Evaluation of bacteriological diagnosis of smear positive pulmonary tubreculosis under programme conditions in three districts in the context of DOTS implementation in India

Objective: To study the smear and culture positivity rates in pulmonary tuberculosis patients declared as smear positive in the districts of North Arcot (Tamil Nadu), Raichur (Karnataka) and Wardha (Maharashtra) in India in order to evaluate the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis at the field level under programme conditions. Methods: Two specimens of sputum from each of 320 patients in North Arcot, 314 patients in Raichur and 302 patients from Wardha district, all of whom had been reported as smear-positive at the field level, were examined by smear and culture. Findings: The proportion of specimens found to be smear-negative was 4.7% in North Arcot and 5.7% in Raichur as against 38.7% in Wardha. The proportions of culture negative specimens were 5.7% and 6.3% respectively in North Arcot and Raichur, while it was 35.6% at Wardha. The difference in the smear and culture negativity between Wardha and the other two districts was highly significant. Conclusions: The study revealed an unacceptably high level of false positives in sputum smear microscopy in the Wardha district. This could be attributed to the absence of systematic and intensive training in smear examination consequent to the non-implementation of the DOTS strategy in this district and a high standard of training offered in the RNTCP implemented districts

Strategic Tower Defence Game

This research is based on intelligent strategy game known as Tower Defence in which players have to make strategic decisions to defend their tower from their enemies. This an interesting game where people can test their wits. In this game  the players can build and upgrade their tower to prevent higher damage  from enemies. This game requires quick strategic decisions and is fun to play. There are wide array of weapons/equipments that the player can access by using earning points. This game is developed by using Unity platform using C#. This game is easy and understandable as compare to other tower defence games available in market and can be played by players of all  age. This intelligent strategy game is highly competitive and will help sharpen your brain too

Comparison of different methods of assessing in vitro resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to rifampicin

Background & objectives: Definitions of in vitro resistance to rifampicin in. strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by different methods have not been consistent, leading to variations in the interpretation and validity of results. This study compared three methods of defining in vitro resistance to rifampicin. Methods: (i) A total of 598 clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis were concurrently compared by the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the proportion method on Lowenstein-Jensen medium; (ii) 54 strains tested by the MIC method were retested by the proportion method and the BACTEC radiometric method; and (iii) 72 strains which yielded an MIC of 64 mg/l by the MIC method were retested by the same method. Results: Out of 598 cultures tested by the MIC and the proportion methods, identical classification as susceptible or resistant was observed in 99.7 per cent. A 100 per cent agreement was observed when 54 strains were tested by the MIC, proportion and BACTEC radiometric methods. When 72 strains with an MIC of 64 mg/l were retested by the same method, 61 (85%) yielded a lower MIC, 9 (12%) gave the same MIC while 2 (3%) yielded a higher MIC of 128 mg/l, reflecting perhaps the inherent limitations of the variations in the inoculum size. Interpretation & conclusion: All 3 definitions of resistance, viz., an MIC of 128 mg/l, a proportion of I per cent or more on 40 mg/l by the proportion method, both on L-J medium and a growth of 1 per cent or more on 2 mg/l by the radiometric method were found to be equally satisfactory

AN ANTIFUNGAL EXTRACELLULAR ENZYMES FROM MALBRANCHEA CHRYSOSPORIOIDEA

ABSTRACT Extracellular enzymes of Malbranchea chrysosporioidea grown on prawn chitin showed chitinase, glucanase and protease activities in crude enzyme. The effect of the crude chitinolytic enzymes was studied for antifungal activity on the growth of several fungi on liquid and solid medium. Fifty percent growth inhibition was observed in liquid cultures by extracelluar enzymes at a concentration of 97-99 μg of protein for Neurospora crassa, Rhizopus chinensis and Trichoderma viridae and for Aspergillus niger at 122 μg. The growth inhibition was more pronounced at low concentration in liquid than in solid culture. These results demonstrate the utilization of crude enzymes of Malbranchea chrysosporioidea in biocontrol activity and opening new path for biotechnological applications

Is primary tuberculosis of breast a forgotten entity? Series of three cases

The incidence of tuberculosis is high in developing country; primary tuberculosis of breast is extremely rare, 3-4% of all breast lesions. Tuberculosis of breast often mimics breast cancers clinically. We are reporting here three cases of primary tuberculosis of breast presented with painless breast lump. Diagnosis was difficult and made by several parameters in different cases. Made by excision biopsy or the presence of acid-fast bacilli or Tuberculin test or Fine needle aspiration cytology of breast lump depending upon the cases. All the patients responded well to anti-tubercular regimen

Early Enteral feeding within 24 hours of gastrointestinal surgery versus Nil by mouth: A prospective study

A prospective study on early enteral feeding v/s Nil by mouth was done on 74 patients in two groups. The study mainly focused on incidence of surgical site infection, post-operative complications, such as pulmonary complications, anastomotic leakage, abdominal distension, vomiting, and cost of treatment in both groups. It was observed that maximum patients in our study were in the age group of 31-40 years with male preponderance having an average of 12 gm % hemoglobin levels and average BMI of 23, which were divided in two groups. In our study, early enteral feeding has less incidence of surgical site infection with most infection by Klebsiella pneumonia in both groups, clinically less complications and less cost incurred. The incidence of vomiting was increased in early enteral fed group but did not lead to cessation of feeding. Early mobilization of patient and early establishment of bowel sounds are the other factors noticed in patients of early enteral fed groups in our study. Cost of treatment is emphasized in our study. Myth of patients keeping nil by mouth after surgery is to be discouraged. Early enteral feeding enhances recovery and can be safely given after all major gastrointestinal surgeries

Stat3 Signaling Promotes Survival And Maintenance Of Medullary Thymic Epithelial Cells

<div><p>Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) are essential for establishing central tolerance by expressing a diverse array of self-peptides that delete autoreactive thymocytes and/or divert thymocytes into the regulatory T cell lineage. Activation of the NFκB signaling pathway in mTEC precursors is indispensable for mTEC maturation and proliferation resulting in proper medullary region formation. Here we show that the Stat3-mediated signaling pathway also plays a key role in mTEC development and homeostasis. Expression of a constitutively active Stat3 transgene targeted to the mTEC compartment increases mTEC cellularity and bypasses the requirement for signals from positively selected thymocytes to drive medullary region formation. Conversely, conditional deletion of Stat3 disrupts medullary region architecture and reduces the number of mTECs. Stat3 signaling does not affect mTEC proliferation, but rather promotes survival of immature MHCII^loCD80^lo mTEC precursors. In contrast to striking alterations in the mTEC compartment, neither enforced expression nor deletion of Stat3 affects cTEC cellularity or organization. These results demonstrate that in addition to the NFkB pathway, Stat3-mediated signals play an essential role in regulating mTEC cellularity and medullary region homeostasis.</p></div

Reduced thymus cellularity and increased medulla to cortex ratio in K5.Stat3C transgenic mice.

<p><b>(A)</b> IHC staining showing expression of the Flag tag in medullary regions of K5.Stat3C transgenic thymi. <b>(B)</b> Western blots show the Flag tag is expressed in CD45- stromal cells, but not in CD45+ hematopoietic cells. Elevated levels of phosphorylated Stat3 are also restricted to stromal cells. <b>(C)</b> Total thymus cellularity is reduced in K5.Stat3C transgenic (n = 9 for all) compared to control NTg littermates. **<i>P</i><0.005 (Student’s paired <i>t</i>-test) <b>(D)</b> Medulla/cortex ratio in K5.Stat3C (n = 4) and control (n = 5) thymi determined by morphometric analysis of Aperio scanned H&E stained sections. *P<0.05 (Student’s paired <i>t</i>-test) (<b>E-H</b>) H&E and immunofluorescence (IF) stains of serial frozen thymus sections. <b>(E)</b> Low power image of H&E stained thymus section; the area demarcated by the dotted white is magnified in f-g. <b>(F)</b> H&E stain; <b>(G)</b> K5 and K8; <b>(H)</b> K14 and UEA-1. Scale bar: 200μm. Images are representative of sections from at least 5 NTg control and 5 K5.Stat3C transgenic thymi.</p

Depletion of Stat3 in the TEC compartment disrupts medullary architecture.

<p><b>(A)</b> Thymus cellularity is comparable in Stat3 CKO (n = 9 for both) and controls. (p = 0.9960, Unpaired Student’s T test) <b>(B)</b> FACS plots show comparable frequency of major thymocyte subsets defined by CD4 and CD8 expression. The percentage of cells in each quadrant is shown. Results are representative of 5 mice of each genotype. <b>(C)</b> Low power image of H&E stained frozen thymic sections. <b>(D-H)</b> IHC stains on frozen sections of CKO and control thymi <b>(D)</b> H&E <b>(E)</b> K5 and K8 <b>(F)</b> K14, UEA-1 and DAPI <b>(G)</b> CD11c and K8 <b>(H)</b> K14 and Aire. All images are serial sections with the exception of the control section in H. Results are representative of at least 5 thymi of each genotype. Scale bar: 200μm.</p