Who Benefits And Who Loses From The Regionalization Of World Trade?

As regional blocs evolve, developing countries within blocs are prime beneficiaries.  Trade between developed countries in different blocs falls relative to theoretical predictions.  Many developing countries outside major blocs are the losers.  The primary factor driving evolving trade patterns is the lowering of barriers to trade (however defined).  As economic integration progresses, a trade zone may evolve into a common market, economic union, or monetary union, facilitating the lowering of trade and growth-inhibiting frictions. Furthermore, barriers to trade will continue to decline within a trade zone faster than between trade zones, but the benefits of economic integration will not be equally shared across all nations in a zone.  Policy implications and directions for future research are then discussed

A rare case of utero peritoneal fistula

Uterine fistulas are very rare and can be due to gynaecological surgery, trauma or infections. 17 year old unmarried girl presented with uteroperitoneal fistula, following left salpingo-oophorectomy for torsion of left adnexae done one year ago outside. She came with increasing dysmenorrhea since surgery. USG & MRI showed cystic mass left cornual area. Vaginoscopy & Hystero-laparoscopy showed a thick longitudinal vaginal septum, uni-cornuate uterus with left horn non-communicating with cervix but open into the peritoneal cavity, the false passage being the result of previous surgery. Excision of vaginal septum and laparoscopic excision of the horn and repair provided very good relief, till now (8months from surgery).

Myomectomy for uterine preservation and fertility

Background: Leiomyomas are benign monoclonal smooth muscle tumors that are characterized by cellular mutations, growth factor dysfunction, and abnormalities in the extracellular matrix. The objective of this study was to analyse the patient selection, feasibility, complications and the outcomes of myomectomies done for uterine preservation and fertility.Methods: Out of 606 myomectomies performed over 23 years at a tertiary care endoscopy centre, retrospective analysis of 358 cases of laparoscopic myomectomy (LM) and 96 cases of abdominal myomectomy (AM) was done.Results: Myomectomies were done for symptomatic women who wanted to preserve their uterus either to improve fertility or pregnancy outcome. Sizes of myomas tackled by myomectomy ranged from 1 cm to 20 cms. The largest number removed by laparoscopy was 19. 9 out of 358 cases scheduled for LM were converted to AM. 6 patients had repeat myomectomy of myomas. About 0.44% had STUMP and 0.44% had leiomyosarcoma on HPE. Only 10/199 or 5% of patients who wanted to preserve their uterus had subsequent hysterectomies. 95% were satisfied with good symptom relief. 40.1% in LM and 37% in AM group conceived.Conclusions: Majority of the cases were successfully done by laparoscopy. With increasing experience more cases with bigger and multiple myomas could be tackled by laparoscopy. 10.3% in LM and 45.9% in AM were 10 cms-20 cms. The main method of retrieval was morcellation. There were no major complications. Both the methods were found to be safe, feasible and provided good result. With increasing experience bigger and multiple myomas could be tacked by LM, which has several advantages over AM

METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF CLEANING PROCEDURE FOR FENBENDAZOLE RESIDUAL DETERMINATION IN MANUFACTURING

Objectives: Cleaning validation is the methodology used to assure that a cleaning process removes residues of the active pharmaceutical ingredientsof the product manufactured in a piece of equipment. All residues are removed to predetermined levels to ensure the quality of the next product.Today, manufactured is not compromised by waste from the previous product and the quality of future products using the equipment, to prevent crosscontamination, and as a good manufacturing practices requirement. The main aim of the study was to develop and validate a new simple, precise,and accurate reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for fenbendazole (FBZF) residual determination in veterinaryactive pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing.Methods: The method was developed using the isocratic solvent system, HPLC grade acetonitrile, and Mill-Q water in the ratio of 60:40 (volume/volume), and 1% hydrochloric methanol is used as diluent. Successful elution of the FBZF was achieved on Waters Symmetry C-18 column with250 mm×4.6 mm internal diameter and 5 μm particle size.Results: The method validation was successfully applied for routine analysis for cleaning/residual samples. The developed reverse phase liquidchromatography method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and high sensitivity with detection limits andquantification limits ranging from 0.2 ppm to 15 ppm.Conclusion: The present developed and validated method is run successfully for FBZF residual determination of cleaning samples in veterinary activepharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing.Keywords: Fenbendazole, Residual determination, Reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and cleaning validation

The Stomach Full of Hair-Trichobezoar

Trichobezoars are rare masses of hair resulting from hair plucking (trichotillomania) and hair eating (trichophagia). Few of the hair may also be carried by peristalsis into the duodenum. This condition is known as Rapunzel syndrome. Complications include gastric perforation, small bowel obstruction and pancreatitis. Here the authors present a case of 20-year old female patient who presented with complaints of abdominal pain, early satiety and non-bilious vomiting. On examination, there was a swelling of size 10×5 cm predominantly in the epigastric and umbilical regions. Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) of the abdomen revealed a grossly dilated stomach with a heterogeneous mass in the lumen obstructing the pylorus. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy confirmed the diagnosis of trichobezoar. Trichobezoar was removed by laparotomy and the patient had an uneventful recovery. Treatment is mainly laparotomy and minimally invasive methods can be used for small lesions with limited success rate. Psychiatric consultation is a must in all cases

Phosphorylation of β-catenin at Serine552 correlates with invasion and recurrence of non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumours.

