Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Cancer Specific Treatments

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) remains a considerable challenge to both patient and health care provider as the disease can have profound effect on Quality of life (QOL). Aims and Objectives: To assess the QOL and performance status of HNC patients, to find relation between domains of QOL and to find association between QOL and demographic and disease variables. Settings and Design: The study was conducted at Manipal group of hospitals, Manipal and Mangalore, using descriptive survey design. Material and Methods: The study comprised of 89 samples with all stages of HNC. Patients primarily diagnosed with HNC and undergoing disease specific treatment were included in the study. Tool on demographic, disease variables and quality of life were developed and content validity was established. Reliability of the tool was established. Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scale was used to assess performance status. Corelational analysis was done to find relation between the domains of QOL. Association was found between the quality of life and demographic and disease variables. Results: Majority (83%) of the participants were males, 39% had cancer arising from oral cavity, and 35% each were in cancer stage III and IV. Quality of life was poor among 30% of the subjects and 65% had KPS scores<80 %. There was moderate positive relation between the domains of QOL and a positive correlation between the QOL and performance status. No statistically significant association was found between QOL and disease and demographic variables. Conclusion: Physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains of QOL and functional status are affected in patients with HNC. The impact on one domain area of well being, significantly affects the other domain of QOL and there is relationship between the performance status and QO

The common and uncommon cestodal infestation encountered in routine histopathological practice from a semi-urban population in south India and their public health importance.

Parasites are encountered uncommonly in routine histopathologic practice. Among them, cestodes form a major bulk. Cysticercosis heads the list forming the bulk of cases followed by Hydatidosis and Sparganosis. Microscopic identification of inflammation with surrounding reactions along with other morphological features forms the mainstay of diagnosis of parasitic diseases on histopathology. Identification of the parasites on histopathological examination would reduce the cost-diagnosis ratio avoiding expensive serological investigation

Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Dermatogenic Diseases in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India

An ethno-medicobotanical survey of plants used in the treatment of dermatogenic diseases in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh was conducted. The information was collected on the basis of personal interviews with traditional healers, tribal doctors and old women of the society. The investigation revealed that 24 plant species belonging to 18 families and 21 genera are commonly used in the treatment of skin ailments

Abnormal hermaphroditic skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758) from Agatti coast, Lakshadweep, India

A hermaphroditic specimen of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis of forklength (FL) – 56 cm and total weight (TW) – 3.20 kg was caught by pole and line on 21st November 2005 from the Agatti coast, Lakshadweep. Histological studies revealed that both the ovarian and testicular portions had developed a complete series of gametogenic cell lines

Clinical and radiologic features of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma including initial presentation, local recurrence, and metastases

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical and imaging features of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (EMC) including initial presentation, recurrence, and metastases. Patients and methods. In this institutional review board-approved retrospective study, imaging features of 13 patients with pathologically proven EMC seen from August 1995 to December 2011 were analyzed. The group included 3 women and 10 men and the mean age was 54 years (range 29–73 years). Imaging studies were evaluated by two radiologists in consensus. Location, size, and imaging features of primary tumors were recorded as well as the presence of recurrent disease and location of metastases. Results: Among 13 patients, 3 died during the timeframe of this study. Nine patients had primary tumor in the lower extremity, and average tumor size was 9.3 cm (range 3.3–18 cm). On MRI, primary tumors were hyperintense on T2, isointense to muscle on T1, and demonstrated peripheral/septal enhancement. Three patients had local recurrence and 12 had metastatic disease, with lung involvement being the most common. Tumor density on contrast enhanced CT ranged from 8.2 to 82.9 Hounsfield unit (HU). FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed in 3 patients. One patient had no FDG avid disease and 2 patients had metastatic disease with standard uptake values (SUV) of 2.8 and 7.4. The patient with intense FDG uptake demonstrated more solid appearing tumor burden and had the shortest survival. Conclusions: EMC is a rare tumor that often occurs in the lower extremities and frequently metastasizes to the lungs. Increased tumor density and increased FDG uptake may be related to more aggressive disease

