Unusual encounters in a hernia sac

Contents of a hernia sac are always a surprise. In most cases the contents of the sac determine the type of repair. A case of an inguinal hernia sac containing the appendix along with the dislodged end of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt tube is presented in view of its rarity

Isolated tuberculous inguinal lymphadenopathy: a diagnostic challenge

Lymph node is one of the commonest site for extra pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Cervical lymph nodes are most commonly affected by TB. Whereas tuberculous inguinal lymphadenopathy is quite uncommon. Isolated bilateral tuberculosis of the inguinal lymph nodes is rare and poses a diagnostic challenge to the surgeon. Lymph node biopsy is diagnostic. A case of bilateral tuberculous inguinal lymphadenopathy diagnosed by open biopsy is presented to highlight the diagnostic challenges it poses in addition to creating awareness of its existence as a distinct entity unrelated to tuberculosis of the lung and bowel

A comparative study of multiple attribute tree and inverted file structures for large bibliographic files

A variety of data structures such as inverted file, multi-lists, quad tree, k-d tree, range tree, polygon tree, quintary tree, multidimensional tries, segment tree, doubly chained tree, the grid file, d-fold tree. super B-tree, Multiple Attribute Tree (MAT), etc. have been studied for multidimensional searching and related problems. Physical data base organization, which is an important application of multidimensional searching, is traditionally and mostly handled by employing inverted file. This study proposes MAT data structure for bibliographic file systems, by illustrating the superiority of MAT data structure over inverted file. Both the methods are compared in terms of preprocessing, storage and query costs. Worst-case complexity analysis of both the methods, for a partial match query, is carried out in two cases: (a) when directory resides in main memory, (b) when directory resides in secondary memory. In both cases, MAT data structure is shown to be more efficient than the inverted file method. Arguments are given to illustrate the superiority of MAT data structure in an average case also. An efficient adaptation of MAT data structure, that exploits the special features of MAT structure and bibliographic files, is proposed for bibliographic file systems. In this adaptation, suitable techniques for fixing and ranking of the attributes for MAT data structure are proposed. Conclusions and proposals for future research are presented

Iron-zinc interaction during uptake in human intestinal Caco-2 cell line: Kinetic analyses and possible mechanism

299-306Iron and zinc interact at the enterocyte during absorption, but the mechanism(s) remain elusive. The aim was, therefore, to understand the mechanism of interaction using kinetic analyses of iron and zinc uptake, individually and in combination under normal and altered cellular mineral concentrations in human intestinal Caco-2 cell line. Striking differences in kinetic parameters were observed between iron and zinc uptake. Iron uptake followed a two-component model, while zinc uptake followed a three-component model. Iron uptake had a Km of 3.6 µM and Vmax of 452 pmol/mg protein/min, while zinc uptake had a Km of 42 µM and Vmax of 3.09 pmol/mg protein/min. Zinc dose-dependently inhibited iron uptake through mixed-inhibition but iron marginally increased zinc uptake. Cellular zinc repletion doubled iron uptake and eliminated inhibition, but zinc depletion decreased iron uptake. Iron pre-treatment had no effect on zinc uptake. Based on these results, a two-transporter model of iron uptake, comprising the apical iron uptake transporter divalent metal ion transporter-1 (DMT-1) and an unknown putative transporter was derived. This model for DMT-1 was verified by immunoblotting. These results implied that cellular zinc status profoundly influenced iron uptake and its interactions with zinc during uptake. DMT-1 might not simultaneously transport iron and zinc, providing a mechanistic basis for observed interactions

Unusual encounters in a hernia sac

Contents of a hernia sac are always a surprise. In most cases the contents of the sac determine the type of repair. A case of an inguinal hernia sac containing the appendix along with the dislodged end of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt tube is presented in view of its rarity