Root initiation in cuttings and in vitro raised shoots of Pinus roxburghii

Rooting of in vitro produced buds and shoots is often the limiting step during micropropagation. Therefore, a better understanding of the various stages before and during root formation is needed. Reviewing the work done so far on Pines the present investigation was carried out to study the factors that affect in vitro rooting. Different parameters that influence rooting viz. donor age, phytohormones, and substrate were investigated. Shoots taken from field, it was found that the juvenility of the explant and position on the mother plant greatly affects the in vitro responses. In vitro raised shoots and hypocotyl cuttings of Pinus roxburghii showed best response over the other explants on ½ x DCR medium. Among the various auxins used in present investigation, NAA at lower concentrations found best for root initiation. Agar at 0.6% concentrations resulted in more healthy roots. Further elongation was achieved on ½ x DCR medium supplemented with lower concentrations of NAA. Present investigation was an attempt to establish an operative micropropagation protocol by improving the rooting of ‘hard to root’ Pinus roxburghii. In vitro rooting studies on Pinus roxburghii will be vital for enhanced multiplication and genetic improvement of this economically important forest tree species

BioRadBase: A database for bioremediation of radioactive waste

Radioactive waste from different sectors such as nuclear energy, health care and food has become a discernible part of our environment. Several dumping methods are in routine practice to dispose radioactive wastes. Huge chemical and energy input in various skillful physico-chemical methods has limited their use while biological methods exploring the potential of micro-organisms could be a promising and eco-friendly approach to remediate radioactive pollutants. Bio-transformation, bio-accumulation and bio-sorption are key processes that have been tried for radionuclide remediation. BioRaDBase is the first database dedicated to micro-organisms which have been explored or engineered to remediate radioactive waste from the environment. The database serves as a comprehensive knowledgebase to search bacteria and fungi which have the ability to transform radioactive waste. This database would be a useful tool for the development of new bio-remediation technologies to clean up radioactive waste from the environment. The information in database has been managed under five classes, that is, type of radioactive waste, micro-organisms, genus listing, literature and waste management. The entries are also linked to external databases such as National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), providing wide background information. Beside these, under the news section of the database, a user can connect to dedicated organizations working on issues like environmental protection, nuclear energy and radionuclide dumping. BioRaDBase can be accessed at http://biorad.igib.res.in.Keywords: Bioremediation of radioactive waste (BioRaDBase), radionuclides, biotransformation, biocrystallization, radioisotope, nuclear wast

Late periorbital haemorrhage following functional endoscopic sinus surgery: a caution for potential day case surgery

BACKGROUND: Orbital complications following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) are fortunately rare. They are usually easily and rapidly recognizable. CASE PRESENTATION: We present an unusual case of a forty-five year old woman who underwent routine FESS and was not packed nasally after the procedure. Six hours later she started bleeding and nasal packs were inserted. She soon developed unilateral periorbital bruising and within hours her condition had worsened so much that the viability of the eye was thrown into question. She underwent medial and lateral canthotomies and made an uneventful post-operative recovery. CONCLUSION: This rare case demonstrates that late, brisk post-operative bleeding can occur after FESS with potentially catastrophic consequences. Clinicians should be aware that discharging patients after FESS too early may lead to medico-legal problems

Intrinsic Vertebral Markers for Spinal Level Localization in Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Preliminary Report

Study DesignProspective clinical study.PurposeTo observe the usefulness of anterior cervical osteophytes as intrinsic markers for spinal level localization (SLL) during sub-axial cervical spinal surgery via the anterior approach.Overview of LiteratureVarious landmarks, such as the mandibular angle, hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, first cricoid ring, and C6 carotid tubercle, are used for gross cervical SLL; however, none are used during cervical spinal surgery via the anterior approach. We present our preliminary assessment of SLL over anterior vertebral surfaces (i.e., intrinsic markers) in 48 consecutive cases of anterior cervical spinal surgeries for the disc-osteophyte complex (DOC) in degenerative diseases and granulation or tumor tissue associated with infectious or neoplastic diseases, respectively, at an ill-equipped center.MethodsThis prospective study on patients undergoing anterior cervical surgery for various sub-axial cervical spinal pathologies aimed to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of SLL via intraoperative palpation of disease-related morphological changes on anterior vertebral surfaces visible on preoperative midline sagittal T1/2-weighted magnetic resonance images.ResultsDuring a 3-year period, 48 patients (38 males,10 females; average age, 43.58 years) who underwent surgery via the anterior approach for various sub-axial cervical spinal pathologies, including degenerative disease (n= 42), tubercular infection (Pott's disease; n=3), traumatic prolapsed disc (n=2), and a metastatic lesion from thyroid carcinoma (n=1), comprised the study group. Intrinsic marker palpation yielded accurate SLL in 79% of patients (n=38). Among those with degenerative diseases (n=42), intrinsic marker palpation yielded accurate SLL in 76% of patients (n=32).ConclusionsIntrinsic marker palpation is an attractive potential adjunct for SLL during cervical spinal surgeries via the anterior approach in well-selected patients at ill-equipped centers (e.g., those found in developing countries). This technique may prove helpful when radiographic visualization is occasionally inadequate

Reduced percentage of inconclusive reports and need for repeated fine needle aspirations in ultrasound versus free-hand parotid cytology

Abstract Background Fine needle aspiration cytology has been established as a minimally invasive, non-tumour seeding investigation of choice in the initial diagnostic pathway of parotid lesions. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology performed with and without ultrasound to determine whether one method should be preferred to the other. A retrospective review of all patients undergoing fine needle aspiration cytology with and without ultrasound for parotid masses in a large district general hospital between 2012 and 2016 was performed. Specificity, sensitivity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value, percentage of inconclusive fine needle aspiration cytology and percentage of second fine needle aspiration cytology were determined for each group. Results A total of 397 fine needle aspiration cytology results were available for analysis. The numbers performed with ultrasound guidance and free-hand were roughly equal (208 (52.3%) versus 189 (47.7%)). The number of inconclusive fine needle aspiration cytology reports was significantly higher in the free-hand group (65/189 (34.4%)) than the ultrasound group (25/208 (12%)) (p < 0.0001). A significantly higher number of repeated fine needle aspiration cytology were undertaken in the free-hand group vs ultrasound group (43 vs 15, p < 0.0001); overall 7.2% of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology required a second fine needle aspiration cytology, compared to 22.8% in the free-hand group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were all higher in the ultrasound group versus the free-hand group. Conclusions Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology is superior to free-hand fine needle aspiration cytology in the investigation of parotid tumours. There is a significant benefit in reducing the number of inconclusive results and repeat fine needle aspiration cytology, and a potential benefit in improving the sensitivity and positive predictive value, when immediate cytology assessment of the sample quality is not performed