Foreign body in the nasopharynx; masquerading as pharyngotonsillitis

Foreign body (FB) in the aerodigestive tracts has been commonly reported but findings of impacted foreign bodies in the nasopharynx following inhalation/ingestion are very rare. Most of the FB gets lodged as a result of forceful vomiting, coughing,and digital manoeuvres for removal of FB in the oropharynx. Several objects have been identified lodged in the nasopharynx.No age group is spared although most victims are children under 10 years of age.Foreign bodies in the nasopharynx can be uneventful or potentially dangerous depending on type,size and location as it may cause sudden airway obstruction,or local pressure necrosis of alimentary or respiratory tract or both.Presentation in children is usually with a history of swallowed FB which may not be witnessed in children, choking, cough, bluish discolouration, breathlessness, drooling of saliva, halitosis, rhinorrhoea, snoring, stridor, dysphagia, vomiting and dysphonia.A foreign body in the nasopharynx is a challenge to patient, parents,the physician and the ENT surgeon,as it may be miss-diagnosed,in the index case,as Pharyngotonsilitis.The index patient,a 14 month child,was presented with a two days history of fever,drooling of saliva,mouth breathing, and digital manipulation. Lateral imaging of the post nasal space following initial treatment with antibiotics, aided the diagnosis of a periwinkle shell in the nasopharyngx that was removed during a nasopharyngoscopy under general anaesthesia without complication and subsequently discharged home.This emphasizes a high index of suspicion for FB in the nasopharynx in children with history of missing foreign body, digital manipulation, drooling of saliva and mouth breathing. Lateral X-ray of the postnasal space, neck, chest and abdomen should be the minimum investigation required

Interêt de la Refraction Sous Cycloplegie chez l’Adulte Jeybe a Citonou

Les vices de réfraction ou amétropies sont représentés par toutes les situations où le système optique de l’œil ne permet pas de focaliser l’image d’un objet sur la rétine. Cette recherche se voulait d’étudier les variations de la réfraction sous cycloplégie chez l’adulte jeune. Elle était rétrospective sur 05 ans à l’ex Hôpital d’Instruction des Armées – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Cotonou considérant 2224 yeux de patients âgés de 18 à 38 ans respectant les critères d’inclusion. La régression linéaire a été utilisée en vue d’étudier la relation entre la puissance des sphères, du cylindre et l’équivalent sphérique avant et après la cycloplégie. L’âge moyen des patients était de 27,2 ans ± 6,1. Les céphalées représentaient 56,1% des motifs de consultation et la douleur oculaire 51,8%. Avant la cycloplégie, on comptait 57,7% de myopes et 29,8% d’hypermétropes ; après la cycloplégie, 20,5 % de myopes et 74,1% d’hypermétropes. À partir des équivalents sphériques, la variation moyenne de la puissance des sphères était statistiquement significative (p < 0,0001). Elle était de 0,14 D chez les myopes, de 0,26 D chez les hypermétropes. La cycloplégie a une influence significative sur l’équivalent sphérique dans toutes les tranches d’âge jusqu’à 38 ans (p < 0,0001). L’estimation de la réfraction sans cycloplégie n’est donc pas précise. En effet, la cycloplégie en relâchant l’accommodation permet d’estimer de façon pertinente la valeur exacte et précise de la réfraction.   Refractive errors or ametropias encompass situations where the optical system of the eye fails to focus the image of an object onto the retina. This study aimed to investigate variations in refraction under cycloplegia in young adults. It was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 5 years at the former Military Teaching Hospital - University Hospital Center of Cotonou, involving 2224 eyes of patients aged 18 to 38 years who met the inclusion criteria. Linear regression was employed to examine the relationship between the power of spheres, cylinders, and spherical equivalent before and after cycloplegia. The average age of patients was 27.2 years ± 6.1. Headaches accounted for 56.1% of the reasons for consultation, and ocular pain for 51.8%. Before cycloplegia, 57.7% were myopic, and 29.8% were hyperopic; after cycloplegia, 20.5% were myopic, and 74.1% were hyperopic. Based on spherical equivalents, the average change in sphere power was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). It was 0.14 D for myopes and 0.26 D for hypermetropes. Cycloplegia had a significant influence on the spherical equivalent across all age groups up to 38 years (p < 0.0001). Therefore, estimating refraction without cycloplegia is not accurate. Indeed, cycloplegia, by relaxing accommodation, allows for a relevant estimation of the exact and precise value of refraction

