Mucinous adenocarcinoma of gall bladder: a case report

Gall bladder carcinoma is the fifth most common malignancy of gastrointestinal tract. Mucinous carcinoma of gall bladder is very rare variant of gall bladder carcinoma. Only 20 cases of mucinous carcinoma reported till now. We report one such case of 55yr old female patient presented to our hospital with complaining of pain in right hypochondriac region and vomiting since, one month. Radiological examination revealed neoplastic thickening of gall bladder neck with cholelithiasis. Cholecystectomy was performed and specimen showed glistening grey white infiltrative firm solid mass at the neck of gall bladder. On microscopic examination showed mucinous adenocarcinoma. Tumour comprised of cystically dilated mucin filled glands. Tumour was seen infiltrating into muscle layer

Spectrum of hemoglobinopathies by high performance liquid chromatography with special reference to role of HbA2 levels at tertiary care centre

Background: The inherited disorders of blood include hemoglobinopathies as one of the major public health problems in India. This study indicates type of hemoglobinopathies in a tertiary care hospital over period of 2 years and 3 months.Methods: total of 500 suspected cases of haemolytic anaemia were studied during the period of July 2013 to Oct 2015 based on Complete Blood Count, Red cell indices and Peripheral blood smear examination. Sickling test, test for Hb quantitation by using cation exchange HPLC was done in all cases.Results: Out of all 500 cases of anaemia, 313 cases (62.6%) were confirmed to nonhemolytic anaemia whereas 187 cases (37.4%) had shown abnormal haemoglobin pattern on electrophoresis. Out of these 187 cases, 87 (46.52%) were Males and 100 (53.48%) were females. Most common haemoglobinopathy observed was Sickle cell trait 94 (18.8%) followed by beta-Thalassaemia Trait 33 (17.64%), sickle cell-thalassemia trait 27 (14.43%), beta thalassemia major 18 (9.62%) and 1 case of HbE thalassemia trait. The onset of disease was most prominent in Neonatal to paediatric age group (0-10 years) followed by reproductive age group (21-30 years). Few cases in old age were detected.Conclusions: Study provides data on the spectrum & pattern of Hemoglobinopathies in a tertiary care centre and importance of HbA2 levels in diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies and cases falling in borderline HbA2 levels. Screening of all anaemic patients should be done for Hemoglobinopathies and proper Genetic counselling must be given to all cases to prevent incidence of cases in future generation

Comparative bioequivalence studies of tramadol hydrochloride sustained-release 200 mg tablets

Suhas S Khandave1, Satish V Sawant1, Santosh S Joshi1, Yatish K Bansal2, Sonal S Kadam21Accutest Research Laboratories (I) Private Limited, Koparkhirne, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; 2Ipca Laboratories Limited, Kandivli Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaBackground: Tramadol hydrochloride is available as 50 mg immediate-release (IR) and 100 mg, 200 mg, and 300 mg sustained-release (SR) tablets. The recommended dose of tramadol is 50–100 mg IR tablets every 4–6 hours. The tramadol SR 200 mg tablet is a better therapeutic option, with a reduced frequency of dosing, and improved patient compliance and quality of life. The present study evaluated the bioequivalence of a generic tramadol SR 200 mg tablet.Methods: A comparative in vitro dissolution study was performed on the test and reference products, followed by two separate single-dose bioequivalence studies under fasting and fed conditions and one multiple-dose bioequivalence study under fasting conditions. These bioequivalence studies were conducted in healthy human subjects using an open-label, randomized, two-treatment, two-period, two-sequence, crossover design. The oral administration of the test and reference products was done on day 1 for both the single-dose studies and on days 1–5 for the multiple-dose study in each study period as per the randomization code. Serial blood samples were collected at predefined time points in all the studies. Analysis of plasma concentrations of tramadol and O-desmethyltramadol (the M1 metabolite) was done by a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analytical method. The standard acceptance criterion of bioequivalence was applied on log-transformed pharmacokinetic parameters for tramadol and its M1 metabolite.Results: The ratios for geometric least-square means and 90% confidence intervals were within the acceptance range of 80%–125% for log-transformed primary pharmacokinetic parameters for tramadol and its M1 metabolite in all the three studies.Conclusion: The test product is bioequivalent to the reference product in terms of rate and extent of absorption, as evident from the single-dose and multiple-dose studies. Both the treatments were well tolerated.Keywords: tramadol, multiple-dose, steady state, bioequivalenc

