Search

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis is a rare and fatal fungal infection of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by dematiaceous fungi. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinico- radiological presentation, pathology and outcome of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis and discuss the relevant literature.Data of 7 patients diagnosed with cerebral phaeohyphomycosis and managed at our institute between 2014 and 2020 was collected and reviewed retrospectively. The diagnosis was established after surgery on KOH mount, Sabouraud dextrose agar, frozen section or histopathology. The clinical, radiological and pathological characteristics along with outcomes were analysed.Three patients with underlying comorbidities [chronic renal failure-2 and haematological malignancy -1] presented with brain abscess. The remaining 4 had no comorbidities. Two of them mimicked cystic glioma and one patient presented as intraventricular tumour. Another patient on anti- tubercular treatment for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis presented with encephalitis. Histopathology in all patients showed diffuse micro abscesses with coarse and reactive gliosis in the adjacent brain parenchyma and chronic lymphomononuclear inflammation without angioinvasion or vasculitis. Four showed granuloma formation. Antifungals were started after diagnosis. Six out of seven patients died and one was lost to follow up.Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis presents as abscesses in immunocompromised patients and mimics tumours in immunocompetent patients. KOH mount and frozen section examination is simple yet effective tool for establishing early diagnosis. Overall, the prognosis is dismal. Administering antifungals early in the course of management along with aggressive surgical excision may improve outcomes.

Concrete is most widely used as an epochal building material all over the world. However, the repercussions of its deterioration are inevitable ever since early stage of its service life. It is followed by the fixture and repair works, which is very labor intensive and also involve a lot of capital. This becomes uneconomic when the design period of the concrete is considered. Thus, many conventional surface treatments are applied, and also various alternative techniques are taken for the improvement of its mechanical properties. Self-healing of the affected concrete can not only be of great importance but also it uses the environment-friendly techniques. The present study pertains to the use of bacterial-induced self-fixing concrete which has a significant effect on its mechanical properties as well as crack healing capacity of conventional concrete. Two different species of genus Bacillus are incorporated to the concrete which repairs the crack by healing the microcracks occurred in the transition zone as well as enhance the mechanical properties of the concrete. Bacterial concentrations are varied and mixed with the concrete mix to observe the change in mechanical properties, and results show a remarkable increase in the strength of the bacterial concrete. Results indicated that bacteria showed an optimum result when mixed with the concrete in the concentration of 108 cfu/ml. The present work illustrated that the production of self-healing concrete by both the species has a capacity to improve the strength properties of conventional concrete.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE Percutaneous biopsy (PB) and transjugular liver biopsy (TJLB) are 2 main ways of obtaining liver tissue. We evaluated the indications, success rate, tissue yield, and complications of TJLB in comparison to PB in children. METHODS Electronic records of children undergoing liver biopsy (LB) were reviewed. Clinico laboratory data including indication, type of biopsy, complications, and tissue yield (length and number of complete portal tracts [CPT]) were noted. RESULTS Five hundred forty LB (indication: neonatal cholestasis [42.9%], chronic liver disease [43.7%], liver failure [3.7%], focal lesions [3.3%] and others [6.3%]) were done. Four hundred seventy-three were PB (317 boys, 14 [1--216] months) done by percussion (322 [68%]), real-time ultrasound guidance (125 [26.4%]), or plugged method [26 (5.5%)]. Sixty-seven (12.4%) were TJLB [38 boys, 140 (24--216) months], done in patients with contraindications for PB. Technical success (67/68 vs 473/473; P = 0.7) and complications (4 [6%]; vs 15 [3.3%]; P = 0.2) of TJLB and PB were similar. Major complications (0.5%) included supraventricular tachycardia (n = 1) in TJLB and hemoperitoneum (n = 2) in PB. Tissue yield of TJLB was poorer in terms of length (1.0 [0.2--2.0] vs 1.1 [0.4--2.1] cm; P < 0.001), CPT (4 [0--9] vs 5 [2--17]; P < 0.001) and adequacy for reporting (56/67 vs 459/473; P < 0.001). Biopsy yield of

This study aimed to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms in TGFB1 contribute to breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, and explore the mechanism of action. A total of 7 tagging SNPs (tSNPs) were genotyped in 1161 BC cases and 1337 age-matched controls among Chinese Han population. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict functional SNP closely linked to tSNPs. Luciferase gene reporter assay was performed to determine the effect of genetic variants on promoter activity. DNA pull-down assay and mass spectrometry were used to identify the differentially binding proteins to genetic variants. Genotyping analysis showed that rs1800469 (C>T) in the 5′ regulatory region of TGFB1 was associated with reduced BC risk. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that rs11466313 (-2389_-2391 Del/AGG) in the 5′ regulatory region of TGFB1, was closely linked to tSNP rs1800469 and could be functional. The genotyping of rs11466313 by PCR-SSCP showed that rs11466313 also conferred decreased BC risk. Luciferase assays demonstrated that rs11466313 minor allele reduced over ninefold of promoter activity compared with its major allele (p