Synthesis, leishmanicidal, trypanocidal and cytotoxic activities of quinoline-chalcone and quinoline-chromone hybrids

We report herein the synthesis and biological activities (cytotoxicity, leishmanicidal and trypanocidal) of six quinoline-chalcone and five quinoline-chromone hybrids. The synthesized compounds were evaluated against amastigotes forms of Leishmania (V) panamensis, which is the most prevalent Leishmania species in Colombia and Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the major pathogenic species to humans. Cytotoxicity was evaluated against human U-937 macrophages. Compounds 8–12, 20, 23 and 24 showed activity against Leishmania (V) panamensis, while compounds 9, 10, 12, 20 and 23 had activity against Trypanosoma cruzi with EC50 values lower than 18 mg mL−1. 20 was the most active compound for both Leishmania (V) panamensis and Trypanosoma cruzi with EC50 of 6.11 ± 0.26 μg mL−1 (16.91 μM) and 4.09 ± 0.24 (11.32 μM), respectively. All hybrids compounds showed better activity than the anti-leishmanial drug meglumine antimoniate. Compounds 20 and 23 showed higher activity than benznidazole, the current anti-trypanosomal drug. Although these compounds showed toxicity for mammalian U-937 cells,they still have the potential to be considered as candidates to antileishmanial or trypanocydal drug development

Biocontrol of Rhizoctonia solani damping-off and promotion of tomato plant growth by endophytic actinomycetes isolated from native plants of Algerian Sahara

Thirty-four endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from the roots of native plants of the Algerian Sahara. Morphological and chemical studies showed that twenty-nine isolates belonged to the Streptomycesgenus and five were non-Streptomyces. All isolates were screened for their in vitro antifungal activityagainst Rhizoctonia solani. The six that had the greatest pathogen inhibitory capacities were subsequentlytested for their in vivo biocontrol potential on R. solani damping-off in sterilized and non-sterilized soils,and for their plant-growth promoting activities on tomato seedlings. In both soils, coating tomato seedswith antagonistic isolates significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the severity of damping-off of tomato seedlings.Among the isolates tested, the strains CA-2 and AA-2 exhibited the same disease incidence reduction asthioperoxydicarbonic diamide, tetramethylthiram (TMTD) and no significant differences (P < 0.05) wereobserved. Furthermore, they resulted in a significant increase in the seedling fresh weight, the seedling length and the root length of the seed-treated seedlings compared to the control. The taxonomic positionbased on 16S rDNA sequence analysis and phylogenetic studies indicated that the strains CA-2 AA-2were related to Streptomyces mutabilis NBRC 12800ᵀ(100% of similarity) and Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus JCM 4364ᵀ(100% of similarity), respectively

Endophytic actinomycetes from spontaneous plants of Algerian Sahara: indole-3-acetic acid production and tomato plants growth promoting activity

Twenty-seven endophytic actinomycete strains were isolated from five spontaneous plants well adapted to the poor sandy soil and arid climatic conditions of the Algerian Sahara. Morphological and chemotaxonomical analysis indicated that twenty-two isolates belonged to the Streptomyces genus and the remaining five were non- Streptomyces. All endophytic strains were screened for their ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in vitro on a chemically defined medium. Eighteen strains were able to produce IAA and the maximum production occurred with the Streptomyces sp. PT2 strain. The IAA produced was further extracted, partially purified and confirmed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis and phylogenetic studies indicated that strain PT2 was closely related to Streptomyces enissocaecilis NRRL B 16365T, Streptomyces rochei NBRC 12908T and Streptomyces plicatus NBRC 13071T, with 99.52 % similarity. The production of IAA was affected by cultural conditions such as temperature, pH, incubation period and L-tryptophan concentration. The highest level of IAA production (127 lg/ml) was obtained by cultivating the Streptomyces sp. PT2 strain in yeast extract-tryptone broth supplemented with 5 mg L-tryptophan/ ml at pH 7 and incubated on a rotary shaker (200 rpm) at 30°C for 5 days. Twenty-four-hour treatment of tomato cv. Marmande seeds with the supernatant culture of Streptomyces sp. PT2 that contained the crude IAA showed the maximum effect in promoting seed germination and root elongation

Incorporating corrosion measurement in hip wear simulators: An added complication or a necessity?