Timing Offset Calibration of CZTI instrument aboard ASTROSAT

The radio as well as the high energy emission mechanism in pulsars is yet not understood properly. A multi-wavelength study is likely to help in better understanding of such processes. The first Indian space-based observatory, ASTROSAT, has five instruments aboard, which cover the electromagnetic spectrum from infra-red (1300 $\AA$) to hard X-ray (380 KeV). Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI), one of the five instruments is a hard X-ray telescope functional over an energy range of 20-380 KeV. We aim to estimate the timing offset introduced in the data acquisition pipeline of the instrument, which will help in time alignment of high energy time series with those from two other ground-based observatories, viz. the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT). PSR B0531+21 is a well-studied pulsar with nearly aligned radio and hard X-ray pulse profiles. We use simultaneous observations of this pulsar with the ASTROSAT, the ORT and the GMRT. The pulsar was especially observed using the ORT with almost daily cadence to obtain good timing solutions. We also supplement the ORT data with archival FERMI data for estimation of timing noise. The timing offset of ASTROSAT instruments was estimated from fits to arrival time data at the ASTROSAT and the radio observatories. We estimate the offset between the GMRT and the ASTROSAT-CZTI to be -4716 $\pm$ 50 $\mu s$. The corresponding offset with the ORT was -29639 $\pm$ 50 $\mu s$. The offsets between the GMRT and Fermi-LAT -5368 $\pm$ 56 $\mu s$. (Abridged)Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, Revised and Updated, accepted for publication in A&

Discovery of unusual pulsations in the cool, evolved Am stars HD 98851 and HD 102480

The chemically peculiar (CP) stars HD 98851 and HD 102480 have been discovered to be unusual pulsators during the ``Naini Tal Cape Survey'' programme to search for pulsational variability in CP stars. Time series photometric and spectroscopic observations of these newly discovered stars are reported here. Fourier analyses of the time series photometry reveal that HD 98851 is pulsating mainly with frequencies 0.208 mHz and 0.103 mHz, and HD 102480 is pulsating with frequencies 0.107 mHz, 0.156 mHz and 0.198 mHz. The frequency identifications are all subject to 1 d$^{-1}$ cycle count ambiguities. We have matched the observed low resolution spectra of HD 98851 and HD 102480 in the range 3500-7400 \AA with theoretical synthetic spectra using Kurucz models with solar metallicity and a micro-turbulent velocity 2 km s$^{-1}$. These yield $T_{eff}=7000\pm250$ K, log $g=3.5 \pm 0.5$ for HD 98851 and $T_{eff} = 6750 \pm 250$ K, log $g = 3.0 \pm 0.5$ for HD 102480. We determined the equivalent H-line spectral class of these stars to be F1 IV and F3 III/IV, respectively. A comparison of the location of HD 98851 and HD 102480 in the HR diagram with theoretical stellar evolutionary tracks indicates that both stars are about 1-Gyr-old, 2-$M_{\odot}$ stars that lie towards the red edge of the $\delta$ Sct instability strip. We conclude that HD 98851 and HD 102480 are cool, evolved Am pulsators. The light curves of these pulsating stars have alternating high and low amplitudes, nearly harmonic (or sub-harmonic) period ratios, high pulsational overtones and Am spectral types. This is unusual for both Am and $\delta$ Sct pulsators, making these stars interesting objects.Comment: 9 pages, 6 Figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Microstructure and tribological response of selective laser melted AISI 316L stainless steel : the role of severe surface deformation

This study investigates the effect of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) (a severe surface-deformation process) on microstructure and tribological behavior of AISI 316L steel samples manufactured using the selective laser melting (SLM) technique. The specimens are built in different directions (0°, 45°, and 90°). The microstructure of annealed SLM samples shows the non-uniform distribution and random orientation of grains. It contains high-angle grain boundaries and a high density of dislocations. The average grain size is about 63, 51, and 41 μm for 0°, 45°, and 90° build direction, respectively. SMAT is beneficial for SLM steel to reduce surface roughness (by ~ 87%) and eliminate internal porosity. The deformed layer of SLM steel shows a highly dense network of slip bands, distortion of grains, and hardness gradient (up to the depth of about 600 μm). Increase in surface hardness due to SMAT is maximum (~ 54%) for the sample having 90° build direction. Typical observation of deformation-induced martensite is absent for the SMAT-processed SLM steel. Under the higher load (especially, 20 N), the tribological response of sample manufactured in the 90° direction is superior amongst the non-treated samples. Severe surface deformation enhances the wear resistance and reduces the COF of SLM steel