Knowledge attitude and practices of pharmacogenomics and its educational needs among doctors at a tertiary care hospital VIMS, Ballari: a questionnaire based study

Background: Genetic differences account for an outsized amount of patient variation in drug response and disposition. Pharmacogenomics is that the study of genetic factors that underlie variation in drug response. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of pharmacogenomics and its educational needs among doctors of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 110 doctors forming a structured questionnaire.Results: Nearly 82.8% of the survey participants were of the age group 25 to 34 years. When choosing appropriate drug therapy for patients, medical record and age were the factors most commonly cited by respondents as extremely or vital (98%). When asked to rank their familiarity with pharmacogenomics, 40% reported somewhat familiar with the subject. 98% of respondents found pharmacogenomic information in drug labelling extremely/very/somewhat helpful. 48.4% of participants knew that drug metabolizing enzymes were the foremost commonly recognized mechanism for pharmacogenomic differences in drug response. The foremost common reasons for not ordering weren't knowing what test to order (48%). The most common pharmacogenomic resource consulted by survey participants were internet (80%), scientific literature (50%), and medical association literature (30%). The most common preferred formats for a perfect pharmacogenomic resource were indicated as web-based (60%), mobile application (60%), and print materials (34%).Conclusions: There's a requirement for improved resource material preferably in electronic format to extend the appliance of genomics to clinical care

Transcriptome pathways unique to dehydration tolerant relatives of modern wheat

Among abiotic stressors, drought is a major factor responsible for dramatic yield loss in agriculture. In order to reveal differences in global expression profiles of drought tolerant and sensitive wild emmer wheat genotypes, a previously deployed shock-like dehydration process was utilized to compare transcriptomes at two time points in root and leaf tissues using the Affymetrix GeneChip(R) Wheat Genome Array hybridization. The comparison of transcriptomes reveal several unique genes or expression patterns such as differential usage of IP(3)-dependent signal transduction pathways, ethylene- and abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent signaling, and preferential or faster induction of ABA-dependent transcription factors by the tolerant genotype that distinguish contrasting genotypes indicative of distinctive stress response pathways. The data also show that wild emmer wheat is capable of engaging known drought stress responsive mechanisms. The global comparison of transcriptomes in the absence of and after dehydration underlined the gene networks especially in root tissues that may have been lost in the selection processes generating modern bread wheats

Carrier-Based PWM Technique for Inverter-Fed Multiphase Induction Motor

Multiphase (more than three phases) is very much popular due to their eminent features compared to conventional three-phase counter parts. In order to drive the multiphase machine, it requires same phase input w.r.t the no of phases at the output. This paper mainly focuses on five phase, because even after failure of one phase, the performance does not degraded much. Voltage source inverters (VSIs) are used to feed the induction motor. voltage source inverters (VSIs) switches are ON and OFF precisely to control the output. In order to implement harmonic waveform characteristic, carrier based PWM (pulse width modulation) is performed. By using with and without third harmonic injection machine torque is highly improved. Using MATLAB software, the simulation results are presented in the form of computer traces and high traded performance of the machine are discussed

A rare presentation of caesarean scar pregnancy: a case report

Caesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) or retained products of conception is a rare but life-threatening complication. It is an abnormal implantation of the gestational sac or retained products of conception into the myometrium and a fibrous scar after a previous caesarean section. The incidence of such cases is on the rise due to the increase in caesarean sections worldwide. A 37-year-old P2L2A1 (two previous caesarean sections and one spontaneous abortion followed by dilation and curettage) presented with complaints of vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal pain. She was diagnosed as a case of CSP with retained products of conception by ultrasonography and confirmation of the diagnosis was done by magnetic resonance imaging. An exploratory laparotomy was performed and the patient was successfully managed. Treatment must be individualized depending on the patient's hemodynamic profile, size, extent, depth, and vascularity, caesarean pregnancy, future fertility wishes, and compliance for follow-up