How useful is HPV-DNA test for screening of cervical cancer: a prospective study

Background: The aim of present study was to evaluate the utility of HPV-DNA testing in cervical cancer screening.Methods: The study included 110 women presenting to the Gynaecological OPD of SMI Hospital who were subjected to HPV DNA test and one or more of other tests like cytology, colposcopy and histopathological examination. The results were evaluated by standard statistical methods.Results: Out of 110 patients in whom HPV-DNA testing was done, 24 had positive result, 83 had negative result and 3 had borderline test result. Sensitivity & Specificity of HPV-DNA testing was calculated to be 90% and 84.61% respectively. Its positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 69.23% and 95.66%. The percentage of false negative was calculated to be 10% and that of false positive was 15.38%.Conclusions: In our study, the sensitivity and negative predictive value of HPV-DNA testing was found to be more as compared to its specificity and positive predictive value. Widespread HPV testing for primary cervical cancer screening is not recommended as it will increase the volume of HPV testing and will not be cost- effective. It may be used for secondary screening in patients with abnormal or (ASC) cytology results as this will help in their subsequent management

Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability

Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Reversed phase chromatographic separation of vanadium (IV) using organophosphines

1300-1302Reversed phase chromatographic behaviour of V(IV), W(VI), Cr(III), Mn(II) and Pb(II) on silica gel column impregnated with Cyanex 272 and Cyanex 301 is presented. Optimum conditions for the separation of V(IV) from some of the closely associated metal ions like W(VI), Cr(III), Mn(II) and Pb(II) have been achieved. A procedure has been developed for the recovery of vanadium from a standard steel sample.</span

“Smouldering conditions of the shoulder” Lest we forget!

The shoulder joint may be involved in seronegative spondyloarthropathy, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate disease and degenerative joint disease. Adhesive capsulitis, calcific tendonitis and rotator cuff degeneration are other diseases that can involve the shoulder. The shoulder joint area may be involved as a consequence of extra-articular disease, and massive shoulder swelling may rarely result. Herein, five uncommon diseases presenting with predominant large shoulder swelling are described. The typical clinical and radiological findings with diagnostic features are highlighted

Quantum chemical study on influence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the geometry, the atomic charges and the vibrational dynamics of 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile

FT-IR (4000-400 cm(-1)) and FT-Raman (4000-200 cm(-1)) spectral measurements on solid 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (2,6-DCBN) have been done. The molecular geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies and bonding features in the ground state have been calculated by density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) level. A comparison between the calculated and the experimental results covering the molecular structure has been made. The assignments of the fundamental vibrational modes have been done on the basis of the potential energy distribution (PED). To investigate the influence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the geometry, the charge distribution and the vibrational spectrum of 2,6-DCBN; calculations have been done for the monomer as well as the tetramer. The intermolecular interaction energies corrected for basis set superposition error (BSSE) have been calculated using counterpoise method. Based on these results, the correlations between the vibrational modes and the structure of the tetramer have been discussed. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) contour map has been plotted in order to predict how different geometries could interact. The Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis has been done for the chemical interpretation of hyperconjugative interactions and electron density transfer between occupied (bonding or lone pair) orbitals to unoccupied (antibonding or Rydberg) orbitals. UV spectrum was measured in methanol solution. The energies and oscillator strengths were calculated by Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) and matched to the experimental findings. TD-DFT method has also been used for theoretically studying the hydrogen bonding dynamics by monitoring the spectral shifts of some characteristic vibrational modes involved in the formation of hydrogen bonds in the ground and the first excited state. The C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of the molecule were calculated by the Gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method and compared with experimental results. Standard thermodynamic functions have been obtained and changes in thermodynamic properties on going from monomer to tetramer have been presented. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The prevalence of and risk factors for radiographic vertebral fractures in older Indian women and men: Delhi Vertebral Osteoporosis Study (DeVOS)