Corrosion is not routinely considered in the assessment of the degradation or the lifetime of total hip replacement bearing surfaces. Biomechanical simulations are becoming ever more complex and are taking into account motion cycles that represent activities beyond a simple walking gait at 1 Hz, marking a departure from the standard ISO BS 14242. However, the degradation is still very often referred to as wear, even though the material loss occurs due to a combination of tribological and corrosion processes and their interactions. This article evaluates how, by incorporating real-time corrosion measurements in total hip replacement simulations, pre-clinical evaluations and research studies can both yield much more information and accelerate the process towards improved implants

Effect of diazoxide on Friedreich ataxia models

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited recessive disorder caused by a deficiency in the mitochondrial protein frataxin. There is currently no effective treatment for FRDA available, especially for neurological deficits. In this study, we tested diazoxide, a drug commonly used as vasodilator in the treatment of acute hypertension, on cellular and animal models of FRDA. We first showed that diazoxide increases frataxin protein levels in FRDA lymphoblastoid cell lines, via the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. We then explored the potential therapeutic effect of diazoxide in frataxin-deficient transgenic YG8sR mice and we found that prolonged oral administration of 3 mpk/d diazoxide was found to be safe, but produced variable effects concerning efficacy. YG8sR mice showed improved beam walk coordination abilities and footprint stride patterns, but a generally reduced locomotor activity. Moreover, they showed significantly increased frataxin expression, improved aconitase activity, and decreased protein oxidation in cerebellum and brain mitochondrial tissue extracts. Further studies are needed before this drug should be considered for FRDA clinical trials

Synthesis of quaternary aryl phosphonium salts: photoredox-mediated phosphine arylation

We report a synthesis method for the construction of quaternary aryl phoshonium salts at ambient temperature. The regiospecific reaction invovles the coupling of phosphines with aryl radicals derived from diaryliodonium salts under photoredox conditions

Embedding cultural competence in faculty : a mixed-methods evaluation of an applied Indigenous proficiency workshop

One of the most pressing issues in Australian society is the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and life expectancies (Marmot, 2017). Australia agreed with the World Health Organisation’s 2008 Closing the Gap in a Generation report (WHO, 2008), spending approximately 5.6% of government expenditure towards ameliorating this gap (Gardiner-Garden & Simon-Davies, 2012), yet there have been only minimal positive outcomes (Alford, 2015; Gannon, 2018). In applied terms, this means Indigenous people are still dying younger (Anderson et al., 2016), scoring higher on psychological distress (Markwick, Ansari, Sullivan, & McNeil, 2015) and suffering poorer indices on all chronic diseases (e.g. Walsh & Kangaharan, 2016; Thompson, Talley, & Kong, 2017). The level of complexity involved in addressing these “wicked” or seemingly “impossible to solve” health problems is made worse by the lack of any pan-national strategic planning and/or intervention evaluation (Lokuge et al., 2017), even though there has been a plethora of programs and projects designed to improve Indigenous health (see for example, AGPC, 2016). Leaders in health and educational institutions must consider why there is a lack of progress in closing the gap in Indigenous health and life expectancies. Addressing the inequities in Indigenous health requires a determinant of health approach (Mitrou et al., 2014), as 39% of the gap in health outcomes can be explained by social determinates (AIHW, 2017; Markwick, Ansari, Sullivan, Parsons, & McNeil, 2014). The social determinant considered to most reliably predict Indigenous poor health is racism (Kelaher, Ferdinand, & Paradies, 2014; Paradies, 2006; Paradies & Cunningham, 2009; Paradies et al., 2015; Paradies, Truong, & Priest, 2014)