Retrospective study of tumor and tumor like conditions of ovary from a rural hospital in Kerala

Background: Ovarian tumor and tumor like conditions are seen in women from early childhood to post-menopausal age. The ovaries are a pair of female sex glands responsible for the germ cell maturation, storage and release; cyclically. It also plays an important role in steroidogenesis. The ovaries are a totipotential structure and hence, neoplasms from all 3 germinal layers can be seen arising from it and manifesting clinically as ovarian tumors and tumor like conditions with its occurrence more during the late reproductive life. Ovarian tumors represent about 30% of all cancers of the female genital system. They manifesting in a wide spectrum of clinical, morphological and histological features.Methods: This is retrospective observational study where analysis of all cases which were encountered surgically during the period Mar 2012 to Mar 2017. The cases diagnosed as ovarian tumors were subjected to thorough investigation by CA125, ultrasound (USG) abdomen and pelvis and Computerised Tomography (CT) scan. Emergency presentations with twisted cysts were operated in emergency setting and histopathological examination (HPE) done to identify the nature of tumor. IHC was done wherever necessary to sub classify and confirm the histological diagnosis. Surgeries were done either by conventional laparotomy or by laparoscopy.Results: We have analyzed 175 cases retrospectively after histopathological diagnosis. The commonest lesions were ovarian cysts, out of which 63 cases (36%) were simple serous cyst adenomas followed by mucinous cyst adenomas 30 cases (17.14%). Germ cell tumors with struma ovarii were 34 cases (19.42%). The interesting part of the study was that we had a very high incidence of large endometriomas diagnosed as ovarian cysts before surgery 16 cases (9.4%). Two cases (1.14%) of ovarian malignancy were detected.Conclusions: The above study has revealed a spectrum of ovarian tumors over a wide age range from adolescent to late reproductive to menopausal and late menopausal age group. The incidence of malignancy was (1.14%)

An attempt for Indoor rearing of tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta Drury on Terminalia catappa in the natural atmospheric conditions of Mysuru

The non mulberry silkworm’s tasar, eri and muga are grown in hilly forest regions of north eastern part of India where climatic conditions are favourable and they feed on various wild food plants and many of them grown in plane lands for ornamental purpose. An attempt made to grow tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta in the natural atmospheric conditions of Mysuru during the rainy season (June-September) by using the secondary food plant Terminalia catappa, resulted in the larval life span of 30 days on an average and the effective rate of rearing of 27%.  The results were proved that the survivability ratio and the quantity and quality of the cocoons produced were found to be affected that may due to the new environmental conditions and secondary food plant provide

Comparative study (II): On the longevity of pupa and adult moths in selected few bivoltine purelines of silkworm Bombyx mori (L) in all the seasons of the year.

A comparative study utilizing the six multivoltines, in three seasons of the year between pupal and adult moth stage of silkworm of reveals a positive significance. Pupal duration was calculated after chrysalis stage among six multivoltines clearly indicated that the duration of pupae in the pre race is lowest where as the Daizo race exhibited the longest pupal duration of 240 hours. Silkworm adult life span evaluated in three seasons in the two sexes (male moth and female moth) it is clear that race pre exhibited shortest adult life span of 84 hours in mated males and 114 hours in mated females during pre-monsoon period and Daizo race revealed prolonged adult life span 222 hours in unmated males and 242 hours in unmated females during post-monsoon period. In the present studies among the two sexes, the unmated (virgin) male and females moths exhibited the longest life span than those of mated male and female moths. The influence of three seasons on adult life span is very clear from the experiment. The effect of pre-monsoon is more conspicuous (revealing short lifespan) where as in post-monsoon season lifespan is longest both in the pupal and adult. The results obtained from the present studies clearly demonstrate that racial differences, seasonal impact and sex wise differences are important in the expression of adult longevity

Orientational distribution function in nematic liquid crystals by x-rays: Fourier method

The existing methods for the determination of the orientational distribution function f(beta) in the nematic liquid crystals using X-rays have been reviewed. A simple Fourier method which gives f(beta) in terms of the measured intensity is analysed. Using this distribution function, the accuracy with which the order parameters could be evaluated is discussed and the results show the elegance of the Fourier method used here

Association of chemosensory dysfunction and COVID-19 in patients presenting with influenza-like symptoms.

BackgroundRapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and concern for viral transmission by ambulatory patients with minimal to no symptoms underline the importance of identifying early or subclinical symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Two such candidate symptoms include anecdotally reported loss of smell and taste. Understanding the timing and association of smell/taste loss in COVID-19 may help facilitate screening and early isolation of cases.MethodsA single-institution, cross-sectional study evaluating patient-reported symptoms with a focus on smell and taste was conducted using an internet-based platform on adult subjects who underwent testing for COVID-19. Logistic regression was employed to identify symptoms associated with COVID-19 positivity.ResultsA total of 1480 patients with influenza-like symptoms underwent COVID-19 testing between March 3, 2020, and March 29, 2020. Our study captured 59 of 102 (58%) COVID-19-positive patients and 203 of 1378 (15%) COVID-19-negative patients. Smell and taste loss were reported in 68% (40/59) and 71% (42/59) of COVID-19-positive subjects, respectively, compared to 16% (33/203) and 17% (35/203) of COVID-19-negative patients (p < 0.001). Smell and taste impairment were independently and strongly associated with COVID-19 positivity (anosmia: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 10.9; 95% CI, 5.08-23.5; ageusia: aOR 10.2; 95% CI, 4.74-22.1), whereas sore throat was associated with COVID-19 negativity (aOR 0.23; 95% CI, 0.11-0.50). Of patients who reported COVID-19-associated loss of smell, 74% (28/38) reported resolution of anosmia with clinical resolution of illness.ConclusionIn ambulatory individuals with influenza-like symptoms, chemosensory dysfunction was strongly associated with COVID-19 infection and should be considered when screening symptoms. Most will recover chemosensory function within weeks, paralleling resolution of other disease-related symptoms

Utility of patient-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines as an ex vivo capecitabine sensitivity prediction model for breast cancer patients.

Capecitabine is commonly used in treating breast cancer; however, therapeutic response varies among patients and there is no clinically validated model to predict individual outcomes. Here, we investigated whether drug sensitivity quantified in ex vivo patients' blood-derived cell lines can predict response to capecitabine in vivo. Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) were established from a cohort of metastatic breast cancer patients (n = 53) who were prospectively monitored during treatment with single agent capecitabine at 2000 mg/m2/day. LCLs were treated with increasing concentrations of 5'-DFUR, a major capecitabine metabolite, to assess patients' ex vivo sensitivity to this drug. Subsequently, ex vivo phenotype was compared to observed patient disease response and drug induced-toxicities. We acquired an independent cohort of breast cancer cell lines and LCLs derived from the same donors from ATCC, compared their sensitivity to 5'-DFUR. As seen in the patient population, we observed large inter-individual variability in response to 5'-DFUR treatment in patient-derived LCLs. Patients whose LCLs were more sensitive to 5'-DFUR had a significantly longer median progression free survival (9-month vs 6-month, log rank p-value = 0.017). In addition, this significant positive correlation for 5'-DFUR sensitivity was replicated in an independent cohort of 8 breast cancer cell lines and LCLs derived from the same donor. Our data suggests that at least a portion of the individual sensitivity to capecitabine is shared between germline tissue and tumor tissue. It also supports the utility of patient-derived LCLs as a predictive model for capecitabine treatment efficacy in breast cancer patients

Serine protease from Indian Cobra venom: its anticoagulant property and effect on human fibrinogen

An unusual low molecular weight serine protease (NnP28) has been purified from Indian Cobra (Naja naja) venom from the western region of the Indian sub-continent. We reported the purification and characterization of low molecular NnP28, emphasizing its role on human fibrinogen and anticoagulant property. NnP28 was purified using gel filtration column chromatography followed by ion exchange chromatography. Protein gel electrophoresis revealed its molecular weight approximate to 28 kDa. The exact molecular mass of NnP28 was found to be 27.12 kDa by mass spectrometry, hydrolyzing casein specifically, inhibited by PMSF suggesting it has a serine protease. NnP28 prolonged the clotting time of re-calcified human citrated plasma and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) exhibiting anticoagulant property. NnP28 exhibited fibrinogenolytic activity. Thus, the present study demonstrates the presence of unusual low molecular weight serine protease, emphasizing its importance of region-specific Indian cobra species

FPGA-Based Portable Ultrasound Scanning System with Automatic Kidney Detection

Bedsides diagnosis using portable ultrasound scanning (PUS) offering comfortable diagnosis with various clinical advantages, in general, ultrasound scanners suffer from a poor signal-to-noise ratio, and physicians who operate the device at point-of-care may not be adequately trained to perform high level diagnosis. Such scenarios can be eradicated by incorporating ambient intelligence in PUS. In this paper, we propose an architecture for a PUS system, whose abilities include automated kidney detection in real time. Automated kidney detection is performed by training the Viola–Jones algorithm with a good set of kidney data consisting of diversified shapes and sizes. It is observed that the kidney detection algorithm delivers very good performance in terms of detection accuracy. The proposed PUS with kidney detection algorithm is implemented on a single Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA, integrated with a Raspberry Pi ARM processor running at 900 MHz

Detection of Crab Giant Pulses Using the Mileura Widefield Array Low Frequency Demonstrator Field Prototype System

We report on the detection of giant pulses from the Crab Nebula pulsar at a frequency of 200 MHz using the field deployment system designed for the Mileura Widefield Array's Low Frequency Demonstrator (MWA-LFD). Our observations are among the first high-quality detections at such low frequencies. The measured pulse shapes are deconvolved for interstellar pulse broadening, yielding a pulse-broadening time of 670$\pm$100 $\mu$s, and the implied strength of scattering (scattering measure) is the lowest that is estimated towards the Crab nebula from observations made so far. The sensitivity of the system is largely dictated by the sky background, and our simple equipment is capable of detecting pulses that are brighter than $\sim$9 kJy in amplitude. The brightest giant pulse detected in our data has a peak amplitude of $\sim$50 kJy, and the implied brightness temperature is $10^{31.6}$ K. We discuss the giant pulse detection prospects with the full MWA-LFD system. With a sensitivity over two orders of magnitude larger than the prototype equipment, the full system will be capable of detecting such bright giant pulses out to a wide range of Galactic distances; from $\sim$8 to $\sim$30 kpc depending on the frequency. The MWA-LFD will thus be a highly promising instrument for the studies of giant pulses and other fast radio transients at low frequencies.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa