Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome: Answering Questions Raised by a Case Report Published in 1962

In 1962, J.J. Collins from the United States Naval Medical Research Laboratory published an unusual case of air embolism precipitated by decompression in The New England Journal of Medicine [1962;266:595-598]. The case was unusual because it was the first where multiple pulmonary cysts were discovered after a successful recompression treatment. Although various hypotheses were put forward by the author, it was thought that the diver might have had ‘subclinical cysts’ already present because of some disease phenomenon, which then became overinflated during decompression. Nearly 50 years have passed since these questions were raised. Interestingly, now the disease process is trying to unveil itself through various other clues. We present the case of the same diver who later developed a series of other medical problems, along with more than 5 admissions for spontaneous pneumothoraces, all falling into the constellation represented by the Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome. Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome is an autosomal dominant condition clinically characterized by skin fibrofolliculomas, pulmonary cysts, spontaneous pneumothorax, and renal cancer. It was first described in 1977 by Birt, Hogg and Dubé in a family with ‘hereditary multiple fibrofolliculomas with trichodiscomas and acrochordons’. Spontaneous pneumothorax can be the first manifestation of this hereditary condition, and prevention in patients diagnosed with the syndrome is aimed at early diagnosis and treatment of the renal cell carcinoma. Physicians need to have a high index of suspicion when they see patients with the constellation of findings of this underdiagnosed syndrome, especially in patients with unexplained spontaneous pneumothoraces

VANT-GAN: adversarial learning for discrepancy-based visual attribution in medical imaging

Visual attribution (VA) in relation to medical images is an essential aspect of modern automation-assisted diagnosis. Since it is generally not straightforward to obtain pixel-level ground-truth labelling of medical images, classification-based interpretation approaches have become the de facto standard for automated diagnosis, in which the ability of classifiers to make categorical predictions based on class-salient regions is harnessed within the learning algorithm. Such regions, however, typically constitute only a small subset of the full range of features of potential medical interest. They may hence not be useful for VA of medical images where capturing all of the disease evidence is a critical requirement. This hence motivates the proposal of a novel strategy for visual attribution that is not reliant on image classification. We instead obtain normal counterparts of abnormal images and find discrepancy maps between the two. To perform the abnormal-to-normal mapping in unsupervised way, we employ a Cycle-Consistency Generative Adversarial Network, thereby formulating visual attribution in terms of a discrepancy map that, when subtracted from the abnormal image, makes it indistinguishable from the counterpart normal image. Experiments are performed on three datasets including a synthetic, Alzheimer’s disease Neuro imaging Initiative and, BraTS dataset. We outperform baseline and related methods in both experiments

Pharmacokinetic Study of Nifedipine in Healthy Adult Male Human Volunteers

Purpose: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of nifedipine in healthy adult Pakistani subjects. Methods: Each of six fasting volunteers received 20 mg nifedipine (2 x Adalat® 10 mg capsules) orally once and then another one week later. Their blood samples were obtained at regular time intervals and analysed by HPLC. Using the non-compartmental approach, plasma levels of nifedipine were employed to compute their individual disposition kinetics, including Cmax (maximum plasma concentration), Tmax(time to reach maximum plasma concentration), MRT (mean residence time), AUC0-∞ (area under curve), AUMC0-∞ (area under first moment curve) and Ka (absorption rate constant). Results: The suggested therapeutic level of nifedipine for the treatment of hypertension (15-35 ng.mL-1) was achieved in all six volunteers within 0.25 h after dose administration, and maintained for more than 6 h. Tmax was 1.58 h and Cmax varied from 140 – 300 ng.mL-1. Mean absorption rate constant was 2.22 h-1 while mean absorption half-life was 0.43 h. The mean elimination rate constant was 0.16 h-1 while 5.7 h was recorded for terminal half-life. AUC0-¥, AUMC0-¥ and MRT were 1879.86 ng.h.mL-1, 8244.04ng.h2.mL-1 and 4.2 h, respectively. Conclusion: This study confirms the rapid absorption of nifedipine in humans. AUC was similar to thatpreviously reported for Nigerians but slightly lower than that stated in the literature for other south Asian races. Further studies on large segments of the local population using the non-compartmental model forkinetic analysis is recommended

STUDY OF SALT TOLERANCE PARAMETERS IN PEARL MILLET PENNISETUM AMERICANUM L.

