ACTINOMYCOSIS AND ASPERGILLOSIS IN THE NOSE OF A DIABETIC: A CASE REPORT

This is a rare case of an elderly diabetic with a short duration of nasal discharge and obstruction due to an infection of actinomycosis and aspergillosis on the inferior turbinate and floor of the nose. 

Preoperative evaluation of ovarian masses with color Doppler and its correlation with pathological finding

Background: Most ovarian cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages because these tumours may not cause any specific symptoms, particularly in its early stages. Though specific risk actors have been identified there are no reliable screening tests for ovarian cancer. However, improvements in identification of women at high risk for ovarian cancer, as well as improved imaging techniques like the USG and color Doppler along with CT Scan and MRI has increased the likelihood of early detection.Methods: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of color and spectral Doppler in diagnosing the ovarian malignancy. A Prospective randomised study was conducted at a tertiary care centre where 50 patients with ovarian masses were selected. The study design included thorough history taking and clinical examination followed by evaluation of tumour markers.  USG along with color Doppler evaluation was done followed by surgery and then co-related with histopathology. The color Doppler parameters such as vascularity, distribution of vascularity, pulsatility and resistive index were also evaluated and statistical significance assessed.Results: Color Doppler showed increased vascularity in 100% of malignant tumors in contrast to only 54.24% of benign tumors. Absent blood flow in a solid tumor almost always ruled out the possibility of malignancy. Spectral Doppler helped to assess the nature of the blood vessels picked up on color Doppler. All the patients in the malignant group and 4 patients in the borderline group had PI1.0, 13 were benign and 2 patients had borderline tumours. RI of 0.4 was seen in 26 patients with benign lesions.Conclusions: Color Doppler is a good non-invasive modality to differentiate benign from malignant lesions. Vascularity is most sensitive and RI is most specific. Thus, color Doppler and spectral Doppler tremendously increased the reliability in diagnosing a malignant ovarian tumor. Color Doppler served as an important tool to rule out malignancy in solid tumors if they failed to show any intra-tumoral vascularity. B-Mode USG in combination with color Doppler and spectral Doppler is proposed as the first and foremost diagnostic modality in patients with ovarian tumor, so as to establish the definite diagnosis of malignancy early in the course of the disease

Relation between Preference for Local or Global Brands and Various Demographic Features of Consumer

Now a days, dilemma of choosing between local and global brands is faced while purchasing most of the goods be it be a needle or a sophisticated machinery. Good quality and affordable prices of goods of global brands are overpowering the local brands. It is seen that young generation is getting very much inclined towards the global brands and gradually local brands are finding it difficult to survive in market. Along with age many other factors are also responsible for this phenomenon. In this situation a study on various factors which are related with preference for local or global brands is need of the hour. For the purpose of study a questionnaire was developed and sent to respondents in order to find out whether actually there is any relationship between demographic factors of respondents and their choice between branded and local goods. On the bases of survey it was found out that, actually there is a relation between demographic factors of respondents and their choice between local and branded goods to a large extent

Association between sensory impairment and suicidal ideation and attempt: a cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative English household data

OBJECTIVES: Sensory impairments are associated with worse mental health and poorer quality of life, but few studies have investigated whether sensory impairment is associated with suicidal behaviour in a population sample. We investigated whether visual and hearing impairments were associated with suicidal ideation and attempt. DESIGN: National cross-sectional study. SETTING: Households in England. PARTICIPANTS: We analysed data for 7546 household residents in England, aged 16 and over from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. EXPOSURES: Sensory impairment (either visual or hearing), Dual sensory impairment (visual and hearing), visual impairment, hearing impairment. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in the past year. RESULTS: People with visual or hearing sensory impairments had twice the odds of past-year suicidal ideation (OR 2.06; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.73; p<0.001), and over three times the odds of reporting past-year suicide attempt (OR 3.12; 95% CI 1.57 to 6.20; p=0.001) compared with people without these impairments. Similar results were found for hearing and visual impairments separately and co-occurring. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that individuals with sensory impairments are more likely to have thought about or attempted suicide in the past year than individuals without

Angiogenesis-dependent and independent phases of intimal hyperplasia.

BACKGROUND: Neointimal vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation is a primary cause of occlusive vascular disease, including atherosclerosis, restenosis after percutaneous interventions, and bypass graft stenosis. Angiogenesis is implicated in the progression of early atheromatous lesions in animal models, but its role in neointimal VSMC proliferation is undefined. Because percutaneous coronary interventions result in induction of periadventitial angiogenesis, we analyzed the role of this process in neointima formation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Local injury to the arterial wall in 2 different animal models induced periadventitial angiogenesis and neointima formation. Application of angiogenesis stimulators vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A165) or a proline/arginine-rich peptide (PR39) to the adventitia of the injured artery induced a marked increase in neointimal thickening beyond that seen with injury alone in both in vivo models. Inhibition of either VEGF (with soluble VEGF receptor 1 [sFlt1]) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF) (with a dominant=negative form of FGF receptor 1 [FGF-R1DN]), respectively, signaling reduced adventitial thickening induced by VEGF and PR39 to the level seen with mechanical arterial injury alone. However, neither inhibitor was effective in preventing neointimal thickening after mechanical injury when administered in the absence of angiogenic growth factor. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that adventitial angiogenesis stimulates intimal thickening but does not initiate it

Co-existent extrapulmonary, extragenital tuberculosis and gynaecological tumours: a reminder to pathologists

Extrapulmonary and extragenital tuberculosis is rarely encountered along with gynaecological tumours or malignancy. This report presents a case series of gynaecological malignancies/tumors co-existing with extrapulmonary, extragenital tuberculosis. Pathologists should always stay open to this possibility. A high index of suspicion is needed in view of the HIV pandemic causing resurgence of tuberculosis especially in third world countries.

Optical coherence tomography findings in paraneoplastic pseudovitelliform lesions in melanoma-associated retinopathy

Michael Javaheri1, Rahul N Khurana1, Rizwan A Bhatti1, Jennifer I Lim21Doheny Retina Institute, Doheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 2Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USAPurpose: To report an unusual case of paraneoplastic pseudovitelliform lesions associated with melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR).Design: Observational case report.Methods: Retrospective review of the ophthalmic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, electroretinogram (ERG), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) of a patient with MAR.Results: A 65-year-old Caucasian man with a two-year history of metastatic melanoma was referred for evaluation of a six-month history of nyctalopia. Funduscopic examination in both eyes revealed multiple, creamy, yellow, pseudovitelliform lesions in the posterior pole, varying in size from 100&amp;ndash;500 &amp;micro;m, at the level of the outer retinal/retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) junction, coalescing along the inferior portion, with overlying macular neurosensory detachments. OCT showed bilateral macular neurosensory detachments with multiple small areas of high refl ectivity at the level of the outer retinal/RPE junction. ERG demonstrated a selective loss of the b-wave and a normal a-wave under dark adapted, scotopic conditions.Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware of this atypical presentation of MAR that may include pseudovitelliform retinal findings.Keywords: cancer-associated retinopathy, melanoma-associated retinopathy, optical coherence tomography, paraneoplastic syndrome, paraneoplastic pseudovitelliform retinopath

Mapping of tetraspanin-enriched microdomains that can function as gateways for HIV-1

Specific spatial arrangements of proteins and lipids are central to the coordination of many biological processes. Tetraspanins have been proposed to laterally organize cellular membranes via specific associations with each other and with distinct integrins. Here, we reveal the presence of tetraspanin-enriched microdomains (TEMs) containing the tetraspanins CD9, CD63, CD81, and CD82 at the plasma membrane. Fluorescence and immunoelectron microscopic analyses document that the surface of HeLa cells is covered by several hundred TEMs, each extending over a few hundred nanometers and containing predominantly two or more tetraspanins. Further, we reveal that the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein, which directs viral assembly and release, accumulates at surface TEMs together with the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. TSG101 and VPS28, components of the mammalian ESCRT1 (endosomal sorting complex required for transport), which is part of the cellular extravesiculation machinery critical for HIV-1 budding, are also recruited to cell surface TEMs upon virus expression, suggesting that HIV-1 egress can be gated through these newly mapped microdomains

Mass of Saturn's magnetodisc: Cassini observations

Saturn's ring current was observed by Pioneer 11 and the two Voyager spacecraft to extend 8 - 16 R-S in the equatorial plane and appeared to be driven by stress balance with the centrifugal force. We present Cassini observations that show thin current sheets on the dawn flank of Saturn's magnetosphere, symptomatic of the formation of a magnetodisc. We show that the centrifugal force is the dominant mechanical stress in these current sheets, which reinforces a magnetodisc interpretation - the formation of the current sheet is fundamentally rotational in origin. The stress balance calculation is also used to estimate the mass density in the disc, which show good agreement with independent in-situ measurements of the density. We estimate the total mass in the magnetodisc to be similar to 10(6) kg