Summary: High prevalence of vertebral fractures (17.9% over all; 18.8% male and 17.1% female) was observed in 808 free-living residents of Delhi, India, aged more than 50 years. The prevalence rates were comparable to that reported in Caucasian populations. While there was an increase in fracture prevalence with age in females, the same was not observed in males. Introduction: The aim of this paper is to study the prevalence of and risk factors for morphometric vertebral fractures in elderly Indian men and women over 50 years of age. Methods: We recruited 808 healthy subjects aged 50 years or more, residing in three residential colonies in Delhi, India who voluntarily agreed to participate in this study. All subjects underwent lateral X-rays of the lumbar and thoracic spine according to a standardized protocol. All X-rays were blindly evaluated by a single trained person using an advanced semi-automated software (Optasia Medical) based on Genant’s semiquantitative method. Recruited subjects underwent anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal evaluation. Results: With a mean age of 64.9 (&#177;6.7) years, 345 males and 415 females were evaluated. Vertebral fractures were present in 17.9% (95% CI 15.2, 20.6) subjects [males, 18.8% (95% CI 14.6, 23), females 17.1% (95% CI 13.5, 20.8)]. Prevalence of vertebral fractures increased with age in females from 14.7% in 50–59 years age group to 22.4% in those &#8805;70 years, but not in men. Overweight subjects had significantly lower risk [OR, 0.63 (95% CI 0.41, 0.97), p = 0.035] of vertebral fractures. Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels, intake of calcium and vitamin D or history of previous fractures were not statistically different between patients with or without prevalent vertebral fractures. Conclusions: The prevalence of vertebral fractures among older Indians was comparable to that reported in Caucasian populations. Prevalence of vertebral fractures increased with age in females, but not in males. Overweight individuals were protected against vertebral fractures

Relationship between BMD and prevalent vertebral fractures in Indian women older than 50 yr

The purpose of the study was to study the relationship of morphometric vertebral fractures with Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in Indian women older than 50 yr. Four hundred fifteen healthy Indian women older than 50 yr (mean age: 62.8 yr) underwent lateral X-rays of the lumbar and thoracic spine. Genant's semiquantitative method was used to diagnose and classify morphometric vertebral fractures. BMD was measured by DXA at lumbar spine and total hip. Recruited subjects underwent anthropometric, biochemical, and hormonal evaluation. Vertebral fractures were present in 17.1% (95% confidence interval: 13.5, 20.8) subjects. Prevalence of osteoporosis based on BMD was 35.7%. By adding those with prevalent fractures, the number of women requiring therapy for osteoporosis would increase to 46.5%. The BMD measured at femur neck, total hip and lumbar spine (L1eL4) was not found to be lower in women with vertebral fractures as compared with those without fractures. BMD was not found to be lower in women with vertebral fractures as compared with those without fractures. Significant number of additional subjects with BMD in the normal or osteopenic range become eligible for osteoporosis treatment when presence of vertebral fracture is used as an independent indication for such treatment

The use of adaptive intensity-modulated radiotherapy in the treatment of small-cell carcinoma lung refractory to chemotherapy in a patient with preexisting interstitial lung disease

This is a case report of a 60-year-old diabetic, hypertensive male with a good performance status and a history of bilateral interstitial lung disease with a left upper lobe lung mass diagnosed to be a Stage IIB mixed small-cell/squamous cell carcinoma which was refractory to carboplatin- and etoposide-based chemotherapy. The patient was then taken up for adaptive intensity-modulated radiotherapy with tighter margin under image guidance with a mid-treatment replanning done at 25#. Acute toxicities were assessed weekly and showed no Grade 3 or more reactions. Pulmonary function test showed no detrimental changes during or after radiation. Response assessment at 12 and 20 weeks showed a partial response with decrease in metabolic activity on serial scans

Molecular structure, spectroscopic (FT-IR, FT Raman, UV, NMR and THz) investigation and hyperpolarizability studies of 3-(2-Chloro-6-fluorophenyl)-1-(2-thienyl) prop-2-en-1-one

In the present work, a combined experimental and theoretical study on ground state molecular structure, spectroscopic and nonlinear optical properties of the chalcone derivative 3-(2-Chloro-6-fluoropheny1)-1-(2-thienyl) prop-2-en-1-one (2C6F2SC) is reported. Initial geometry generated from single crystal X-ray diffraction parameters was minimized at DFT level employing B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) without any constraint to the potential energy surface. The molecule has been characterized using various experimental techniques FT-IR, FT-Raman, UV-Vis, H-1 NMR, TD-THz and the spectroscopic data have been analyzed theoretically by Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. Harmonic vibrational frequencies were calculated theoretically using the optimized ground state geometry and the spectra were interpreted by means of potential energy distribution. Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) has been used to calculate energies, absorption wavelengths, oscillator strengths of electronic singlet-singlet transitions. The calculated energy and oscillator strength complement with the experimental findings. The HOMO-LUMO energy gap explains the charge interaction taking place within the molecule. Good correlations between the experimental H-1 NMR chemical shifts and calculated GIAO shielding tensors were found. Stability of the molecule, hyperconjugative interactions and charge delocalization has been analyzed by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The first order hyperpolarizability (beta) of this molecular system and related properties (mu, <alpha> and Delta alpha) have been calculated using the finite-field approach. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved