Subcutaneous Panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma

@#Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) is a rare form of cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma of the skin localized primarily in the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Clinically, the skin lesions mimic lipomas, but histologically resemble panniculitis, which is an inflammation of the subcutaneous fats. Most cases have an excellent prognosis and follow an indolent clinical course with a 5-year overall survival rate of 80%. So far, only a few cases have been reported in the pediatric age group. The diagnosis of SPTCL is based on the combination of clinical presentation, histopathologic examination of the skin lesion, immunohistochemical staining, and molecular analysis. Notably, data on treatment of pediatric SPTCL are even fewer in number, and very few patients undergoing effective treatment have been documented. This is a case report of a 15-year-old female adolescent diagnosed with Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma who presented with multiple, non-tender, erythematous to violaceous deep dermal and subcutaneous nodules on the lower extremities associated with myalgia, intermittent moderate-grade fever, and weight loss over the past 7 months. She was initially managed as a case of ―growing pain‖ and acute rheumatic fever, until histopathologic findings of the nodules showed inflammation of the subcutaneous fats, and immunohistochemistry revealed findings consistent with SPTCL. She is currently being treated with multi-agent combination chemotherapy which resulted in improvement of symptoms.

Parásitos nematodos de la rana de piscina (Pelophylax lessonae) en la cuenca del Río Volga / Parasitic nematodes of Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae) in the Volga Basin

RESUMEN Objetivo. Presentar una revisión moderna de la fauna de nematodos de la rana esculenta Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882) de las poblaciones de la cuenca del Río Volga. Materiales y métodos. Este trabajo consolida los datos de diferentes trabajos helmintológicos de los últimos 80 años, respaldados por los resultados de nuestras propias investigaciones. Durante el período de 1936 a 2016 diferentes autores examinaron 1460 especímenes de rana esculenta, utilizando el método de autopsia helmintológica completa de 13 regiones de la cuenca del Río Volga. Resultados. En total se registraron 9 especies de nematodos. Nematodo Icosiella neglecta encontrado por primera vez en el huésped estudiado en el territorio de Rusia y la cuenca del Río Volga. Tres especies parecían estar más extendidas: Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Cosmocerca ornata e Icosiella neglecta. Para cada especie de helmintos se incluyó la siguiente información: posición sistemática, áreas de detección, localización, biología, lista de hospederos definitivos, nivel de especificidad del hospedero. Conclusiones. Los nematodos de la rana esculenta, excepto I. neglecta, pertenecen al grupo de helmintos transmitidos por el suelo (geohelmintos) y parasitan en estadios adultos. Algunas especies (O. filiformis, C. ornata, I. neglecta) están muy extendidas en el área de distribución del hospedador. Estos dos últimos son capaces de alcanzar altos índices de invasión y también de ser los parásitos subyacentes de la rana esculenta. Esto sucede debido a la especificidad del ciclo de vida de estas especies de nematodos y a la conexión a largo plazo del anfibio con el agua.

ABSTRACT Objetive. Present a modern review of the nematodes fauna of the pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882) from Volga basin populations on the basis of our own research and literature sources analysis. Materials and methods. Present work consolidates data from different helminthological works over the past 80 years, supported by our own research results. During the period from 1936 to 2016 different authors examined 1460 specimens of pool frog, using the method of full helminthological autopsy, from 13 regions of the Volga basin. Results. In total 9 nematodes species were recorded. Nematode Icosiella neglecta found for the first time in the studied host from the territory of Russia and Volga basin. Three species appeared to be more widespread: Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Cosmocerca ornata and Icosiella neglecta. For each helminth species the following information included: systematic position, areas of detection, localization, biology, list of definitive hosts, the level of host-specificity. Conclusions. Nematodes of pool frog, excluding I. neglecta, belong to the group of soil-transmitted helminthes (geohelminth) and parasitize in adult stages. Some species (O. filiformis, C. ornata, I. neglecta) are widespread in the host range. The latter two are able to reach high invasion indices and also to be the background parasites of the pool frog. It happens due to these nematode species life cycle specificity and the long-term connection of the amphibian with water.