Lifestyle disorder defined as disease linked with the way people live their life. A WHO report opines that in many middle income and industrialized countries eye condition have emerged as potential threats to the status of sight and their populations. These being diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age related macular degeneration, cataract, retinal vein occlusion disease and dry eye. Out all these life style diseases the most contributing factors affecting visual health are metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia etc. To combat these situations Ayurveda can also offer many management skills that are put forth in this article.

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) has been extensively utilized as a biodegradable plastic. The value of substrate inhibition constant (KI) was also established in shake flask cultures by varying the in...

Red mud (Bauxite residue), a by-product of aluminum industry possess very serious and alarming environmental concern. Globally, 120 million tonne of red mud is generated per year. Disposal of red mud requires huge land, abundant earth material, high cost and further monitoring. And also, it has a potential to pollute nearby water, air and land due to its high toxicity. The most important barrier to remediate, re-use and long term red mud/bauxite residue management is its high alkalinity having pH range of 10–13. Hence, in the present study, bio-neutralization, an eco-friendly approach on red mud is attempted using various indigenous and non-indigenous microbes. In this study, the effect of bio-neutralization on morphological, physical and geotechnical properties of red mud due to the biogeochemical reactions are investigated and compared with raw red mud. Results indicated that reduction in pH value to nearly 7.5 from high alkalinity value of 10.06 is achieved by adding dairy waste product, sugar molasses and rice water in red mud, which act as a cost effective source of microorganism's nutrient. Further, geotechnical characterization as consistency of the red mud is improved in terms of plasticity index. The compaction characteristic is improved in terms of low optimum moisture content and compressive strength after bio-treatment increased marginally. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) value of bio-treated red mud increased up to 298.6 kPa compared to 136.5 kPa for untreated red mud. The observation made is not only an option to neutralize red mud but also assist in effective utilization of the bauxite residue and various industrial wastes as dairy waste, sugar molasses and etc. The present study shows that bio-treatment of red mud provides an ample opportunity to use it in huge quantities as a structural fill and embankment material.

Leukemoid reaction and myeloproliferative syndrome are close mimickers and frequently pose a diagnostic dilemma, particularly when the leukocyte count is very high. Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase score frequently aids in diagnosis but may or may not be contributory, especially in differentiating chronic neutrophilic leukemia. Herein, we document a case of leukemoid reaction with extensive hyperleukocytosis in a 46-year-old female with poorly differentiated carcinoma. The tumor itself as well as the associated leukocytosis portends a poor prognosis.

The present study pertains to stabilization of pond ash concerning stability factors viz. wind erosion, dust control and other harmful effects of pond ash near ash pond and mining areas using two biopolymers xanthan gum and guar gum. Compaction tests were done to obtain the optimum moisture content and maximum dry density and also unconfined compressive tests were conducted on samples of pond ash without and with various percentage of xanthan gum (1%,2%,3%) and guar gum(0.5%,1%,2%). It was observed that pond ash mixed with various percentage of xanthan gum and guar gum have more strength than ordinary bottom ash samples. Results also indicated that the gum do not react with pond ash reflecting it to be sustainable and effective to use. Guar gum is found to be more effective and viscous than xanthan gum hence, with higher confined compressive strength.

In this study, the effect of slow and fast music on the heart rate variability and conduction pathway of the heart was studied. The results indicated an increase in the parasympathetic dominance as the volunteers were made to listen to music. The magnitude of the parasympathetic activity was higher when the volunteers were made to listen to fast music. This indicates that slow and fast music affected the sympatho-vagal balance in different proportions. The analysis of the ECG signal and wavelet transformed ECG signal suggested an alteration in the conduction pathway of the heart.

Smoking of cigarettes has been reported to alter the cardiac electrophysiology by modulating the autonomic nervous system. A preliminary investigation of the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters suggested sympathetic predominance in smokers. An in-depth analysis of the time domain and wavelet processed ECG signals indicated that the automated neural networks (ANNs) were able to classify the signals with an accuracy of ≥85 %. This suggested that smoking not only modulates the functioning of the autonomic nervous system but is also capable of modulating the cardiac conduction pathway.