Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in Diagnosis of Pure Neuritic Leprosy

Leprosy is a chronic infection affecting mainly the skin and peripheral nerve. Pure neuritic form of this disease manifests by involvement of the nerve in the absence of skin lesions. Therefore, it can sometimes create a diagnostic problem. It often requires a nerve biopsy for diagnosis, which is an invasive procedure and may lead to neural deficit. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of an affected nerve can be a valuable and less invasive procedure for the diagnosis of such cases. We report five suspected cases of pure neuritic Hansen's disease involving the common and superficial peroneal, ulnar, and median nerve, who underwent FNAC. Smears revealed nerve fibers infiltrated by chronic inflammatory cells in all cases, presence of epithelioid cells granulomas, and Langhans giant cells in three cases, and acid fast bacilli in two cases. In conclusion, FNAC is a safe, less invasive, and time saving procedure for the diagnosis of pure neuritic leprosy

Izvod kozmoloških modela V Bianchijeve vrste s volumnim trenjem i vremenski-ovisnim članom λ

Bianchi type V bulk viscous fluid cosmological models are investigated with dynamic cosmological term λ(t). Using a generation technique (Camci et al., 2001), it is shown that the Einstein\u27s field equations are solvable for any arbitrary cosmic scale function. Solutions for particular forms of cosmic scale functions are also obtained. The cosmological constant is found to be a decreasing function of time, which is supported by results from recent type Ia supernovae observations. Some physical and geometrical aspects of the models are also discussed.Istražujemo kozmološke modele V-e Bianchijeve vrste s volumnim trenjem i dinamičnim kozmološkim članom Λ(t). Primjenom metode izvođenja (Camci et al., 2001) pokazujemo da se Einsteinove jednadžbe polja mogu riješiti za proizvoljnu funkciju kozmičke mjere. Postigli smo rješenja za posebne funkcije kozmičkih mjera. Nalazimo da je kozmološka konstanta opadajuća funkcija vremena, što je u skladu s nedavnim opažanjima supernova Ia. Raspravljamo također neka fizička svojstva modela

Nova vrsta viskoznog tekućeg svemira Bianchijevog tipa i s vremenski-promjenljivim kozmološkim članom

A new class of Bianchi type I viscous-fluid cosmological models with a variable cosmological constant are investigated in which the expansion is considered only in two directions, i.e. one of the Hubble parameter (H1 = A4/A) is zero. We have considered four cases: (i) coefficients of bulk (ξ) and shear (η) viscosity are taken as constant, (ii) ξ and η are considered to be inversely dependent on time, (iii) Λ is taken as inverse square of t and (iv) ξ and η are considered as proportional to scale of expansion in the model. The cosmological constant Λ is found to be positive and is a decreasing function of time which is supported by results from recent supernovae Ia observations. Some physical and geometric properties of the models are also discussed.Istražujemo novu vrstu kozmoloških modela viskoznog tekućeg svemira Bianchijevog tipa I s promjenljivom kozmološkom konstantom, u kojima se širenje razmatra samo u dva smjera, tj., jedan od Hubbleovih parametara, H1 = A4/A, jednak je nula. Razmatramo četiri slučaja: (i) volumni i viskozno-smični koeficijenti, (ξ) i (η), su stalni, (ii) (ξ) i (η) su inverzno razmjerni vremenu, (iii) Λ je razmjeran inverznom kvadratu vremena i (iv) ξ i η razmjerni su ljestvici širenja svemira u modelu. Nalazimo da je kozmološka konstanta pozitivna i opadajuća funkcija vremena, što je u skladu s nedavnim ishodima opažanja supernova Ia. Raspravljaju se također neka fizikalna i geometrijska svojstva tih modela

Free radicals and antioxidants in normal versus cancerous cells — An overview

Oxygen is vital for aerobic processes of metabolism and respiration- It has been also implicated in many diseases and degenerative conditions. Free radicals formed from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species act as key players in the initiation and progression of tumor cells and enhance their metastatic potential. The imbalance in the formation and use of free radicals in the tissue creates oxidative stress. Inadequacy in normal cells antioxidant defense system or excessive free radical formation or even both can cause the cell to experience the oxidative stress. This review outlines the involvement of free radicals in different aspects of cancer, from prevention to initiation, progression, treatment and to reduce morbidity and mortality

