipocytokine levels influence progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis patients with viral etiology.
of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 29% of those >50 years (P ¼ .56). Patients with DCB... more of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 29% of those >50 years (P ¼ .56). Patients with DCB transplant had 63% infections vs. 31% in the other transplant types (P ¼ .059). Gram-positive cocci were isolated in 57% and Gram-negative rods in 26% of all infections. DVT occurred in 26% of all cases. DVT rates according to the presence or absence of a particular catheter type were 27% vs. 25% for Hickman, 37% vs. 17% for PICC (P ¼ .1) and 14% vs. 29% for IP (P ¼ .6). In patients with only one catheter type, DVT rates were 17% for Hickman vs. 25% for PICC (P ¼ .4). DVT occurred in 18% of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 47% of those >50 years (P ¼ .026). Conclusion: Among AML patients who underwent HSCT at our institution, we did not observe any significant differences in catheter-related complications according to catheter type. DVT rate was significantly higher in patients older than 50 years. There was a trend of higher infection rate with double cord blood transplant compared to other transplant types.
The clinical value of amphotericin B, the mainstay therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in sodium a... more The clinical value of amphotericin B, the mainstay therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in sodium antimony gluconate-nonresponsive zones of Bihar, India, is now threatened by the emergence of acquired drug resistance, and a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms is the need of the hour. We have selected an amphotericin B-resistant clinical isolate which demonstrated 8-fold-higher 50% lethal doses (LD 50 ) than an amphotericin B-sensitive strain to explore the mechanism of amphotericin B resistance. Fluorimetric analysis demonstrated lower anisotropy in the motion of the diphenylhexatriene fluorescent probe in the resistant strain, which indicated a higher fluidity of the membrane for the resistant strain than for the sensitive strain. The expression patterns of the two transcripts of S -adenosyl- l -methionine:C-24-Δ-sterol methyltransferase and the absence of ergosterol, replaced by cholesta-5,7,24-trien-3β-ol in the membrane of the resistant parasite, indicate a de...
Meat production depends on several environmental factors and management practices. Meat animal ca... more Meat production depends on several environmental factors and management practices. Meat animal carcasses vary in composition through genetic, age and sex of animal, nutritional, and environmental effects. Carcass composition of various species differs considerably in terms of carcass weight, percentages of fat, muscle and bone. As animals become older and heavier the proportion of fat in their carcasses increases and the proportion of muscles and bones decreases. Uncastrated male animals produce carcasses with more muscle than do castrated males. At a particular fat level the value of a carcass is influenced by the muscle: bone ratio. A higher ratio is obviously better since it equates to more saleable lean meat as well as better carcass conformation. Beef breeds have a higher ratio than dairy breeds and entire males have a higher ratio than castrates. Several factors within control of livestock producers may be manipulated to achieve desirable effects in carcass.
There is paucity of literature on liver histological spectrum of acute-on-chronic liver failure (... more There is paucity of literature on liver histological spectrum of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The aims of this study are to (a) to characterize the liver histological features in ACLF, (b) to correlate histological parameters with prognosis, and (c) to investigate whether etiology influences prognosis. We retrospectively studied liver biopsies of patients with ACLF. The histological findings were correlated with the clinical outcome. Fifty cases (median age, 39 years [10-69 years]; M/F, 3:1) were included. Etiology of acute insult was viral or alcohol in majority of the cases. Twenty-five patients survived (good outcome, 50%) and 25 died (poor outcome, 50%). On a univariate analysis, the outcome correlated with fibrosis, ballooning, eosinophilic degeneration, ductular proliferation, pericellular fibrosis, Mallory's hyaline, foci of confluent necrosis and/or bridging necrosis (CN/BN), cholestasis, apoptosis (present), and parenchyma left. However, on a multivariate analysis, only fibrosis, ballooning, ductular proliferation, apoptosis, and parenchyma left were found to be independently associated with outcome. Two distinct patterns of liver histology were observed: pattern I, observed in cases with poor outcome, showing marked ductular proliferation, coarse inspissated ductular bile plugs, eosinophilic degeneration of hepatocytes, foci of CN/BN, higher apoptosis, pericellular fibrosis, Mallory's hyaline, and higher stage of fibrosis. Pattern II is seen in cases with good outcome, show prominent hepatocyte ballooning with lesser parenchymal involvement by fibrosis and necrosis. Histological features of liver biopsy are: extent of fibrosis, ballooning, ductular proliferation, apoptosis, and lesser degree of parenchymal replacement by fibrosis or necrosis which correlates with the outcome in patients with ACLF. Two distinct patterns of liver histology are seen which help in prognostication.
A multivariate likelihood method to measure electroweak couplings with the Drell-Yan process at t... more A multivariate likelihood method to measure electroweak couplings with the Drell-Yan process at the LHC is presented. The process is described by the dilepton rapidity, invariant mass, and decay angle distributions. The decay angle ambiguity due to the unknown assignment of the scattered constituent quark and antiquark to the two protons in a collision is resolved statistically using correlations between the observables. The method is applied to a sample of dimuon events from proton-proton collisions at ffiffi ffi s p ¼ 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1:1 fb À1. From the dominant u " u, d " d ! Ã =Z ! À þ process, the effective weak mixing angle parameter is measured to be sin 2 eff ¼ 0:2287 AE 0:0020 ðstat:Þ AE 0:0025 ðsyst:Þ. This result is consistent with measurements from other processes, as expected within the standard model.
Background: Liver biopsy has been considered to be a gold standard for assessing hepatic fibrosis... more Background: Liver biopsy has been considered to be a gold standard for assessing hepatic fibrosis. Sample variability, interobserver variability and step-wise evaluation limit its use. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) correlates with hepatic fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD) because of hepatitis C. Aim: To evaluate the utility of HVPG for assessing hepatic fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related CLD. Patients and Methods: Sixty-one patients with HBVrelated CLD who underwent both liver biopsy and hepatic haemodynamic studies were studied. Results: Forty-nine (80.3%) patients had clinically significant portal hypertension (PHT) (HVPGZ10 mmHg), 39 (63.9%) severe PHT (i.e. HVPGZ12 mmHg), six (9.8%) HVPG 5 mmHg and another six (9.8%) had preclinical PHT (i.e. HVPG 4 5 but o 10 mmHg). A positive correlation between HVPG and fibrosis score was found (r = 0.436, P o 0.001). In patients with HVPG o 10 or o 12 mmHg there was a significant correlation with fibrosis score (r = 0.603, P = 0.029 and r = 0.887, P o 0.001 respectively). A positive correlation also existed in patients with HVPGZ10 mmHg and in patients with HVPGZ12 mmHg (r = 0.512, P 0.001 and r = 0.543, P o 0.001 respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve of HVPG for the prediction of advanced fibrosis (stageZ3) had an area under curve of 0.906. HVPG value above 13.0 mmHg had a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 89% for predicting advanced fibrosis on histology. Conclusions: HVPG correlates well with the degree of histological fibrosis in patients with HBV-related CLD.
SummaryVertical transmission of Hepatitis B virus HBV can result in a state of chronic HBV infect... more SummaryVertical transmission of Hepatitis B virus HBV can result in a state of chronic HBV infection and its complications. HBV vaccination with or without hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) prevents transmission of overt infection to the babies. However, whether it also prevents occult HBV infection in babies is not known. Consecutive pregnant women of any gestation found to be HBsAg positive were followed till delivery, and their babies were included in the study. Immediately after delivery, babies were randomized to receive either HBIG or placebo in addition to recombinant HBV vaccine (at 0, 6, 10 and 14 weeks). The primary end‐point of the study, assessed at 18 weeks of age, was remaining free of any HBV infection (either overt or occult) plus the development of adequate immune response to vaccine. The babies were further followed up for a median of 2 years of age to determine their eventual outcome. Risk factors for HBV transmission and for poor immune response in babies were st...