Non-functioning pituitary tumours (NF-PitNETs) are common intracranial benign neoplasms that can exhibit aggressive behaviour by invading neighbouring structures and, in some cases, have multiple recurrences. Despite resulting in severe co-morbidities, no predictive biomarkers of recurrence have been identified for NF-PitNETs. In this study we have used high-throughput mass spectrometry-based analysis to examine the phosphorylation pattern of different subsets of NF-PitNETs. Based on histopathological, radiological, surgical and clinical features, we have grouped NF-PitNETs into non-invasive, invasive, and recurrent disease groups. Tumour recurrence was determined based on regular clinical and radiological data of patients for a mean follow-up of 10 years (SD ± 5.4 years). Phosphoproteomic analyses identified a unique phosphopeptide enrichment pattern which correlates with disease recurrence. Candidate phosphorylated proteins were validated in a large cohort of NF-PitNET patients by western blot and immunohistochemistry. We identified a cluster of 22 phosphopeptides upregulated in recurrent NF-PitNETs compared to non-invasive and invasive subgroups. We reveal significant phosphorylation of the β-catenin at Ser552 in recurrent and invasive NF-PitNETs, compared to non-invasive/non-recurrent NF-PitNET subgroup. Moreover, β-catenin pSer552 correlates with the recurrence free survival among 200 patients with NF-PitNET. Together, our results suggest that the phosphorylation status of β-catenin at Ser552 could act as potential biomarker of tumour recurrence in NF-PitNETs

Signaling network map of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor

We thank the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for research support to the Institute of Bioinformatics, Bangalore. We thank the “Infosys Foundation” for research support to the Institute of Bioinformatics. We thank UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) for generous grant support. SDY is a recipient of DST-INSPIRE Senior Research Fellowship from Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. AR and JA are recipients of Senior Research Fellowship from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. RR is a recipient of Research Associateship from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India

Integrating transcriptomic and proteomic data for accurate assembly and annotation of genomes

© 2017 Wong et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Complementing genome sequence with deep transcriptome and proteome data could enable more accurate assembly and annotation of newly sequenced genomes. Here, we provide a proof-of-concept of an integrated approach for analysis of the genome and proteome of Anopheles stephensi, which is one of the most important vectors of the malaria parasite. To achieve broad coverage of genes, we carried out transcriptome sequencing and deep proteome profiling of multiple anatomically distinct sites. Based on transcriptomic data alone, we identified and corrected 535 events of incomplete genome assembly involving 1196 scaffolds and 868 protein-coding gene models. This proteogenomic approach enabled us to add 365 genes that were missed during genome annotation and identify 917 gene correction events through discovery of 151 novel exons, 297 protein extensions, 231 exon extensions, 192 novel protein start sites, 19 novel translational frames, 28 events of joining of exons, and 76 events of joining of adjacent genes as a single gene. Incorporation of proteomic evidence allowed us to change the designation of more than 87 predicted noncoding RNAs to conventional mRNAs coded by protein-coding genes. Importantly, extension of the newly corrected genome assemblies and gene models to 15 other newly assembled Anopheline genomes led to the discovery of a large number of apparent discrepancies in assembly and annotation of these genomes. Our data provide a framework for how future genome sequencing efforts should incorporate transcriptomic and proteomic analysis in combination with simultaneous manual curation to achieve near complete assembly and accurate annotation of genomes

Novel Insights into Pituitary Tumorigenesis: Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms.

Substantial advances have been made recently in the pathobiology of pituitary tumors. Similar to many other endocrine tumors, over the last few years we have recognized the role of germline and somatic mutations in a number of syndromic or nonsyndromic conditions with pituitary tumor predisposition. These include the identification of novel germline variants in patients with familial or simplex pituitary tumors and establishment of novel somatic variants identified through next generation sequencing. Advanced techniques have allowed the exploration of epigenetic mechanisms mediated through DNA methylation, histone modifications and noncoding RNAs, such as microRNA, long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs. These mechanisms can influence tumor formation, growth, and invasion. While genetic and epigenetic mechanisms often disrupt similar pathways, such as cell cycle regulation, in pituitary tumors there is little overlap between genes altered by germline, somatic, and epigenetic mechanisms. The interplay between these complex mechanisms driving tumorigenesis are best studied in the emerging multiomics studies. Here, we summarize insights from the recent developments in the regulation of pituitary tumorigenesis

Invasive cystic hypersecretory carcinoma of the breast

Cystic hypersecretory carcinoma (CHC) of the breast is a rare variant of ductal carcinoma, characterized by variably sized cysts lined by micropapillary fronds to proliferative pseudostratified columnar epithelium. It includes a spectrum of morphological features ranging from clearly benign cystic hypersecretory hyperplasia (CHH), CHH with atypia to invasive CHC. Only 20 cases of invasive CHC have been reported to date. We report a case of a 49-year-old female who presented with a palpable breast lump and nipple discharge. Gross examination showed variable-sized cysts lined by solid grey white tumors. On microscopic examination, cysts were lined by micropapillary fronds with eosinophilic colloid-like secretion with a focus of invasion. A diagnosis of invasive CHC was made. Since there are limited case reports, our understanding of its biological behavior, prognostic factors, and genetic basis is limited