The genetic basis of salinity tolerance for three parameters Ct, C50 and C0 in P. americanum using the diallel analysis was investigated. Tolerance for Ct, C50, and C0 was due to both additive and dominance genetic effects with indication of over-dominance. For these three parameters, dominance is predominantly towards salt sensitivity, but it appears that in different accessions, there are different gene effects for each character. Recessive genes are evident in the salt tolerant line ICMV-94474 for Ct and C50, and in the other tolerant line 10878 are also evident for C50 and C0 for recessive genes. Salinity data set were found to be adequate totally for C50 and C0, but partially adequate for Ct. It appears in pearl millet that in some accessions recessive genes are responsible for salt tolerance for Ct, C50, and C0, but this trend is not consistent. Different (dominant / recessive) genes control each accession for Ct, C50, and C0. The maximum narrow sense and broad sense of heritability were found for C50 and this suggests that C50 is the best character for selection, rather than absolute root length. C50 is highly correlated with Ct, and C50 is also signifi cantly correlated with C0. These results suggest that the genetic bases of these genes are linked to some degree. These correlations would be of considerable value in breeding for improved salinity tolerance

Effect of compost addition on arsenic uptake, morphological and physiological attributes of maize plants grown in contrasting soils

Contamination of soils with arsenic (As) represents a global environmental and health issue considering the entrance of toxic As in the human food chain. Although partially understood, addition of compost for the remediation of As-contaminated soils may result in distinct effects on plant growth and physiological attributes depending on compost-mediated potential mobility/sequestration of As in soils. This study explores the role of compost addition (C; 0, 1 and 2.5%) on morphological and gas exchange attributes and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll contents) of maize plants under As stress (0, 40, 80, 120 mg kg− 1), as well as soil As immobilization/mobilization in a pot experiment, using two contrasting soils. Results revealed that, in Narwala (sandy loam) soil, the addition of compost decreased shoot As concentration of maize plants (p < 0.05; 4.01–13.7 mg kg− 1 dry weight (DW)), notably at C2.5 treatment, with significant improvement in shoot dry biomass, gas exchange attributes and chlorophyll (a and b) contents, i.e., 1.33–1.82, 1.20–2.65 and 1.34–1.66 times higher, respectively, over C0 at all As levels. Contrastingly, in Shahkot (clay loam) soil, C2.5 treatment increased shoot As concentration (p < 0.05; 7.02–17.3 mg kg− 1 DW), and as such reduced the shoot dry biomass, gas exchange attributes and chlorophyll contents, compared to the control – rather C1 treatment was more effective and exhibited positive effect than C2.5. Considerably, at C2.5 treatment, phosphate extractable (bioavailable) soil As concentration was also found to be greater in the (post-experiment) Shahkot soil than that of Narwala soil (0.40–3.82 vs. 0.19–1.51 mg kg− 1, respectively). This study advanced our understanding to resolve the complex compost-As interactions in As-contaminated soils, which are imperative to understand for developing the effective and soil-specific remediation strategies

Determination of the anti-diabetic effect of methanolic extract of Sphaeranthus indicus L. on alloxan induced diabetic rabbits

