Rapid detection of dermatophytes from skin and hair

Abstract Background Dermatophytes are a group of closely related keratinophilic fungi that can invade keratinized humans and animals tissues such as skin, hair and nails causing dermatophytosis. They are an important cause of superficial fungal infection. Findings Conventional methods like potassium hydroxide (KOH) microscopy and fungal culture lacks the ability to make an early and specific diagnosis. In this study we have evaluated nested Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers targeting dermatophyte specific sequence of chitin synthase 1 (CHS1) gene and compared with conventional test. A total of 155 patients clinically suspected with dermatophytosis were included in the study. Of which 105 specimens were skin scrapings and 50 were hair. KOH microscopy, fungal culture and first round and nested PCR were done on clinical specimens, and results compared. Nested PCR for dermatophytes was positive in 83.8% specimens, followed by KOH microscopy (70%), first round PCR (50.8) and fungal culture (25.8). Conclusion Results indicate that nested PCR may be considered as gold standard for the diagnosis of dermatophytosis and can aid the clinician in initiating prompt and appropriate antifungal therapy.</p

Contrast-Induced Neurotoxicity following Cardiac Catheterization

We report a case of probable contrast-induced neurotoxicity that followed a technically challenging cardiac catheterization in a 69-year-old woman. The procedure had involved the administration of a large cumulative dose of an iodinated, nonionic contrast medium into the innominate artery: twelve hours following the catheterization, the patient developed a seizure followed by a left hemiplegia, and an initial computed tomography (CT) scan showed sulcal effacement in the right cerebral hemisphere due to cerebral swelling. The patient’s clinical symptoms resolved within 24 hours, and magnetic resonance imaging at 32 hours showed resolution of swelling. Contrast-induced neurotoxicity should be found in the differential diagnosis of acute neurological deficits occurring after radiological procedures involving iodinated contrast media, whether ionic or nonionic

Quantifying primaquine effectiveness and improving adherence: a round table discussion of the APMEN Vivax Working Group.

The goal to eliminate malaria from the Asia-Pacific by 2030 will require the safe and widespread delivery of effective radical cure of malaria. In October 2017, the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network Vivax Working Group met to discuss the impediments to primaquine (PQ) radical cure, how these can be overcome and the methodological difficulties in assessing clinical effectiveness of radical cure. The salient discussions of this meeting which involved 110 representatives from 18 partner countries and 21 institutional partner organizations are reported. Context specific strategies to improve adherence are needed to increase understanding and awareness of PQ within affected communities; these must include education and health promotion programs. Lessons learned from other disease programs highlight that a package of approaches has the greatest potential to change patient and prescriber habits, however optimizing the components of this approach and quantifying their effectiveness is challenging. In a trial setting, the reactivity of participants results in patients altering their behaviour and creates inherent bias. Although bias can be reduced by integrating data collection into the routine health care and surveillance systems, this comes at a cost of decreasing the detection of clinical outcomes. Measuring adherence and the factors that relate to it, also requires an in-depth understanding of the context and the underlying sociocultural logic that supports it. Reaching the elimination goal will require innovative approaches to improve radical cure for vivax malaria, as well as the methods to evaluate its effectiveness

Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene

To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.Peer reviewe

UWB Transmission through Human Thorax: An Index of Cardiac Health

There are many applications which require remote and non-invasive measurement of heartbeat of a human being using an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar. Sophisticated models and their analysis need to be referred before the design of a practical radar prototype. In this paper, i) a UWB wave propagation model of human thorax and ii) the power transmission coefficients estimated from the simulations of the model in the range 1-10 GHz using MATLAB are presented. The study reveals that there is a periodic variation of the transmission coefficients in correlation with the instantaneous physical dimensions of an active heart

UWB Transmission through Human Thorax: An Index of Cardiac Health

There are many applications which require remote and non-invasive measurement of heartbeat of a human being using an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar. Sophisticated models and their analysis need to be referred before the design of a practical radar prototype. In this paper, i) a UWB wave propagation model of human thorax and ii) the power transmission coefficients estimated from the simulations of the model in the range 1-10 GHz using MATLAB are presented. The study reveals that there is a periodic variation of the transmission coefficients in correlation with the instantaneous physical dimensions of an active heart

Study of RF Signal Attenuation of Human Heart

A study of ultrawideband pulse propagation modeling through human body for all frequencies from 0.1 to 10.5 GHz is presented. Reflection coefficient and signal attenuation are computed from the model considering the variation of heart dimension with respect to time unlike a fixed dimension of heart used in earlier models. The performance of cardiac activity is studied from the change of signal attenuation. This estimation may help in the design of a noninvasive diagnostic system using ultrawideband of frequencies