Gingival recession defects (GRD) are one of the most commonly encountered conditions for which pe... more Gingival recession defects (GRD) are one of the most commonly encountered conditions for which periodontal treatment is required. Several attempts have been made to classify GRD. Among all the classifications Millers classification for gingival recessions is the most accepted. Recently, several limitations and drawbacks have been pointed out in Miller's classification system. The aim of the present study is to test the reliability of the recently proposed…
Introduction: Adipocytokines are cytokines secreted primarily by adipose tissue and are soluble m... more Introduction: Adipocytokines are cytokines secreted primarily by adipose tissue and are soluble mediators derived from adipocytes (fat cells) that play an important role in the interaction between adipose tissue, inflammation, immunity, adipose tissue physiology and metabolism. Alterations in the adipocytokine pattern are involved in different obesity-related diseases and progression of hepatic fibrosis. This progression of hepatic fibrosis frequently happens in the chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, apart from non-alcoholic steato hepatitis (NASH). Objectives: To study the prevalence of steatosis, adipocytokines levels, and its relationship with biochemical, metabolic, and histological parameters in patients with CHB and CHC. Patients and Methods: Well-characterized patients of CHB (n = 114) and CHC (n = 63) were included in the study. ELISA for adiponectin (n = 116), leptin (n = 132), resistin (n = 130), TNF-alpha (n = 153) and IL-6 (n = 101) was randomly performed in these patients. Results: Presence of steatosis and fibrosis scores was significantly higher in CHC than CHB patients. Majority of CHC patients (70%) were of genotype 3. In CHC patients, the fibrosis stage was higher with increased steatosis. Patients with CHC and CHB showed increased serum leptin (p = 0.029), TNF-alpha (p = 0.003) with higher HCV RNA and HBV DNA respectively. In CHC patients, there was a significant association between following parameters-higher serum resistin with raised steatosis > 10% (p = 0.01) and raised ALT (p = 0.002). Higher IL-6 with raised serum alkaline phosphates (SAP) (p = 0.001) and higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.004). Higher serum adiponectin with raised triglycerides (TG) (p = 0.004). Higher serum leptin with higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.005). In CHB patient's higher serum leptin have significant association with higher fibrosis (fib = 3-6) (p = 0.005). Conclusion: Steatosis is seen in CHB and CHC and it correlates with increased hepatic fibrosis. The altered adipocytokine levels influence progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis patients with viral etiology.
of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 29% of those >50 years (P ¼ .56). Patients with DCB... more of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 29% of those >50 years (P ¼ .56). Patients with DCB transplant had 63% infections vs. 31% in the other transplant types (P ¼ .059). Gram-positive cocci were isolated in 57% and Gram-negative rods in 26% of all infections. DVT occurred in 26% of all cases. DVT rates according to the presence or absence of a particular catheter type were 27% vs. 25% for Hickman, 37% vs. 17% for PICC (P ¼ .1) and 14% vs. 29% for IP (P ¼ .6). In patients with only one catheter type, DVT rates were 17% for Hickman vs. 25% for PICC (P ¼ .4). DVT occurred in 18% of patients 50 years of age or younger and in 47% of those >50 years (P ¼ .026). Conclusion: Among AML patients who underwent HSCT at our institution, we did not observe any significant differences in catheter-related complications according to catheter type. DVT rate was significantly higher in patients older than 50 years. There was a trend of higher infection rate with double cord blood transplant compared to other transplant types.
The clinical value of amphotericin B, the mainstay therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in sodium a... more The clinical value of amphotericin B, the mainstay therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in sodium antimony gluconate-nonresponsive zones of Bihar, India, is now threatened by the emergence of acquired drug resistance, and a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms is the need of the hour. We have selected an amphotericin B-resistant clinical isolate which demonstrated 8-fold-higher 50% lethal doses (LD 50 ) than an amphotericin B-sensitive strain to explore the mechanism of amphotericin B resistance. Fluorimetric analysis demonstrated lower anisotropy in the motion of the diphenylhexatriene fluorescent probe in the resistant strain, which indicated a higher fluidity of the membrane for the resistant strain than for the sensitive strain. The expression patterns of the two transcripts of S -adenosyl- l -methionine:C-24-Δ-sterol methyltransferase and the absence of ergosterol, replaced by cholesta-5,7,24-trien-3β-ol in the membrane of the resistant parasite, indicate a de...
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