HIV Patient with Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid: A Case Report

Background: Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid, a new denomination of cicatricial pemphigoid, encompasses a group of chronic subepithelial autoimmune blistering diseases that predominantly affect the oral cavity and the eyes (conjunctivitis and symblepharon).Case Details: A rare case of Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid (MMP) in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patient is discussed with clinicohistopathological presentation.Conclusion: Since our patient was HIV-positive and had lesions restricted to the oral mucosa with ocular involvement, only topical and intralesional steroids were preferred as the first line of treatment. Systemic corticosteroid therapy raises a concern regarding immunosuppression.Keywords: HIV, MMP, Cicatricial pemphigoid

Utility of adzuki bean [Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & Ohashi] simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in genetic analysis of mungbean and related Vigna spp.

In the present study, 78 mapped simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers representing 11 linkage groups of adzuki bean were evaluated for transferability to  mungbean and related Vigna spp. 41 markers amplified characteristic bands in at least one Vigna species. The transferability percentage across the genotypes ranged from 60.97 to 92.6% with 87.8% in Vigna radiata and Vigna mungo, 62.2% in Vigna unguiculata, 91.8% in Vigna umbellata, 78% in Vigna mungo var. sylvestris and 80% in Vigna trilobata, respectively. Five major clusters were observed using unweighted pair group method with an arithmetic mean (UPGMA) with each cluster representing a particular Vigna species. We have successfully utilized adzuki bean SSRs in amplifying microsatellite sequences in Vigna species and inferring phylogenetic relationships by correlating the rate of transfer among them. The polymorphic SSR markers identified in this study would be useful in the analysis of genetic diversity, gene mapping and other aspects of genetic studies in mungbean and related species.Key words: Adzuki bean, simple sequence repeat (SSR), inter-genomic marker transferability, genetic diversity, mungbean, Vigna spp

Economic and Environmental Potentials of Conservation Agriculture in the Traditional Maize Farming Systems of India

Maize ranks among the most prominent crops of rainfed farming systems in India, grown under traditional farming practices. The major constraints in these farming systems include soil degradation, active erosion in sloping areas, poor-quality seeds, expensive and unreliable fertilizer supplies, labour shortages, competing uses for crop residues and animal manures, poor quality feeds and lack of efficient value chains. The overall goal of the paper is, hence, set to review the trends in rainfed maize production and report the potentials of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in sustaining the economy and ecology of maize farming system of rainfed areas of India

Economic and Environmental Potentials of Conservation Agriculture in the Traditional Maize Farming Systems of India

Maize ranks among the most prominent crops of rainfed farming systems in India, grown under traditional farming practices. The major constraints in these farming systems include soil degradation, active erosion in sloping areas, poor-quality seeds, expensive and unreliable fertilizer supplies, labour shortages, competing uses for crop residues and animal manures, poor quality feeds and lack of efficient value chains. The overall goal of the paper is, hence, set to review the trends in rainfed maize production and report the potentials of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in sustaining the economy and ecology of maize farming system of rainfed areas of India

The Shapes of Cooperatively Rearranging Regions in Glass Forming Liquids

The shapes of cooperatively rearranging regions in glassy liquids change from being compact at low temperatures to fractal or ``stringy'' as the dynamical crossover temperature from activated to collisional transport is approached from below. We present a quantitative microscopic treatment of this change of morphology within the framework of the random first order transition theory of glasses. We predict a correlation of the ratio of the dynamical crossover temperature to the laboratory glass transition temperature, and the heat capacity discontinuity at the glass transition, Delta C_p. The predicted correlation agrees with experimental results for the 21 materials compiled by Novikov and Sokolov.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Health services research in the public healthcare system in Hong Kong: An analysis of over 1 million antihypertensive prescriptions between 2004-2007 as an example of the potential and pitfalls of using routinely collected electronic patient data

