Case Study on Landslide Investigations in Himalayas

The great Himalayan mountains are a majestic cluster of several, more or less parallel, hill ranges intervened by numerous vallies and extended plateaus. At the two ends of Himalayan ranges, other mountain ranges converge. Burmese ranges are in the Eastern and Karakoram-Hidkush mountain ranges in the North-Wester end. The individual hill ranges generally present a steep slope towards the plains of India and are more gently inclined towards the north. There are large variations in the geological features of different areas, however, the common phenomena in the landslides occurrence is that they are generally induced by rainfall. In this paper the case history of landslide in limestones at Uttar Pradesh Hill areas and sandstone in Arunachal Pradesh have been presented

Observations on Landslide Incidences in Himalayas in Kashmir Area

The Himalayas have been found to experience the highest frequency of landslide incidences, thereby, causing loss of life and property. The rocks of Himalaya are repeatedly deformed and are affected by the periodic reactivation of deepseated faults. The experiences in the area of landslide investigations reveal that these lineaments are characterised by the frequent occurrence of landslides. Recently, studies have been carried out on a number of landslides falling between Murree and Panjal thrust along the Karole-Kastigarh road in Ram ban area of Jammu & Kashmir. This paper is intended to present the salient features of some of these landslide studies

Field Experiments on Jute Soil Stabilisers

The Central Road Research Institute has been constantly working in the area of geotextiles since early 1980s. A number of laboratory studies on evaluation of geotextiles for their suitability for road application, as well as, actual field trials have been carried out by the Institute. Recently, a project was taken up for the development and promotion of jute based geotextiles for road applications. A number of field trials have been carried out using jute based geotextiles for various applications. The paper presents summary of field experiments carried out to improve the soil behavior, improvement in the stability of road side slopes and the filtration function in fills behind a retaining wall using jute geotextiles

Magnetic Resonance (MR) Patterns of Brain Metastasis in Lung Cancer Patients: Correlation of Imaging Findings with Symptom

IntroductionAsymptomatic brain metastasis in lung cancer patients, if detected early have been reported to show survival benefit with treatment. These asymptomatic metastasis have been found to be smaller and less in number than those with symptoms. We however observed that many lung cancer patients bear a significant metastatic load in the brain irrespective of the stage or neurologic symptoms at the time of initial presentation.Material and MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 175 patients of proven non-small cell lung cancer to assess the patterns of brain metastasis in the two groups of patients, with and without neurologic symptoms. All patients had undergone screening magnetic resonance imaging for brain metastasis as an initial staging protocol. The patients with brain metastasis were divided into two groups: asymptomatic (group I) and symptomatic (group II). The lesions were studied with regards to the number, size, site, nature (solid with and without necrosis), and presence of perilesional edema and intralesional hemorrhage in both the groups in various stages of disease.ResultsBrain metastasis was seen in 62 (31.3%) patients of whom 46.7% were neurologically asymptomatic. Patients (90.3%) with brain metastasis were in stage IV at the time of presentation. No statistically significant correlation was found between the two groups regarding the number of lesions (p = 0.554), size of lesion (p = 0.282), site of lesion (p = 0.344), nature of lesion (p = 0.280), presence of perilesional edema (p = 0.404), and presence or absence of intralesional hemorrhage (p = 0.09). In our study, brain metastases were present only in stages III and IV disease with no statistically significant difference in the lesion patterns.ConclusionThe study reveals almost equal number of patients with brain metastasis in the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups with no significant difference in lesion patterns. We therefore conclude that although imaging surveillance of the brain for metastasis will detect asymptomatic metastasis early for early institution of appropriate therapy the prognosis in these patients would not solely depend on the presence or absence of symptoms and the pattern of lesion may have an influence on the patients’ response to therapy and survival benefit specially for those asymptomatic patients with equally large metastatic load

Numerical simulation of multiple roots of van der Waals and CSTR problems with a derivative-free technique

In this paper, a derivative-free one-point iterative technique is proposed, with memory for finding multiple roots of practical problems, such as van der Waals and continuous stirred tank reactor problems, whose multiplicity is unknown in the literature. The new technique has an order of convergence of 1.84 and requires two function evaluations. It can be used as a seed to produce higher-order methods with similar properties, and it increases the efficiency of a similar procedure without memory due to Schröder. After studying its order of convergence, its stability is checked by applying it to the considered problems and comparing with the technique of the same nature for finding multiple roots. The geometrical behavior of the numerical results of the techniques is also studied

A case of broad ligament leiomyoma presenting as an ovarian mass

The broad ligament is the commonest extra uterine site for the occurrence of leiomyoma but with a very low incidence rate. It poses both clinical and radiological challenge in differentiating from an ovarian tumour. A 25-year-old unmarried female presented with history of lower abdominal pain associated with rapidly increasing abdominal distension for last 3 months. General physical examination was unremarkable. Examination of the abdomen revealed a firm, non-tender mass, with limited mobility arising from the pelvis corresponding to a uterine size of 32 weeks. Ultrasonography of abdomen revealed a 20×17×11cm right adnexal multi-loculated cyst. Contrast enhanced computer tomography scan of abdomen and pelvis showed a 12×17×17 cm well defined cystic lesion arising from the pelvis and ascending in to the abdominal cavity. The lesion also showed internal septa and peripheral rim enhancement. Right ovary was not seen separately. Tumor markers including CA-125 (22.4 IU/ ml), CEA (1.83/ml), CA-19.9 (22U/ml), Beta HCG (1.20IU/ ml), LDH (1.17IU/ml), and alpha feto-protein (0.8 ng/ml) were within normal limit. Laparotomy revealed a cystic mass arising from the right broad ligament. Histopathological examination revealed a broad ligament leiomyoma with extensive cystic degeneration. Broad ligament leiomyoma is uncommon tumour of pelvis and its differentiation from ovarian masses may be challenging for the clinicians.

Can endometrial volume assessment predict the endometrial receptivity on the day of hCG trigger in patients of fresh IVF cycles: a prospective observational study

Background: Objective of present study was to evaluate the role of three dimensional (3D) endometrial volume measurement on the day of hCG trigger in predicting the endometrial receptivity. The present study is a prospective observational study conducted at assisted reproductive centre of a tertiary care hospital.Methods: Endometrial volume was evaluated by three-dimensional ultrasound in 90 patients undergoing first cycle of IVF on hCG trigger day and was correlated with endometrial receptivity.Results: Out of 90 patients studied 12 patients achieved pregnancy. A significant difference was found in mean endometrial volume on hCG trigger day among pregnant (5.33±2.14 cm3) women compared to non-pregnant women (4.17±1.72cm3). Using Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis the cutoff value for endometrial volume on hCG trigger day was 3.50 cm3 corresponding to sensitivity 75% and specificity 37.2%. Conclusions: The endometrial volume on hCG trigger day was significantly higher in pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant

Female genital tuberculosis: Revisited.

Female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (rarely Mycobacterium bovis and/or atypical mycobacteria) being usually secondary to TB of the lungs or other organs with infection reaching through haematogenous, lymphatic route or direct spread from abdominal TB. In FGTB, fallopian tubes are affected in 90 per cent women, whereas uterine endometrium is affected in 70 per cent and ovaries in about 25 per cent women. It causes menstrual dysfunction and infertility through the damage of genital organs. Some cases may be asymptomatic. Diagnosis is often made from proper history taking, meticulous clinical examination and judicious use of investigations, especially endometrial aspirate (or biopsy) and endoscopy. Treatment is through multi-drug antitubercular treatment for adequate time period (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol daily for 60 days followed by rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol daily for 120 days). Treatment is given for 18-24 months using the second-line drugs for drug-resistant (DR) cases. With the advent of increased access to rapid diagnostics and newer drugs, the management protocol is moving towards achieving universal drug sensitivity testing and treatment with injection-free regimens containing newer drugs, especially for new and previously treated DR cases

Metastatic Signet-Ring Cell Gastric Carcinoma Masquerading as Breast Primary

Metastasis to the breast from an extra-mammary primary is a rare phenomenon; metastasis from gastric carcinoma to the breast is extremely so. We report a case who initially presented as mucin-secreting and signet-ring cell tumor of the ovary, and after an interval of 8 months with breast and chest wall metastatic nodules. The covert gastric primary eluded the oncologists at both presentations