Terminal Ileum Perforation as a Consequence of a Migrated and Fractured Oesophageal Stent

Covered self-expanding metallic stents are commonly employed to relieve malignant oesophageal obstruction. We report a case of a patient with oesophageal cancer treated by stent insertion and curative chemoradiotherapy with subsequent stent migration to the stomach. The stent fractured with the distal fragment migrating as far as the terminal ileum where it caused perforation of the bowel

Tracheotomy in COVID-19 patients:Optimizing patient selection and identifying prognostic indicators

Background: Tracheotomy, through its ability to wean patients off ventilation, can shorten ICU length of stay and in doing so increase ICU bed capacity, crucial for saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there is a paucity of patient selection criteria and prognosticators to facilitate decision making and enhance precious ICU capacity. Methods: Prospective study of COVID-19 patients undergoing tracheotomy (n = 12) over a 4-week period (March-April 2020). Association between preoperative and postoperative ventilation requirements and outcomes (ICU stay, time to decannulation, and death) were examined. Results: Patients who sustained FiO2 ≤ 50% and PEEP ≤ 8 cm H2O in the 24 hours pretracheotomy exhibited a favorable outcome. Those whose requirements remained below these thresholds post-tracheotomy could be safely stepped down after 48 hours. Conclusion: Sustained FiO2 ≤ 50% and PEEP ≤ 8 cm H2O in the 48 hours post-tracheotomy are strong predictive factors for a good outcome, raising the potential for these patients to be stepped down early, thus increasing ICU capacity

Sources of resistance to tobacco streak virus in Wild Arachis (Fabaceae: Papilionoidae) Germplasm

Article purchasedStem necrosis disease caused by Tobacco streak virus (TSV), first recognized in 2000, has emerged as a potential threat to peanut (Arachis hypogaea) in southern states of India. The virus induces severe necrosis of shoots leading to death of the plant, and plants that survive are malformed, with severe reduction in pod yield. All the currently grown peanut cultivars in India are highly susceptible to the virus. Therefore, wild relatives of peanut were evaluated to identify potential sources of resistance to TSV infection. In all, 56 germplasm accessions from 20 wild Arachis spp. in four sections (Arachis, Erectoides, Procumbente, and Rhizomatosae), along with susceptible peanut cultivars (JL 24 and K 1375), were evaluated for resistance to TSV under greenhouse conditions using mechanical sap inoculations. Systemic virus infection, determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in the test accessions ranged between 0 and 100%. Twenty-four accessions in section Arachis that had 0 to 35% systemically infected plants were retested, and systemic infection was not detected in eight of these accessions in repeated trials in the greenhouse. These are International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics groundnut (ICG) accession nos. 8139, 8195, 8200, 8203, 8205, and 11550 belonging to A. duranensis; ICG 8144 belonging to A. villosa; and ICG 13210 belonging to A. stenosperma. Even though the resistant accessions had 0 to 100% TSV infection in inoculated leaves, TSV was not detected in the subsequently emerged leaves. This is the first report of TSV resistance in Arachis spp. The eight TSV resistant accessions are cross compatible with A. hypogaea for utilization in breeding for stem necrosis disease resistance

Cultivation conditions for phytase production from recombinant escherichia coli DH5α

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the cultivation conditions for the production of phytase by recombinant Escherichia coli DH5α. The optimum predicted cultivation conditions for phytase production were at 3 hours seed age, a 2.5% inoculum level, an L-arabinose concentration of 0.20%, a cell concentration of 0.3 (as measured at 600 nm) and 17 hours post-induction time with a predicted phytase activity of 4194.45 U/mL. The model was validated and the results showed no significant difference between the experimental and the predicted phytase activity (P = 0.305). Under optimum cultivation conditions, the phytase activity of the recombinant E. coli DH5α was 364 times higher compared to the phytase activity of the wild-type producer, Enterobacter sakazakii ASUIA279. Hence, optimization of the cultivation conditions using RSM positively increased phytase production from recombinant E. coli DH5α

Photocatalytic, antibacterial and electrochemical properties of novel rare earth metal oxides-based nanohybrids

Mixed metal oxide nanocomposites (rare earth-based) have become irreplaceable and tend to display great functioning in all kinds of arenas like as photocatalytic, electrochemical, and biological. NiO-CGSO [NiO-Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-??Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-?] nanomaterial was produced by the wet-chemical route for numerous purposes. The development of (FCC) face-centered cubic structure confirmed and there was no derivative phase was observed by XRD. Metal-Oxygen bond was revealed by FTIR analysis. The morphology and elemental composition of the sample were carried out using SEM with EDAX. The optical bandgap of prepared nanocomposite was studied using UV?Vis spectroscopy. Electrochemical behaviour was observed at conditions, voltage (1.3 V), and the frequency (42 Hz?5 kHz). Photocatalytic and antibacterial behavior of prepared NiO-CGSO nanocomposites also investigated. It was found that this novel composite catalyst decomposed 92% of toxic pollutants from wastewater. Further, NiO-CGSO composites showed superior antibacterial performance against aeromonas hydrophila, E. coli, and S. epidermis bacterial pathogens.Scopu

Ankyloglossia, rare anomaly of tongue in adults: A case study

Tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, is poorly defined and involves a short, thick, fibrosed, or fixed lingual frenulum. Ankyloglossia has been reported to cause feeding difficulties, dysarthria, dyspnea, and social or mechanical problems. Ankyloglossia occurs in 1.7% of all neonates. As age advances, frenulum grows in length and normal function is established. Frenulectomy is recommended if it persists. We have also come across with the case of Tongue Tie in one of our patient. He is 19 years in age pursuing his graduation. He has got tongue tie which is persisting since birth.A. S. Ankur, B. Pradeep, N. Satyanarayana, K. Ruchi, K.Varun, K. Neha, P. Sunitha, N.Redd

Signatures of Supernova Neutrino Oscillations into Extra Dimensions

We consider the mixing of muon and tau neutrinos with sterile fermion fields propagating in extra dimensions in the context of core collapse supernova physics, extending the analysis of the electron neutrino case done in a previous work. We show that the potentially dramatic modifications to the supernova evolution are prevented by a mechanism of feedback, so that no severe bounds on the parameters of the extra dimensions need to be imposed. Nevertheless, the supernova core evolution is significantly modified. We discuss the consequences on the delayed explosion mechanism and the compatibility with the SN1987A signal. Then, for the cases of both nu_{mu,tau} and nu_e mixing with bulk fermions, we analyse the distinctive features of the signal on Earth.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; v2: minor changes, matches published versio

Scintillation Counters for the D0 Muon Upgrade

We present the results of an upgrade to the D0 muon system. Scintillating counters have been added to the existing central D0 muon system to provide rejection for cosmic ray muons and out-of-time background, and to provide additional fast timing information for muons in an upgraded Tevatron. Performance and results from the 1994-1996 Tevatron run are presented.Comment: 30 pages, 25 postscript figure