<b>Objectives</b> Increasing use is being made of routinely collected electronic patient data in health services research. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential usefulness of a comprehensive database used routinely in the public healthcare system in Hong Kong, using antihypertensive drug prescriptions in primary care as an example.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Data on antihypertensive drug prescriptions were retrieved from the electronic Clinical Management System (e-CMS) of all primary care clinics run by the Health Authority (HA) in the New Territory East (NTE) cluster of Hong Kong between January 2004 and June 2007. Information was also retrieved on patients’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, visit type (new or follow-up), and relevant diseases (International Classification of Primary Care, ICPC codes). <p></p> <b>Results</b> 1,096,282 visit episodes were accessed, representing 93,450 patients. Patients’ demographic and socio-economic details were recorded in all cases. Prescription details for anti-hypertensive drugs were missing in only 18 patients (0.02%). However, ICPC-code was missing for 36,409 patients (39%). Significant independent predictors of whether disease codes were applied included patient age > 70 years (OR 2.18), female gender (OR 1.20), district of residence (range of ORs in more rural districts; 0.32-0.41), type of clinic (OR in Family Medicine Specialist Clinics; 1.45) and type of visit (OR follow-up visit; 2.39). <p></p> In the 57,041 patients with an ICPC-code, uncomplicated hypertension (ICPC K86) was recorded in 45,859 patients (82.1%). The characteristics of these patients were very similar to those of the non-coded group, suggesting that most non-coded patients on antihypertensive drugs are likely to have uncomplicated hypertension. <p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> The e-CMS database of the HA in Hong Kong varies in quality in terms of recorded information. Potential future health services research using demographic and prescription information is highly feasible but for disease-specific research dependant on ICPC codes some caution is warranted. In the case of uncomplicated hypertension, future research on pharmaco-epidemiology (such as prescription patterns) and clinical issues (such as side-effects of medications on metabolic parameters) seems feasible given the large size of the data set and the comparability of coded and non-coded patients

Glycotope structures and intramolecular affinity factors of plant lectins for Tn/T antigens

B

Health Workers' Performance in the Implementation of Patient Centred Tuberculosis Treatment (PCT) Strategy Under Programmatic Conditions in Tanzania: A Cross Sectional Study.

Patient Centred Tuberculosis Treatment (PCT) is a promising treatment delivery strategy for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). It aims to improve adherence to treatment by giving patients the choice of having drug intake supervised at the health facility by a medical professional or at home by a supporter of their choice. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in three districts of Tanzania during October 2007, one year after PCT was rolled out nationally. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to assess whether key elements of the PCT approach were being implemented, to evaluate supporters' knowledge, to capture opinions on factors contributing to treatment completion, and to assess how treatment completion was measured. Transcripts from open-ended responses were analysed using framework analysis. Interviews were conducted with 127 TB patients, 107 treatment supporters and 70 health workers. In total, 25.2% of TB patients were not given a choice about the place of treatment by health workers, and only 13.7% of those given a choice reported that they were given adequate time to make their decision. Only 24.3% of treatment supporters confirmed that they were instructed how to complete patients' treatment cards. Proper health education was the factor most frequently reported by health workers as favouring successful completion of TB treatment (45.7%). The majority of health workers (68.6%) said they checked returned blister packs to verify whether patients had taken their treatment, but only 20.0% checked patients' treatment cards. The provision of choice of treatment location, information on treatment, and guidance for treatment supporters need to be improved. There is a requirement for regular re-training of health workers with effective supportive supervision if successful implementation of the PCT approach is to be sustained

Synthesis and in vitro drug release studies on substituted polyphosphazene conjugates of lumefantrine.

The present study pertains to the delivery of antimalarial drug (Lumifantrine). In this, polyphosphazene has been used in the synthesis of polyphosphazene-linked conjugates of Lumifantrine. These polymer-linked Conjugates have been synthesized and characterized by modern analytical techniques. The in-vitro drug release of Lumifantrine drug conjugates: p-Amino benzoic acid ester substituted polyphosphazene drug conjugate (15) and Glycine methyl ester substituted polyphosphazene drug conjugate (21) have been found to be 6.00 % and 5.96% (pH 1.2), 88.52% and 79.86% (pH 7.4), respectively. These drug conjugate may prove an effective delivery system for the treatment of malaria