A rare case of schwannoma of maxillary sinus

Schwann cell tumor or schwannomas is the benign nerve sheath tumors, which arise mostly from head and neck region and rarely from the nasal and paranasal sinuses. Of these, very few arise solely from the maxillary sinus. This is a case report of a 25-year-old female patient presenting with painful swelling below the right eye turned out to be a rare case of schwannoma arising solely from the maxillary sinus. Details of clinical history, examination, histopathological finding, radiological finding, treatment, and follow-up have been presented

Measurement of the Higgs boson production rate in association with top quarks in final states with electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons at s√=13TeV

The rate for Higgs (H) bosons production in association with either one (tH) or two (tt¯H) top quarks is measured in final states containing multiple electrons, muons, or tau leptons decaying to hadrons and a neutrino, using proton–proton collisions recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV by the CMS experiment. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 137fb−1. The analysis is aimed at events that contain H→WW, H→ττ, or H→ZZ decays and each of the top quark(s) decays either to lepton+jets or all-jet channels. Sensitivity to signal is maximized by including ten signatures in the analysis, depending on the lepton multiplicity. The separation among tH, tt¯H, and the backgrounds is enhanced through machine-learning techniques and matrix-element methods. The measured production rates for the tt¯H and tH signals correspond to 0.92±0.19(stat)+0.17−0.13(syst) and 5.7±2.7(stat)±3.0(syst) of their respective standard model (SM) expectations. The corresponding observed (expected) significance amounts to 4.7 (5.2) standard deviations for tt¯H, and to 1.4 (0.3) for tH production. Assuming that the Higgs boson coupling to the tau lepton is equal in strength to its expectation in the SM, the coupling yt of the Higgs boson to the top quark divided by its SM expectation, κt=yt/ySMt, is constrained to be within −0.9<κt<−0.7 or 0.7<κt<1.1, at 95% confidence level. This result is the most sensitive measurement of the tt¯H production rate to date.SCOAP

Effect of phase separation induced supercooling on magnetotransport properties of epitaxial La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y approximate to 0.4) thin film

Thin films of La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y approximate to 0.4) have been grown on single crystal SrTiO3 (001) by RF sputtering. The structural and surface characterizations confirm the epitaxial nature of these film. However, the difference between the omega-scan of the (002) and (110) peaks and the presence of pits/holes in the step-terrace type surface morphology suggests high density of defect in these films. Pronounced hysteresis between the field cooled cooling (FCC) and field cooled warming (FCW) magnetization measurements suggest towards the non-ergodic magnetic state. The origin of this nonergodicity could be traced to the magnetic liquid like state arising from the delicacy of the coexisting magnetic phases, viz., ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic-charge ordered (FM/AFM-CO). The large difference between the insulator metal transitions during cooling and warming cycles (T-IM(C) similar to 64 K and T-IM(W) similar to 123 K) could be regarded as a manifestation of the nonergodicity leading to supercooling of the magnetic liquid while cooling. The nonergodicity and supercooling are weakened by the AFM-FM phase transition induced by an external magnetic field. TIM and small polaron activation energy corresponding the magnetic liquid state (cooling cycle) vary nonlinearly with the applied magnetic field but become linear in the crystalline solid state (warming cycle). The analysis of the low temperature resistivity data shows that electron-phonon interaction is drastically reduced by the applied magnetic field. The resistivity minimum in the lower temperature region of the self-field warming curve has been explained in terms of the Kondo like scattering in the magnetically inhomogeneous regime

Prospects of Nanostructure Materials and Their Composites as Antimicrobial Agents

Nanostructured materials (NSMs) have increasingly been used as a substitute for antibiotics and additives in various products to impart microbicidal effect. In particular, use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has garnered huge researchers' attention as potent bactericidal agent due to the inherent antimicrobial property of the silver metal. Moreover, other nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, graphene, chitosan, etc.) have also been studied for their antimicrobial effects in order ensure their application in widespread domains. The present review exclusively emphasizes on materials that possess antimicrobial activity in nanoscale range and describes their various modes of antimicrobial action. It also entails broad classification of NSMs along with their application in various fields. For instance, use of AgNPs in consumer products, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in drug delivery. Likewise, use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) as additives in consumer merchandises and nanoscale chitosan (NCH) in medical products and wastewater treatment. Furthermore, this review briefly discusses the current scenario of antimicrobial nanostructured materials (aNSMs), limitations of current research and their future prospects. To put various perceptive insights on the recent advancements of such antimicrobials, an extended table is incorporated, which describes effect of NSMs of different dimensions on test microorganisms along with their potential widespread applications

Effect of phase separation induced supercooling on magnetotransport properties of epitaxial La5/8−yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y≈0.4) thin film