The aim of present study was to determine the anti-diabetic effect of methanolic extract of Sphaeranthus indicus L. (SMe) in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. It was further aimed to determine the effect of SMe on various biochemical parameters, namely blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, lipoproteins (HDL and LDL), liver functions (SGOT and SGPT), serum creatinine and urea level in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. Rabbits were divided into five groups: one non-diabetic control, treated with vehicle and four experimental (diabetic) groups. The experimental groups can be described as diabetic negative control, treated with vehicle, diabetic positive control, treated with 80 mg/kg of diamicron, a reference drug; and diabetic treated with 150 or 300 mg/kg of SMe. Pre- and post-experimental lipid profile, liver function and kidney function of rabbits was determined. The SMe at the dose of 300 mg/Kg body weight significantly (p 0.05).Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Determination of the anti-diabetic effect of methanolic extract of Sphaeranthus indicus L. on alloxan induced diabetic rabbits

The aim of present study was to determine the anti-diabetic effect of methanolic extract of Sphaeranthus indicus L. (SMe) in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. It was further aimed to determine the effect of SMe on various biochemical parameters, namely blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, lipoproteins (HDL and LDL), liver functions (SGOT and SGPT), serum creatinine and urea level in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. Rabbits were divided into five groups: one non-diabetic control, treated with vehicle and four experimental (diabetic) groups. The experimental groups can be described as diabetic negative control, treated with vehicle, diabetic positive control, treated with 80 mg/kg of diamicron, a reference drug; and diabetic treated with 150 or 300 mg/kg of SMe. Pre- and post-experimental lipid profile, liver function and kidney function of rabbits was determined. The SMe at the dose of 300 mg/Kg body weight significantly (p 0.05).Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Bis(methacrylato-κO)bis­(2,4,6-trimethyl­pyridine-κN)copper(II)

In the monomeric title complex, [Cu(C4H5O2)2(C8H11N)2], the CuII atom lies on a centre of inversion. Its coordination by two substituted pyridine ligands and two carboxyl­ate anions leads to a slightly distorted trans-CuN2O2 square-planar geometry. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the pyridine (py) ring and the carboxyl­ate group is 74.71 (7)°. The dihedral angles between the planar CuN2O2 core and the py ring and carboxyl­ate plane are 67.72 (5) and 89.95 (5)°, respectively. Based on the refined C=C and C—C bond lengths, the terminal =CH2 and –CH3 groups of the carboxyl­ate anion may be disordered, but the disorder could not be resolved in the present experiment. Several intra­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions occur. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating chains propagating in [100]

Effective Chemical Constituent’s Identification Of Extracting Solution From Herbs – A Review

Background and Objective: The aim of this article, was the definition, and targets of possible mechanisms of Yin lai Decoction by retrieving the herbals in the decoction and integrating information from multi-databases, which can be guidance for the followed experimental study.Matherials and Methods: The information from multi-databases was integrated. Results: In the study, we discovered 92 possible gene targets of Yin lai Decoction, 87% of which appeared in the targets of Flos Lonicerae, Fructus Forsythiae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. The function of these targets focuses on the anti-infection and regulating immune system, and metabolism of the body.Conclusion: Yin lai Decoction may affect the process of metabolism, immune response and infection by impact on the 92 possible gene targets, then it can mitigate the damage caused by infection and promote the body to health. But the definite mechanisms must be explored by furtherexperimental study.Keywords: Yin lai Decoction, Metabolism, Immune response, Infection, Gene targets

Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characterization at Bottlenecks

Traffic congestion is a significant issue in urban areas. Realistic traffic flow models are crucial for understanding and mitigating congestion. Congestion occurs at bottlenecks where large changes in density occur. In this paper, a traffic flow model is proposed which characterizes traffic at the egress and ingress to bottlenecks. This model is based on driver response which includes driver reaction and traffic stimuli. Driver reaction is based on time headway and driver behavior which can be classified as sluggish, typical or aggressive. Traffic stimuli are affected by the transition width and changes in the equilibrium velocity distribution. The explicit upwind difference scheme is used to evaluate the Lighthill, Whitham, and Richards (LWR) and proposed models with a continuous injection of traffic into the system. A stability analysis of these models is given and both are evaluated over a road of length 10 km which has a bottleneck. The results obtained show that the behavior with the proposed model is more realistic than with the LWR model. This is because the LWR model cannot adequately characterize driver behavior during changes in traffic flow