Aim: To investigate the effect of nurse-led home-based biofeedback intervention on the blood pressure levels among patients with hypertension. Background: Nurse-led interventions are emerging as cost-effective as well as clinically proven in chronic illness management. Hypertension, a leading long-term cardiovascular condition, has autonomic dysregulation and increased sympathetic tone as its pathophysiological background. Complementary interventions evidenced to interplay hypertension pathophysiology. Design: A pretest–posttest design. Materials and Methods: Uncomplicated primary hypertension outpatients were randomly assigned as study group ( n = 173) and control group ( n = 173) at a tertiary care hospital. Sociodemographic, clinical, and outcome variables [the baseline blood pressure and galvanic skin response (GSR)] were collected. Study group patients were given four teaching sessions of abdominal breathing-assisted relaxation facilitated by GSR biofeedback. Daily home practice was encouraged and monitored to measure the effects on blood pressure and GSR at the end of the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd month of intervention. Results: The study group participants showed significant decrease in mean (SD) systolic [140.77 (8.31) to 136.93 (7.96), F = 469.08] and diastolic blood pressure [88.24 (5.42) to 85.77 (4.66), F = 208.21]. In contrast, control group participants had a mild increase in the mean systolic ( F = 6.02) and diastolic blood pressure ( F = 4.70) values from pretest to posttests. GSR showed a significant increase from 559.63 (226.33) to 615.03 (232.24), ( F = 80.21) from pretest to posttest III. Conclusions: Use of home-based biofeedback-centered behavioral interventions enabled BP reduction among hypertensive patients. Further studies should use biochemical markers of sympathetic nervous system activity to endorse this home-based chronic illness intervention.

The development of the heart follows a synergic action of several signaling pathways during gestational, pre- & postnatal stages. The current study aimed to investigate whether the myocardium experiences transcriptional changes during the transition from post-natal to adult hood stages. Herein, we used C57/B16/J mice at 4 (28- days; post-natal/PN) and 20 weeks (adulthood/AH) of ages and employed the next generation RNAseq (NGS) to profile the transcriptome and echocardiography analysis to monitor the structural/functional changes in the heart. NGS-based RNA-seq revealed that 1215 genes were significantly upregulated and 2549 were down regulated in the AH versus PN hearts, indicating a significant transcriptional change during this transition. A synchronized cardiac transcriptional regulation through cell cycle, growth hormones, redox homeostasis and metabolic pathways was noticed in both PN and AH hearts. Echocardiography reveals significant structural and functional (i.e. systolic/diastolic) changes during the transition of PN to adult stage. Particularly, a progressive decline in ejection fraction and cardiac output was observed in AH hearts. These structural adaptations are in line with critical signaling pathways that drive the maturation of heart during AH. Overall, we have presented a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis along with structural-functional relationship during the myocardial development in adult mice.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the teratogenic effect of Nilavembu Kudineer (NVK) by testing in zebrafish embryo (Danio rerio). Methods: The study consisted of 30 embryos/culture plate/dose concentration containing a series of diluted decoction of NVK ranging from 10 μg to 640 μg/ml, and the embryo development was monitored at specific time points. The parameters such as developmental abnormality and adverse events were monitored at 24 hourly intervals for 96 h. Results: The study results showed 100% hatching and survival of embryos with no significant abnormalities in the extension of study from 96 to 120 h post-fertilization examinations. Conclusion: NVK did not have teratogenic potential on testing it in various concentrations on zebrafish embryos validating its safety during pregnancy.

The reported incidence of liposarcomas in ~2,000 cases annually results in about 30% of myxoid liposarcomas. Cardiac myoxid liposarcomas are very rare; their presentation could be cardiac tamponade, due to direct compression of the tumor and/or pericardial effusion. In this report, we describe a patient who presented with pericardial effusion secondary to myoxid liposarcomas from the right atrium, an extremely rare presentation of liposarcomas in the heart. We also present non-invasive imaging through echocardiography, CECT thorax and FDG PET scans, followed by a CT-guided mass biopsy. Histopathology of the right atrial mass demonstrated myxoid liposarcoma positive for the S100 tumor marker.

Background:In Siddha system of medicine, diagnosis of the disease is based on Ennvagai thervukal (Eight fold examination), in which Neerkkuri Neikkuri (Urine examination) is one among them. It is an effective and sensitive measure for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. Objectives: This study was conducted to establish the validity of prognostic and diagnostic patterns of Neikkuri (Oil on urine sign)in hypertension patients and to assess the association between the Neikkuri patterns with respect to pH and specific gravity of urine. Methods and Material: Urine samples of 40 diagnosed patients of hypertension aged between 30 to 60 years were collected. Ten healthy volunteers were also selected as control group for comparison. Biochemical analysis was done in the urine samples with urine reagent strip to confirm health status of the subjects. A drop of sesame oil was dropped over 50 ml of each urine sample and behaviour (shape of the oil spread, direction and spread time) was observed. Results: Half of the samples of urine of hypertension patients showed circular shape initially and then vacuolating to turn out into a sieve pattern and in remaining others at least a single vacuolation amounting to ring pattern indicative of Pitham were shown. Also, the urine of the hypertension patients were characterised by straw colour and aromatic odour, absence of froth and specific gravity 1.003-1.010.Volume of urine voided ranged from 1-1.5 lit and pH between 5.1-6.In most of the cases the dissemination dynamics of oil drop observed were of slow spreading nature which indicates good prognosis. Conclusion: It is concluded that hypertension has got mixed prognosis which may indicate the variation in the amenability of hypertension to the treatment. The study explored the veracity of the investigative procedure in diagnosis and prognosis of hypertension with Neikkuri examination.