Some Bianchi Type III String Cosmological Models with Bulk Viscosity

We investigate the integrability of cosmic strings in Bianchi III space-time in presence of a bulk viscous fluid by applying a new technique. The behaviour of the model is reduced to the solution of a single second order nonlinear differential equation. We show that this equation admits an infinite family of solutions. Some physical consequences from these results are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, no figure. To appear in Int. J. Theor. Phy

Cohort for Tuberculosis Research by the Indo-US Medical Partnership (CTRIUMPH): protocol for a multicentric prospective observational study

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis disease (TB) remains an important global health threat. An evidence-based response, tailored to local disease epidemiology in high-burden countries, is key to controlling the global TB epidemic. Reliable surrogate biomarkers that predict key active disease and latent TB infection outcomes are vital to advancing clinical research necessary to ‘End TB’. Well executed longitudinal studies strengthening local research capacity for addressing TB research priorities and advancing biomarker discovery are urgently needed. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Cohort for Tuberculosis Research by the Indo-US Medical Partnership (CTRIUMPH) study conducted in Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College (BJGMC), Pune and National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai, India, will establish and maintain three prospective cohorts: (1) an Active TB Cohort comprising 800 adults with pulmonary TB, 200 adults with extrapulmonary TB and 200 children with TB; (2) a Household Contact Cohort of 3200 adults and children at risk of developing active disease; and (3) a Control Cohort consisting of 300 adults and 200 children with no known exposure to TB. Relevant clinical, sociodemographic and psychosocial data will be collected and a strategic specimen repository established at multiple time points over 24 months of follow-up to measure host and microbial factors associated with (1) TB treatment outcomes; (2) progression from infection to active TB disease; and (3) Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission among Indian adults and children. We anticipate CTRIUMPH to serve as a research platform necessary to characterise some relevant aspects of the TB epidemic in India, generate evidence to inform local and global TB control strategies and support novel TB biomarker discovery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study is approved by the Institutional Review Boards of NIRT, BJGMC and Johns Hopkins University, USA. Study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and research conferences. FUNDING: NIH/DBT Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme and the Indian Council of Medical Research

Smoking, alcohol use disorder and tuberculosis treatment outcomes: A dual co-morbidity burden that cannot be ignored

BackgroundMore than 20% of tuberculosis (TB) disease worldwide may be attributable to smoking and alcohol abuse. India is the second largest consumer of tobacco products, a major consumer of alcohol particularly among males, and has the highest burden of TB globally. The impact of increasing tobacco dose, relevance of alcohol misuse and past versus current or never smoking status on TB treatment outcomes remain inadequately defined.MethodsWe conducted a multi-centric prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed adult pulmonary TB patients initiated on TB treatment and followed for a minimum of 6 months to assess the impact of smoking status with or without alcohol abuse on treatment outcomes. Smokers were defined as never smokers, past smokers or current smokers. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) scores were used to assess alcohol misuse. The association between smoking status and treatment outcomes was assessed in univariate and multivariate random effects poisson regression models.ResultsOf 455 enrolled, 129 (28%) had a history of smoking with 94 (20%) current smokers and 35 (8%) past smokers. Unfavourable treatment outcomes were significantly higher among past and current smokers as compared to never smokers. Specifically, the risk of treatment failure was significantly higher among past smokers (aIRR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.41-4.90, p = 0.002), recurrent TB among current smokers (aIRR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.30-6.67, p = 0.010) and death among both past (2.63, 95% CI: 1.11-6.24, p = 0.028) and current (aIRR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.29-5.18, p = 0.007) smokers. Furthermore, the combined effect of alcohol misuse and smoking on unfavorable treatment outcomes was significantly higher among past smokers (aIRR: 4.67, 95% CI: 2.17-10.02, pConclusionPast and current smoking along with alcohol misuse have combined effects on increasing the risk of unfavourable TB treatment outcomes. Innovative interventions that can readily address both co-morbidities are urgently needed