Laboratory Methods for Determining Etiology of Neonatal Infection at Population-based Sites in South Asia: The ANISA Study

Background: The Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA) study aims to determine the etiology of neonatal infections in 5 population-based sites in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.Methods: The main laboratory challenges in ANISA were selection and consistent implementation of laboratory methods at participating sites with varied infrastructure. The other specific challenges included (1) specimen collection and transport to designated study laboratories and timely processing in rural settings; (2) minimal or nonexistent laboratory facilities at the field sites; (3) obtaining sufficient volumes of blood from enrolled infants aged 0-59 days and (4) caregivers\u27 concerns about collection of clinical specimens from young infants. An additional challenge was selecting an appropriate molecular platform from multiple available options, all with limited field validation, for use in determining infection in young infants.CONCLUSIONS: This article describes how the challenges of specimen collection, transport and processing and implementation of laboratory methods have been addressed in the ANISA study. It also describes the measures taken to improve detection of microorganisms causing young infant infections by enhancing the sensitivity of existing laboratory methods for pathogen detection

Primary localised amyloidosis of the urinary bladder: A recurrent and progressive disease

الملخص: ينتج الداء النشواني الأولي من ترسب لييفات بروتين الأميلويد في المساحة خارج الخلية، وفي كثير من الأحيان يشمل المثانة البولية. نعرض حالة مريض ذكر عمره ٤١ عاما تم تشخيصه بالداء النشواني الأولي للمثانة البولية، وتم استئصال ورم في المثانة عن طريق الإحليل مرتين قبل ٤ أعوام. دخل المريض المستشفى مؤخرا، عن طريق وحدة الطوارئ يعاني من بول دموي واضح غير مؤلم. وأظهرت الأشعة المقطعية للبطن والحوض ورما في المثانة أكبر من الذي تم ذكره سابقا. وتم إعادة تنظير للمثانة واستئصال الورم وأظهر التشريح المرضي للنسيج الداء النشواني الأولي للمثانة البولية. كما تم إجراء فحص شامل لاستبعاد الداء النشواني الشامل. Abstract: Primary amyloidosis results from the deposition of amyloid protein fibrils in the extracellular space and rarely involves the urinary bladder. We present a 41-year-old man who was diagnosed with primary amyloidosis of the urinary bladder and underwent two sessions of transurethral resection of the bladder mass 4 years prior. Recently, the patient was admitted through the emergency with painless frank haematuria. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a bladder mass that was larger than the previously reported mass. A repeat cystoscopy and resection of the mass was performed. Histopathological examination of the resected tissue revealed primary amyloidosis of the urinary bladder. A comprehensive examination was performed to exclude systemic amyloidosis. الكلمات المفتاحية: المثانة البولية, ورم حميد, الداء النشواني, متكرر, مترقي, بول دموي, Keywords: Amyloidosis, Benign tumour, Haematuria, Progressive, Recurrent, Urinary bladde

Statistical and Temporal Characterization of Turbulent Raleigh-Bénard Convection Boundary Layers using Time-Resolved PIV Measurements

This contribution reports on near-wall flow field measurements in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) in air at a fixed Prandtl number Pr=0.7 and Rayleigh number Ra = 1.45E10. For the experiment the large scale convection (LSC) was confined to a rectangular box of 2.5x2.5x0.65 m^3 made of transparent acrylic sheets. Prior video-graphic visualizations of the bottom boundary layer flow by means of laser light sheet illumination of small particles indicated the presence of highly dynamic flow behaviour at flow conditions that classical stability analysis predict to still be in the laminar regime. While theory predicts a transition to turbulence at Reynolds numbers R_\delta \appox 420 the present investigation exhibits highly unsteady flow at a much lower Reynolds number of Re_\delta \appox 260 based on boundary layer thickness. With the help of the PIV data it can be demonstrated that the entrainment of turbulent structures from the mean wind into the boundary layer acts, alongside with the destabilization due to inner shear, as a second mechanism on its path to turbulence. Both contributions must be considered when predicting the critical bound towards the ultimate regime of thermal convection. The measurements rely on the acquisition of long, continuous sequences of particle image velocimetry (PIV) data from which both statistical and spectral information can be retrieved. Contrary to conventional implementation of the PIV technique the field of view is restricted to a narrow strip, generally extending in wall-normal direction. In this way both the acquisition frequency and the total number images of the employed high speed camera are proportionally increased. The temporally oversampled data allows the use of multi-frame PIV processing algorithms which reduces measurement uncertainties with respect to standard dual-frame analysis