Craniopharyngioma - Transnasal Endoscopic Approach

Craniopharyngiomas are slow growing tumours arising from remnants of the craniopharyngeal duct and occupy the sellar region. The patients may remain asymptomatic for long duration or present with headache or visual disturbances. Surgery is the mainstay of the treatment. Traditionally these tumours have been removed by neurosurgeons through the cranial approach but the advent of nasal endoscopes has opened new avenues for ENT surgeons to treat such patients. We hereby present a case of craniopharyngioma who was successfully treated by Trans-nasal Hypophysectomy

A Rare Nasopharyngeal Foreign Body

Nasopharynx is an exceptionally rare anatomical location for foreign body impaction. We present a rare case of nasopharyngeal foreign body (NFB) in a 7 years old child. The diagnosis was confirmed by nasal endoscopy. Immediate removal of foreign body (FB) in the nasopharynx was performed under general anesthesia. This rare situation is potentially dangerous, since its dislodgment may cause fatal airway obstruction. Therefore, in all cases with missing foreign bodies in the aerodigestive system, nasopharyngeal impaction should be kept in mind and endoscopic examination of the region should be considere

Primary Non-Hodgkin's Malignant Lymphoma of the Sinonasal Tract

Primary non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) of the sinonasal tract are rather uncommon entities. Morphologically and radiographically, sinonasal lymphomas are difficult to distinguish from other malignant neoplasms or non- neoplastic processes. They have a variable presentation from fulminant destructive manifestations to chronic indolent type of disease and may mimic as carcinomas and invasive fungal infection respectively. We report a case of primary NHL involving sinonasal tract in elderly female, which was clinically and radiologically mimicking as sinonasal malignany and was proven as NHL on histological examination and confirmed by immunohistochemistry. A high index of suspicion, appropriate histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry is necessary to differentiate sinonasal lymphomas from other possibilities. Failure to do so may miss the diagnosis and delay appropriate treatmen

In-Situ Thickness Measurement of Die Silicon Using Voltage Imaging for Hardware Assurance

Hardware assurance of electronics is a challenging task and is of great interest to the government and the electronics industry. Physical inspection-based methods such as reverse engineering (RE) and Trojan scanning (TS) play an important role in hardware assurance. Therefore, there is a growing demand for automation in RE and TS. Many state-of-the-art physical inspection methods incorporate an iterative imaging and delayering workflow. In practice, uniform delayering can be challenging if the thickness of the initial layer of material is non-uniform. Moreover, this non-uniformity can reoccur at any stage during delayering and must be corrected. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the thickness of the layers to be removed in a real-time fashion. Our proposed method uses electron beam voltage imaging, image processing, and Monte Carlo simulation to measure the thickness of remaining silicon to guide a uniform delayering processComment: 5 pages, 10 figures, Government Microcircuit Applications & Critical Technology Conference (GOMACTech) 202

Not Available

Not AvailableSample survey is a cost effective mean to collect reliable information about a finite population. There are various sampling methodologies, among them two-phase sampling is generally used for estimating population mean or total under the two different situations. First, when the information of the auxiliary variable is not readily available and the other condition is when it is vey expensive to gather information on characteristic under study y, but it is comparatively cheaper to gather information on the variables which are highly correlated with the characteristic under study. In large scale surveys, two-phase sampling approach is proposed in order to reduce the number of sampled units which require the more expensive objective methods. Prediction approach is applied to predict the non-sampled units in surveys. In the large preliminary sample (first phase sample) of two-phase sampling, there are total n'- n non-sampled units having auxiliary information, so there is a need to develop an estimator based on prediction approach under finite population. In the present study, we have proposed a new estimator of finite population total based on prediction approach in the context of two-phase sampling.Not Availabl

US Microelectronics Packaging Ecosystem: Challenges and Opportunities

The semiconductor industry is experiencing a significant shift from traditional methods of shrinking devices and reducing costs. Chip designers actively seek new technological solutions to enhance cost-effectiveness while incorporating more features into the silicon footprint. One promising approach is Heterogeneous Integration (HI), which involves advanced packaging techniques to integrate independently designed and manufactured components using the most suitable process technology. However, adopting HI introduces design and security challenges. To enable HI, research and development of advanced packaging is crucial. The existing research raises the possible security threats in the advanced packaging supply chain, as most of the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities/vendors are offshore. To deal with the increasing demand for semiconductors and to ensure a secure semiconductor supply chain, there are sizable efforts from the United States (US) government to bring semiconductor fabrication facilities onshore. However, the US-based advanced packaging capabilities must also be ramped up to fully realize the vision of establishing a secure, efficient, resilient semiconductor supply chain. Our effort was motivated to identify the possible bottlenecks and weak links in the advanced packaging supply chain based in the US.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure

Identification of differentially expressed proteins in vitamin B 12

Background: Vitamin B 12 (cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin generally synthesized by microorganisms. Mammals cannot synthesize this vitamin but have evolved processes for absorption, transport and cellular uptake of this vitamin. Only about 30% of vitamin B 12 , which is bound to the protein transcobalamin (TC) (Holo-TC [HoloTC]) enters into the cell and hence is referred to as the biologically active form of vitamin B 12 . Vitamin B 12 deficiency leads to several complex disorders, including neurological disorders and anemia. We had earlier shown that vitamin B 12 deficiency is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in Indian population. In the current study, using a proteomics approach we identified proteins that are differentially expressed in the plasma of individuals with low HoloTC levels. Materials and Methods: We used isobaric-tagging method of relative and absolute quantitation to identify proteins that are differently expressed in individuals with low HoloTC levels when compared to those with normal HoloTC level. Results: In two replicate isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation experiments several proteins involved in lipid metabolism, blood coagulation, cholesterol metabolic process, and lipoprotein metabolic process were found to be altered in individuals having low HoloTC levels. Conclusions: Our study indicates that low HoloTc levels could be a risk factor in the development of CAD

Differential Regulation of Genes Involved in Root Morphogenesis and Cell Wall Modification is Associated with Salinity Tolerance in Chickpea

Abstract Salinity is a major constraint for intrinsically salt sensitive grain legume chickpea. Chickpea exhibits large genetic variation amongst cultivars, which show better yields in saline conditions but still need to be improved further for sustainable crop production. Based on previous multi-location physiological screening, JG 11 (salt tolerant) and ICCV 2 (salt sensitive) were subjected to salt stress to evaluate their physiological and transcriptional responses. A total of ~480 million RNA-Seq reads were sequenced from root tissues which resulted in identification of 3,053 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to salt stress. Reproductive stage shows high number of DEGs suggesting major transcriptional reorganization in response to salt to enable tolerance. Importantly, cationic peroxidase, Aspartic ase, NRT1/PTR, phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase, DREB1E and ERF genes were significantly up-regulated in tolerant genotype. In addition, we identified a suite of important genes involved in cell wall modification and root morphogenesis such as dirigent proteins, expansin and casparian strip membrane proteins that could potentially confer salt tolerance. Further, phytohormonal cross-talk between ERF and PIN-FORMED genes which modulate the root growth was observed. The gene set enrichment analysis and functional annotation of these genes suggests they may be utilised as potential candidates for improving chickpea salt tolerance

A Systemic Review on Comparative Study of Traditional And Modern Methods of Preparation of Ayurvedic Medicines

Affordable, high-quality Ayurvedic remedies may be the answer to today's healthcare demands of the Indian and worldwide communities. In order to scale up manufacturing of the medications, which is required to satisfy the rising demand, it is vital to relate Ayurvedic preparations with modern processing principles. For bettering the dosage forms, it's also crucial to comprehend the basic Ayurvedic concepts behind formulation and processing. There has been no systematic research to compare ancient and contemporary processing methods, despite the fact that the Ayurvedic sector has included technology from the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. This study makes an effort to show a potential relationship between modern processing principles and Ayurvedic processing techniques. By gathering data from English translations of old Ayurvedic writings on medication preparation techniques, a thorough literature analysis was carried out to determine the Ayurvedic processing procedures. Based on the methods employed in Ayurvedic medication processing, a correlation between traditional and modern processing principles was conducted. Extraction and separation were found to be the two main types of procedures used in the manufacture of Ayurvedic medicines. Separation employs volatility, adsorption, and size-exclusion principles whereas extraction relies on membrane rupturing and solute diffusion principles. The study offers systematic recording of the Ayurvedic processes for making Ayurvedic medicines, coupled with an explanation of those processes in terms of modern processing principles. This is the initial stage that can lead to the advancement or replacement of conventional methods

Data_Sheet_1_Toll-like receptor 2 (−196 to −174) del and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism—a possible association with drug-resistant tuberculosis in the north Indian population.PDF

ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to analyze the association between TLR2 deletion (−196 to −174) and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism with drug resistant tuberculosis (PTB, MDR-TB, and XDR-TB) in a population from Agra, Uttar Pradesh.MethodsThe present case–control study included 101 pulmonary TB patients, 104 multidrug-resistant TB patients, 48 extremely drug-resistant TB patients, and 130 healthy and unrelated controls residing in the same locality. The genotyping method for TLR2 deletion (−196 to −174) was carried out by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism was performed by hybridization probe chemistry in Roche Real-Time PCR. Genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed by the chi-square test. Cytokine levels were measured by ELISA and compared using Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests.ResultsThe frequency of heterozygous (Ins/del) genotypes for TLR2 (−196 to −174) polymorphism was predominant in XDR-TB patients (0.57), whereas heterozygous A/G genotype for TLR1 743 A > G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was predominant in healthy controls (0.57) for TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism. The heterozygous genotype of TLR2 deletion polymorphism was found to be significantly higher in XDR-TB (p = 0.0001). TLR1 743 A > G SNP, AG genotypes were found to be significantly associated with healthy controls than PTB (p = 0.047). The level of serum cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) was also found to be significantly different among TB patients and healthy controls.ConclusionThe findings suggested that in the present population, the heterozygous (Ins/Del) genotype and deletion allele of TLR2 deletion (−196 to −174) polymorphism are associated with the risk for the development of drug-resistant TB. Furthermore, for TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism, A/G genotype, and G allele are found associated with healthy controls, suggesting the protective role against TB.</p