Postage stamp multiple anterior capsulorhexisotomies in pediatric cataract surgery

BACKGROUND: Capsule related complications are common following pediatric cataract surgery. We report a new technique of multiple anterior capsulorhexisotomies after lens aspiration and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. METHODS: After performing automated lens aspiration, an IOL was implanted into the capsular bag. A bent 26 gauge needle was introduced through one side port and multiple small cuts were made in one half of the circumference of the anterior capsular rim by making a radial movement of the needle tip centripetally over the margin of the anterior capsular rim. The needle was again introduced through the other side port and multiple similar cuts were made in the other half thereby creating nearly 20 – 30 cuts at the margin of the anterior capsular rim. RESULTS: The mean size of the primary capsulorhexis was 4.33 ± 0.20 mm. A uniform enlargement of the capsulorhexis could be performed in all the eyes without peripheral extension in any of the eyes. There was no damage to the posterior capsule and no scratch mark on the IOL. In one eye, the primary capsulorhexis was slightly eccentric, though it was covering the IOL optic all around. The rhexisotomies in this eye were limited to the capsular rim that was overlapping more on the IOL optic (sectoral anterior capsulorhexisotomies). CONCLUSION: The technique of postage stamp anterior capsulorhexisotomies is a feasible technique in pediatric cataracts

Duplication cyst of pyloroduodenal canal: a rare cause of neonatal gastric outlet obstruction: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

The three 'W' of the World Wide Web call for the three 'M' of a Massively Multidisciplinary Methodology

International audienceThis position paper defends the idea that the development of the Web to its full potential requires addressing the challenge of massive multidisciplinarity. It was triggered by the topic of a joint panel at the conferences CLOSER and WEBIST 2014.The topic of the panel was: " social, political and economic implications of the cloud and the Web ". I focused on the Web and the position that I defended during the panel, and that I report here, is that, while implications of the Web can be identified in social, political and economic domains, the global challenge raised by the Web is the need for massive multidisciplinarity to lead it to its full potential that goes beyond any individual prediction. This article starts with three sections respectively confirming the social, political and economic impacts of the Web. The fourth section shows that in fact many other domains are impacted and the fifth section proposes that this spreading is in fact due to several existential characteristic of the Web. The sixth section concludes insisting on the importance of preserving this open nature of the Web, of assisting it and of addressing the challenge of a massive multidisciplinary approach for developing the Web

Rapid Diagnostic Algorithms as a Screening Tool for Tuberculosis: An Assessor Blinded Cross-Sectional Study

Background: A major obstacle to effectively treat and control tuberculosis is the absence of an accurate, rapid, and low-cost diagnostic tool. A new approach for the screening of patients for tuberculosis is the use of rapid diagnostic classification algorithms. Methods: We tested a previously published diagnostic algorithm based on four biomarkers as a screening tool for tuberculosis in a Central European patient population using an assessor-blinded cross-sectional study design. In addition, we developed an improved diagnostic classification algorithm based on a study population at a tertiary hospital in Vienna, Austria, by supervised computational statistics. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of the previously published diagnostic algorithm for our patient population consisting of 206 patients was 54% (CI: 47%–61%). An improved model was constructed using inflammation parameters and clinical information. A diagnostic accuracy of 86% (CI: 80%–90%) was demonstrated by 10-fold cross validation. An alternative model relying solely on clinical parameters exhibited a diagnostic accuracy of 85% (CI: 79%–89%). Conclusion: Here we show that a rapid diagnostic algorithm based on clinical parameters is only slightly improved by inclusion of inflammation markers in our cohort. Our results also emphasize the need for validation of new diagnostic algorithms in different settings and patient populations

Discrimination in the University in India

Despite changes to the status of women in India, the strong patriarchal traditions continue to shape the way that women take their place in Indian society. There are more opportunities for women in India today, inclusive of political, financial and working opportunities, but it is difficult not to notice that India is still a male dominated society

Aurora kinase A drives the evolution of resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer.

Although targeted therapies often elicit profound initial patient responses, these effects are transient due to residual disease leading to acquired resistance. How tumors transition between drug responsiveness, tolerance and resistance, especially in the absence of preexisting subclones, remains unclear. In epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant lung adenocarcinoma cells, we demonstrate that residual disease and acquired resistance in response to EGFR inhibitors requires Aurora kinase A (AURKA) activity. Nongenetic resistance through the activation of AURKA by its coactivator TPX2 emerges in response to chronic EGFR inhibition where it mitigates drug-induced apoptosis. Aurora kinase inhibitors suppress this adaptive survival program, increasing the magnitude and duration of EGFR inhibitor response in preclinical models. Treatment-induced activation of AURKA is associated with resistance to EGFR inhibitors in vitro, in vivo and in most individuals with EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma. These findings delineate a molecular path whereby drug resistance emerges from drug-tolerant cells and unveils a synthetic lethal strategy for enhancing responses to EGFR inhibitors by suppressing AURKA-driven residual disease and acquired resistance

Mouse Gestation Length Is Genetically Determined

Background: Preterm birth is an enormous public health problem, affecting over 12 % of live births and costing over $26 billion in the United States alone. The causes are complex, but twin studies support the role of genetics in determining gestation length. Despite widespread use of the mouse in studies of the genetics of preterm birth, there have been few studies that actually address the precise natural gestation length of the mouse, and to what degree the timing of labor and birth is genetically determined. Methodology/Principal Findings: To further develop the mouse as a genetic model of preterm birth, we developed a highthroughput monitoring system and measured the gestation length in 15 inbred strains. Our results show an unexpectedly wide variation in overall gestation length between strains that approaches two full days, while intra-strain variation is quite low. Although litter size shows a strong inverse correlation with gestation length, genetic difference alone accounts for a significant portion of the variation. In addition, ovarian transplant experiments support a primary role of maternal genetics in the determination of gestation length. Preliminary analysis of gestation length in the C57BL/6J-Chr # A/J /NaJ chromosome substitution strain (B.A CSS) panel suggests complex genetic control of gestation length. Conclusions/Significance: Together, these data support the role of genetics in regulating gestation length and present th

Tamoxifen may prevent both ER+ and ER- breast cancers and select for ER- carcinogenesis: an alternative hypothesis

INTRODUCTION: Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT) and Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene (MORE) data have been interpreted to indicate that tamoxifen reduces the risk of ER+ but not ER- breast carcinogenesis. We explored whether these data also support an alternative hypothesis, that tamoxifen influences the natural history of both ER+ and ER- cancers, that it may be equally effective in abrogating or delaying ER- and ER+ carcinogenesis, and place selection pressure, in some cases, for the outgrowth of ER- cancers. METHODS: BCPT and MORE data were used to investigate whether: first, tamoxifen could reduce equally the emergence of ER- and ER+ tumors; and second, tamoxifen could select a fraction of emerging ER+ cancers and promote their transformation to ER- cancers. Assuming that some proportion, Z, of ER+ tumors becomes ER- after tamoxifen exposure and that the risk reduction for both ER- and ER+ tumors is equal, we solved for both the transformation rate and the risk reduction rate. RESULTS: If tamoxifen equally reduces the incidence of ER+ and ER- tumors by 60%, the BCPT results are achieved with a transformation of approximately Z = 20% of ER+ to ER- tumors. Validation with MORE data using an equal risk reduction of 60% associated with tamoxifen produces an almost identical transformation rate Z of 23%. CONCLUSION: Data support an alternative hypothesis that tamoxifen may promote ER- carcinogenesis from a precursor lesion that would otherwise have developed as ER+ without tamoxifen selection