Typhoid ulcer causing life-threatening bleeding from Dieulafoy's lesion of the ileum in a seven-year-old child: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We describe a case of rare complication of typhoid fever in a seven-year-old child and review the literature with regard to other rare causes of bleeding per rectum. Dieulafoy's lesion is an uncommon but important cause of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Dieulafoy's lesion located extragastrically is rare. We report a case of typhoid ulcer with Dieulafoy's lesion of the ileum causing severe life-threatening bleeding and discuss the management of this extremely uncommon entity.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>As a complication of typhoid fever, a seven-year-old Kurdish girl from Northern Iraq developed massive fresh bleeding per rectum. During colonoscopy and laparotomy, she was discovered to have multiple bleeding ulcers within the Dieulafoy's lesion in the terminal ileum and ileocecal region.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although there is no practical way of predicting the occurrence of such rare complications, we emphasize in this case report the wide array of pathologies that can result from typhoid fever.</p

Hidden magnetic excitation in the pseudogap phase of a model cuprate superconductor

The elucidation of the pseudogap phenomenon of the cuprates, a set of anomalous physical properties below the characteristic temperature T* and above the superconducting transition temperature Tc, has been a major challenge in condensed matter physics for the past two decades. Following initial indications of broken time-reversal symmetry in photoemission experiments, recent polarized neutron diffraction work demonstrated the universal existence of an unusual magnetic order below T*. These findings have the profound implication that the pseudogap regime constitutes a genuine new phase of matter rather than a mere crossover phenomenon. They are furthermore consistent with a particular type of order involving circulating orbital currents, and with the notion that the phase diagram is controlled by a quantum critical point. Here we report inelastic neutron scattering results for HgBa2CuO4+x (Hg1201) that reveal a fundamental collective magnetic mode associated with the unusual order, and that further support this picture. The mode's intensity rises below the same temperature T* and its dispersion is weak, as expected for an Ising-like order parameter. Its energy of 52-56 meV and its enormous integrated spectral weight render it a new candidate for the hitherto unexplained ubiquitous electron-boson coupling features observed in spectroscopic studies.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, with supplementary information and figure

The Merging of Two Dynasties—Identification of an African Cotton Leaf Curl Disease-Associated Begomovirus with Cotton in Pakistan

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is a severe disease of cotton that occurs in Africa and Pakistan/northwestern India. The disease is caused by begomoviruses in association with specific betasatellites that differ between Africa and Asia. During survey of symptomatic cotton in Sindh (southern Pakistan) Cotton leaf curl Gezira virus (CLCuGV), the begomovirus associated with CLCuD in Africa, was identified. However, the cognate African betasatellite (Cotton leaf curl Gezira betasatellite) was not found. Instead, two Asian betasatellites, the CLCuD-associated Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB) and Chilli leaf curl betasatellite (ChLCB) were identified. Inoculation of the experimental plant species Nicotiana benthamiana showed that CLCuGV was competent to maintain both CLCuMB and ChLCB. Interestingly, the enations typical of CLCuD were only induced by CLCuGV in the presence of CLCuMB. Also in infections involving both CLCuMB and ChLCB the enations typical of CLCuMB were less evident. This is the first time an African begomovirus has been identified on the Indian sub-continent, highlight the growing threat of begomoviruses and particularly the threat of CLCuD causing viruses to cotton cultivation in the rest of the world

Validation of the Internet Addiction Test in Students at a Pakistani Medical and Dental School

Despite growing concerns over pathological internet usage, studies based on validated psychometric instruments are still lacking in Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) in a sample of Pakistani students. A total of 522 students of medicine and dentistry completed the questionnaire, which consisted of four sections: (a) demographics, (b) number of hours spent on the Internet per day, (c) English version of the IAT, and (d) the Defense Style Questionnaire-40. Maximum likelihood analysis and principal axis factoring were used to validate the factor structure of the IAT. Convergent and criterion validity were assessed by correlating IAT scores with number of hours spent online and defense styles. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis reflected the goodness of fit of a unidimensional structure of the IAT, with a high alpha coefficient. The IAT had good face and convergent validity and no floor and ceiling effects, and was judged easy to read by participants