Breast state improvement by using the lymphatic drainage disposable bra pads

Background: The health and good esthetic conditions of the breast are important indicators of women’s life quality. One factor that negatively affects this quality is the breast ptosis, associated with the sagging of the mammary glands due to tissue stretching and the loss of tissue and skin elasticity. New tools and methods able to improve the shape and beautiful contour of the breast are highly desirable.Methods: We investigated how the disposable bra pads by BAE International Inc., having the lymphatic drainage effect for the breast, influenced the female breast state. We applied two methods, the ultrasound elasticity imaging and the pattern recognition of the nipples position, to monitor the breast state dynamics in two groups of females, the study and control ones.Results: Preliminary results showed that both the breast elasticity and the pattern of nipple positions improved for females wearing the bra pads as compared to females wearing regular bras without pads (P<0.05 for the difference between the two groups of females).Conclusions: Overall, the bra pads by BAE can be considered as an effective tool encouraging metabolism by improving the flow of blood circulation and lymph in the breast.

Respiratory symptoms amongst females in a fishing settlement in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Background: Approximately half of the earth's population in the rural areas of developing countries uses energy obtained from biomass burning, which is harmful to people. Objectives: This study is aimed at determining which respiratory symptoms can be associated with biomass burning amongst fish smokers in the Oyorokoto fishing settlement. Method: A community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire, which employed a modified cluster sampling technique, was used. Results: A total of 300 subjects were recruited for the study, of which 210 (70%) were fish smokers. The mean age was 31.46 ± 13.03 years, with the majority (42.0%) having only primary school education. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms amongst the subjects was 86.7%, the most frequent of which were catarrh (30.48%) and a cough (28.57%). The respiratory symptom occurring least frequently was breathlessness (2.38%). The symptoms most often experienced during fish smoking were those of catarrh (75.5%) and sneezing (73.0%), whereas breathlessness occurred the least, in only 7 (3.3%) of the participants. Sneezing stopped in 64.2% of the subjects after fish smoking had ceased. Most of the fish smoking took place indoors. Conclusion: Health promotion featuring preventive interventions, such as the wearing of face-masks and the use of modern fish smoking methods, which is associated with fewer health risks, is essential to improving the quality of life of fish smokers. The government's provision of certain social services, including better education opportunities for the young, is advocated, and should be especially targeted at improving the lot of the girl child

Will transgenic plants adversely affect the environment?

Transgenic insecticidal plants based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins, on proteinase inhibitors and on lectins, and transgenic herbicide tolerant plants are widely used in modern agriculture. The results of the studies on likelihood and non-likelihood of adverse effects of transgenic plants on the environment including: (i) effects on nontarget species; (ii) invasiveness; (iii) potential for transgenes to 'escape' into the environment by horizontal gene transfer; and (iv) adverse effects on soil biota are reviewed. In general, it seems that large-scale implementation of transgenic insecticidal and herbicide tolerant plants do not display considerable negative effects on the environments and, moreover, at least some transgenic plants can improve the corresponding environments and human health because their production considerably reduces the load of chemical insecticides and herbicides.

The uncinated crisis of George Gershwin

George Gershwin, renowned composer and pianist, well known for his popular works, died on the 11th July 1937 due to a brain tumor. His neurological symptoms first appeared on that same year, in February, with a simple olfactory partial seizure, characterized by an unpleasant smell of burnt rubber (uncinated seizure). He later had a quick clinical descend, with severe headache that occurred in bouts, dizziness, coordination compromise and olfactory seizures, eventually lapsing into a coma on the 9th July 1937. It was then that a gliomatosus cyst was diagnosed, which on microscopic examination proved to be a "glioblastoma multiforme". Despite the surgical intervention, Gershwin died soon after the procedure without recovering his consciousness. We make a brief review of Gershwin's neurologic disease, with emphasis on the initial symptoms, namely the uncinated seizures

Some Psychodidae (Diptera) from Atlantic Forest in South-Eastern Brazil, with descriptions of Trichomyia dolichopogon sp. nov. and Trichomyia riodocensis sp. nov

The family Psychodidae includes the medically important phlebotomine sand flies and four other subfamilies that have been little studied in the Neotropics. The authors here report the results of a trip to collect psychodids in Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, a national park in Minas Gerais that contains one of the largest surviving areas of Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Collections made by Malaise and CDC light traps as well as from diurnal resting sites included 15 species of Psychodinae and Trichomyiinae, among them Trichomyia dolichopogon sp. nov., T. riodocensis sp. nov. and 13 other species new to science but represented by females only. Twelve species of phlebotomine sand flies (Lutzomyia spp.) were also collected. Collections from an undisturbed area of the park were much richer faunistically than those from an area that was destroyed by fire in 1967 but had since regenerated, suggesting that recovery after environmental disturbances of this type may be prolonged. This pattern was not seen for phlebotomine sand flies, whose greater abundance and species richness in the disturbed section of the park may be related to their dependence on small mammal hosts, known to be more diverse in this type of habitat.

A família Psychodidae inclui além dos flebotomíneos de importância médica mais cinco subfamílias pouco estudadas no neotrópico. Os autores relatam os resultados de uma viagem para coletar psicodódeos no Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (Minas Gerais), o qual contém uma das maiores regiões sobreviventes da Mata Atlântica no Brasil. Amostragens realizadas mediante armadilhas Malaise e de luz (CDC), além de capturas em lugares de repouso diurno, incluíram 15 espécies de Psychodinae e Trichomyiinae, dentre elas Trichomyia dolichopogon sp. nov., T. riodocensis sp. nov. e mais 13 espécies novas à ciência, representadas apenas por fêmeas. Também foram coletadas 12 espécies de flebotomíneos (Lutzomyia spp.). As amostras da área do parque não atingida pelo fogo em 1967 tinham uma diversidade de espécies muito maior que as da área destruída e subseqüentemente regenerada, sugerindo que a recuperação após uma catástrofe ambiental desse tipo pode ser muito prolongada. Esse padrão não foi observado nos flebotomíneos, cuja maior abundância e riqueza de espécies na parte afetada do parque podem ser relacionadas a sua dependência por mamíferos pequenos, os quais atuam como hospedeiros e são os mais diversos neste tipo de ambiente.

Some Psychodidae (Diptera) from Atlantic Forest in South-Eastern Brazil, with descriptions of Trichomyia dolichopogon sp. nov. and Trichomyia riodocensis sp. nov

The family Psychodidae includes the medically important phlebotomine sand flies and four other subfamilies that have been little studied in the Neotropics. The authors here report the results of a trip to collect psychodids in Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, a national park in Minas Gerais that contains one of the largest surviving areas of Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Collections made by Malaise and CDC light traps as well as from diurnal resting sites included 15 species of Psychodinae and Trichomyiinae, among them Trichomyia dolichopogon sp. nov., T. riodocensis sp. nov. and 13 other species new to science but represented by females only. Twelve species of phlebotomine sand flies (Lutzomyia spp.) were also collected. Collections from an undisturbed area of the park were much richer faunistically than those from an area that was destroyed by fire in 1967 but had since regenerated, suggesting that recovery after environmental disturbances of this type may be prolonged. This pattern was not seen for phlebotomine sand flies, whose greater abundance and species richness in the disturbed section of the park may be related to their dependence on small mammal hosts, known to be more diverse in this type of habitat

An attempt to control Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) by residual spraying with deltamethrin in a Colombian village

An attempt was made to control phlebotomine sand flies biting indoors in a rural community near Cali, Colombia, using the residual insecticide "K-Othrine" (deltamethrin) sprayed on the inside walls of houses. Twelve houses were divided into matched pairs based on physical characteristics, one house in each pair being left untreated while the inside walls of the other were sprayed with 1 deltamethrin at a concentration of 500 mg a.i./m2. Sand flies were sampled each week using protected human bait and sticky trap collections for four months after spraying. The number of sand flies (Lutzomyia youngi) collected on sticky traps was significantly lower (P = 0.004) in the untreated houses than in the treated ones with which they were matched. This difference was not significant for L. columbiana; the other anthropophilic species were not present in large numbers. The numbers collected on human bait in treated and untreated houses were not significantly different for either species. Activity of the insecticide as determined by contact bioassays remained high throughout the study and failure to control the insects was attributed to two factors: the tendency of sand flies to bite before making contact with the insecticide and the fact that the number of sand flies that entered houses represented a relatively small proportion of the population in the wooded areas surrounding the settlement in the study.