Thin films of La5/8−yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y≈0.4) have been grown on single crystal SrTiO3 (001) by RF sputtering. The structural and surface characterizations confirm the epitaxial nature of these film. However, the difference between the ω-scan of the (002) and (110) peaks and the presence of pits/holes in the step-terrace type surface morphology suggests high density of defect in these films. Pronounced hysteresis between the field cooled cooling (FCC) and field cooled warming (FCW) magnetization measurements suggest towards the non-ergodic magnetic state. The origin of this nonergodicity could be traced to the magnetic liquid like state arising from the delicacy of the coexisting magnetic phases, viz., ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic-charge ordered (FM/AFM-CO). The large difference between the insulator metal transitions during cooling and warming cycles (TIMC ∼ 64 K and TIMW ∼ 123 K) could be regarded as a manifestation of the nonergodicity leading to supercooling of the magnetic liquid while cooling. The nonergodicity and supercooling are weakened by the AFM-FM phase transition induced by an external magnetic field. TIM and small polaron activation energy corresponding the magnetic liquid state (cooling cycle) vary nonlinearly with the applied magnetic field but become linear in the crystalline solid state (warming cycle). The analysis of the low temperature resistivity data shows that electron-phonon interaction is drastically reduced by the applied magnetic field. The resistivity minimum in the lower temperature region of the self-field warming curve has been explained in terms of the Kondo like scattering in the magnetically inhomogeneous regime

Influence of laser repetition rate on the structural and optical properties of GaN layers grown on sapphire (0001) by laser molecular beam epitaxy

High-quality GaN layers were grown on sapphire (0001) substrates using laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) by laser ablating a solid GaN target at different laser repetition rates (10-40 Hz) under a constant supply of r.f. nitrogen plasma. The effect of laser repetition rate on the structural and optical properties of GaN layers was systematically studied using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. High-resolution X-ray rocking curve measurements revealed highly c-axis oriented GaN layers on sapphire grown at 30 Hz with a calculated screw dislocation density of similar to 1.42 x 10(7) cm(-2), whereas the GaN layers grown at 10 or 40 Hz consisted the screw dislocation density in the range of 10(8)-10(9) cm(-2). Surface morphological analysis revealed a change in grain size as well as surface roughness as a function of laser repetition rate and is explained on the basis of growth kinetics. Vibrational Raman spectroscopy revealed that the GaN layer grown at 10 Hz shows an in-plane compressive stress of similar to 1 GPa, while the film grown at 30 Hz exhibits a minimum stress of similar to 0.3 GPa. The PL measurements show a highly luminescent band-to-band emission of GaN at 3.44 eV for the 10 Hz grown highly strained GaN layer and at 3.41 eV for the less strained film grown at 30 Hz along with a broad defect band emission centered around 2.28 eV. It is found that the GaN layers grown at 30 Hz have excellent structural and optical properties. We expect that the less strained thin and highly oriented GaN film grown by LMBE can further be utilized for developing prodigious low-temperature-grown nitride-based multilayer structures and devices

Emerging Complexity and the Need for Advanced Drug Delivery in Targeting Candida Species

BACKGROUND: Candida species are the important etiologic agents for candidiasis, the most prevalent cause of opportunistic fungal infections. Candida invasion results in mucosal to systemic infections through immune dysfunction and helps in further invasion and proliferation at several sites in the host. The host defence system utilizes a wide array of the cells, proteins and chemical signals that are distributed in blood and tissues which further constitute the innate and adaptive immune system. The lack of antifungal agents and their limited therapeutic effects have led to high mortality and morbidity related to such infections. METHODS: The necessary information collated on this review has been gathered from various literature published from 1995 to 2019. RESULTS: This article sheds light on novel drug delivery approaches to target the immunological axis for several Candida species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. krusei, C. rugose, C. hemulonii, etc.). CONCLUSION: It is clear that the novel drug delivery approaches include vaccines, adoptive transfer of primed immune cells, recombinant cytokines, therapeutic antibodies, and nanoparticles, which have immunomodulatory effects. Such advancements in targeting various underpinning mechanisms using the concept of novel drug delivery will provide a new dimension to the fungal infection clinic particularly due to Candida species with improved patient compliance and lesser side effects. This advancement in knowledge can also be extended to target various other similar microbial species and infections.</p

Antileishmanial Activity of Pyrazolopyridine Derivatives and Their Potential as an Adjunct Therapy with Miltefosine

A series of pyrazolo­(dihydro)­pyridines was synthesized and evaluated for antileishmanial efficacy against experimental visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Among all compounds, <b>6d</b> and <b>6j</b> exhibited better activity than miltefosine against intracellular amastigotes. Compound <b>6j</b> (50 mg/kg/day) was further studied against Leishmania donovani/BALB/c mice via the intraperitoneal route for 5 days and displayed >91 and >93% clearance of splenic and liver parasitic burden, respectively. Combination treatment of <b>6j</b> with a subcurative dose of miltefosine (5 mg/kg) in BALB/c mice almost completely ameliorated the disease (>97% inhibition) by augmenting nitric oxide generation and shifting the immune response toward Th1. Furthermore, investigating the effect of <b>6j</b> on <i>Leishmania</i> promastigotes revealed that it induced molecular events, such as a loss in mitochondrial membrane potential, externalization of phosphatidylserine, and DNA fragmentation, that ultimately resulted in the programmed cell death of the parasite. These results along with pharmacokinetic studies suggest that <b>6j</b> could be a promising lead for treating VL as an adjunct therapy with miltefosine