Fluoride content and recharge ability of five glassionomer dental materials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The relationship between fluoride content and fluoride release for glass-ionomer cements is not well understood. The aim of this laboratory study was: to determine the fluoride concentrations at the surfaces of glass-ionomer materials with respect to different storage media and different pH environments; to examine the recharge ability of the materials after NaF immersion; and to assess the morphological changes at the material surfaces using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopic techniques (SEM/EDS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Five glass-ionomer materials, Fuji Triage (FT), Fuji II LC (FII), Fuji VIII (FVIII), Fuji IX GP (FIX), and Ketac N100 (KN), were analyzed in this study. Resin-based fluoride releasing material Helioseal F (HSF) was used as a comparison material. The sample consisted of 120 cured cement disks (n = 20 disks of each tested material, 10 × 1.5 mm). Five disks of each material were stored in 4 different storage media (I- saline, II- acidic solution ph = 2.5, III- acid solution ph = 5.5, IV- NaF solution (c = 500/106). After 7 days, two disks of each material were transferred from media I, II and III to the NaF solution for 3 min. EDS analysis was conducted in 3 randomly selected spots of each experimental disk. SEM was used to determine morphological characteristics of the material surface. Differences between the experimental groups have been analyzed using Student's t-test with the level of significance set at p < 0.001.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FT showed the highest fluoride content at the surface of the material. The lowest amounts of fluoride ions were detected at the surfaces of the FT disks stored at low pH environments, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Glass-ionomers showed significantly higher fluoride concentrations when compared to the HSF (p < 0.001). After immersion in the NaF solution, fluoride concentrations at the surfaces of the disks increased when compared with previous storage media (FT>FVIII>KN>FII>FIX). SEM analysis of the surface morphology revealed numerous voids, cracks and microporosities in all experimental groups, except for KN and HSF. More homogenous material structure with more discrete cracks was observed in samples stored at neutral pH environment, compared to disks stored in acidic solutions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The tested materials could be considered as promising dental materials with potential prophylactic characteristics due to their relatively high fluoride content, but also the ability to extensively reabsorb fluoride ions, especially in acidic environments.</p

Knowledge and Awareness about Cervical Cancer and Its Prevention amongst Interns and Nursing Staff in Tertiary Care Hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst the gynecological cancers worldwide, especially in developing countries. It is imperative for at least health professionals in developing countries like Pakistan to have a sound knowledge about the disease. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention amongst health professionals in tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.A cross-sectional, interview based survey was conducted in June, 2009. Sample of 400 was divided between the three tertiary care centers. Convenience sampling was applied as no definitive data was available regarding the number of registered interns and nurses at each center.Of all the interviews conducted, 1.8% did not know cervical cancer as a disease. Only 23.3% of the respondents were aware that cervical cancer is the most common cause of gynecological cancers and 26% knew it is second in rank in mortality. Seventy-eight percent were aware that infection is the most common cause of cervical cancer, of these 62% said that virus is the cause and 61% of the respondents knew that the virus is Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Majority recognized that it is sexually transmitted but only a minority (41%) knew that it can be detected by PCR. Only 26% of the study population was aware of one or more risk factors. Thirty seven percent recognized Pap smear as a screening test. In total only 37 out of 400 respondents were aware of the HPV vaccine.This study serves to highlight that the majority of working health professionals are not adequately equipped with knowledge concerning cervical cancer. Continuing Medical Education program should be started at the hospital level along with conferences to spread knowledge about this disease

NMDA Receptor Hypofunction Leads to Generalized and Persistent Aberrant γ Oscillations Independent of Hyperlocomotion and the State of Consciousness

International audienceNMDAr antagonists acutely produces, in the rodent CNS, generalized aberrant gamma oscillations, which are not dependent on hyperlocomotion-related brain state or conscious sensorimotor processing. These findings suggest that NMDAr hypofunction-related generalized gamma hypersynchronies represent an aberrant diffuse network noise, a potential electrophysiological correlate of a psychotic-like state. Such generalized noise might cause dysfunction of brain operations, including the impairments in cognition and sensorimotor integration seen in schizophrenia

The Female Athlete's Heart: Facts and Fallacies.

Purpose of the review For many years, competitive sport has been dominated by men. Recent times have witnessed a significant increase in women participating in elite sports. As most studies investigated male athletes, with few reports on female counterparts, it is crucial to have a better understanding on physiological cardiac adaptation to exercise in female athletes, to distinguish normal phenotypes from potentially fatal cardiac diseases. This review reports on cardiac adaptation to exercise in females. Recent findings Recent studies show that electrical, structural, and functional cardiac changes due to physiological adaptation to exercise differ in male and female athletes. Women tend to exhibit eccentric hypertrophy, and while concentric hypertrophy or concentric remodeling may be a normal finding in male athletes, it should be evaluated carefully in female athletes as it may be a sign of pathology. Although few studies on veteran female athletes are available, women seem to be affected by atrial fibrillation, coronary atherosclerosis, and myocardial fibrosis less than male counterparts. Summary Males and females exhibit many biological, anatomical, and hormonal differences, and cardiac adaptation to exercise is no exception. The increasing participation of women in sports should stimulate the scientific community to develop large, longitudinal studies aimed at a better understanding of cardiac adaptation to exercise in female athletes