An Exploration of Pulmonary Fitness of Construction Workers in Delhi NCR in Light of the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996

Workers in the construction sector are exposed to high concentrations of particulate matter at their workplace. This increases their susceptibility to various respiratory diseases, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The study reports comparative pulmonary fitness and hematological parameters of the migrant workers in the construction sector versus other sectors in Delhi. Parameters such as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ), the ratio of FEV1 to FVC, and peak expiratory flow were measured in both groups using a spirometer. We observed significant differences (P < 0.05) in FEV1 and FVC between both groups. The study thus confirms that workers exposed to poor air quality at the construction site are susceptible to respiratory diseases, particularly ARDS. All of this reflects the poor enforcement of the adequate safety measures well enlisted in social legislations such as the Building and Other Construction Workers Act.

Sensitivity and specificity of frozen section diagnosis in orbital and adnexal malignancies

Purpose: To analyze the diagnostic accuracy of frozen section in orbital and adnexal malignancies. Methods: A total of 55 cases between January 2006 and December 2011 for which intraoperative frozen section was performed for various orbital and adnexal lesions were included in the study. The frozen section diagnosis was compared with the permanent section diagnosis. Margin clearance was also compared between the two. Data were analysed using SPSS version 14. Odds ratio and cross-tabulation was used to perform the analysis. Results: The mean age at presentation was 51.46 � 20 years. Eyelid was the most common site of involvement. Out of 55 cases, diagnosis was deferred in four cases (7.27%) on frozen section. Among 51 cases, 44 (86%) cases were concordant, whereas 7 (13%) cases were discordant. The sensitivity and specificity of frozen section compared to permanent section for diagnosis of malignancy was found to be 87.2% and 87.5%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of frozen section for diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma was found to be 100%, while it was 83.3% and 100% respectively for sebaceous gland carcinoma and 87.5% and 94.9% respectively for squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: Frozen section had high sensitivity and specificity when compared with permanent section for all three parameters studied. It is an important intraoperative tool that is increasingly being used in histopathological examination of ophthalmic lesions. However, it should not be used as a substitute for the permanent section and critical decisions based on it are best avoided.

Sympathetic ophthalmia with incidental finding of chicken pox supported by histopathology and immunohistochemistry

Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a rare bilateral diffuse granulomatous panuveitis that occurs in few days to several years after penetrating injury. This intraocular inflammation can occur in any age group without a sex predilection. Pathology and immunohistochemistry-supported evidence is important to know the disease in a better way. We present a case of a 24-year-old female with clinical diagnosis of SO with an atypical past history of chicken pox in that eye and residual corneal opacity.

A study on clinical profile of patients with atrial fibrillation

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. This study is about the etiological and clinical profile of paroxysmal, persistent and permanent AF. Aim: The aim of this article was to review the clinical epidemiological features of atrial fibrillation. Materials and methods: A hospital-based descriptive study was conducted among 50 patients, diagnosed as atrial fibrillation in Cardiology Department, from 2016 to 2017. Results: Out of 50 patients with atrial fibrillation, 32% were aged between 60 – 69 years and 42(84%) were females and 8 (16%) were males. Permanent AF was seen in 56% patients. Conclusions: Palpitation followed by dyspnoea was the major symptoms encountered with atrial fibrillation, and in females within the age group of 50 years and above are prone to develop AF.

Evaluation of suitable solvents for testing the anti-proliferative activity of triclosan - a hydrophobic drug in cell culture.

Triclosan, a broad spectrum antibiotic is currently being evaluated for its anti-cancer property. Though several solvents are available to dissolve lipophilic (hydrophobic) drugs, solubility and toxicity aspects pose a challenge, when combined with the cell culture medium. In this paper, we present a simple approach based on physico-chemical and biologic criteria to choose a suitable solubilizing agent to study the anti-proliferative property of triclosan in breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Triclosan was dissolved in five different solvents viz. DMSO, absolute ethanol, 1 N NaOH, 55% polyethylene glycol + 45% ethanol mixture (PEM) and acetone and diluted with the culture medium (1 mg/ml). Although triclosan dissolved completely in all five solvents, on dilution with culture medium, turbidity was observed in DMSO, 1 N NaOH and ethanol. Cell viability was 95.23% in 10 ml of acetone, when compared with 49.45% at the same volume of PEM. This non-toxic nature of acetone was supported by DNA fragmentation analysis and phase contrast microscopy. A significant decrease in cancer cell proliferation at 100 mg/ml of acetone-solubilized triclosan, compared with 100 mg/ml of PEM-solubilized triclosan (p<0.05) indicated stronger anti-proliferative effect and greater drug-sensitivity of triclosan when solubilized in acetone. Results showed that acetone-solubilized triclosan was suitable for anti-cancer investigations in cultured MCF-7 cells.

Cultivation of human corneal limbal stem cells in Mebiol gel--A thermo-reversible gelation polymer.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Cultivated limbal stem cell transplantation is being used as a current treatment modality for limbal stem cell deficiency. However, use of allogenic biological material as substrate is associated with risks of transmission of certain diseases and allograft rejection. Therefore development of non-toxic biodegradable synthetic polymers is important. We undertook this study to evaluate the use of a synthetic polymer Mebiol gel as a substrate for the growth of limbal phenotype cells and cornea phenotype cells from limbal explants. METHODS: Human cadaveric limbal explants cells were cultivated on Mebiol gel. The proliferative capacity of cultivated cells was analyzed with thymidine incorporation studies. Immunostaining for presumed limbal stem cell association markers and cornea differentiation markers was performed and confirmed with reverse transcription (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The limbal explants underwent proliferation in vitro. The cultivated cells expressed the presumed limbal stem cell association markers (ABCG2 and p63), the transient amplifying cell markers (connexin 43, integrin alpha9) and the cornea differentiation marker (K3). RT PCR confirmed the immunohistochemical data. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that the synthetic polymer Mebiol gel was able to support limbal explant proliferation. The cultured cells expressed presumed limbal stem cell association markers, transient amplifying cells and cornea phenotype markers. Mebiol Gel can be used as a scaffold for growing limbal explants.

Clinical and histopathological characteristics of uveal melanoma in Asian Indians. A study of 103 patients.

PURPOSE: To study the clinical and histopathological characteristics of uveal melanomas in Asian Indians and compare them with other ethnic groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and three enucleated eyes with clinical diagnosis of uveal melanoma were retrospectively studied (1987-2001) and the clinical and pathological features analysed. RESULTS: Uveal melanomas constituted 0.02% of outpatients in a referral eye hospital in India over a 12-year period. The patients were predominantly males. Uveal melanomas tended to occur in the younger age. The mean age was 45.7 +/- 14.2 years. Melanoma involved the choroid in 90 (87.37%) patients, and both choroid and ciliary body in 13 (12.62%) patients. Mean basal diameter of the tumour was 13.43 +/- 5.32 mm. Mixed cell type was more common. CONCLUSION: Uveal melanomas are rare in the Asian Indians compared to those in the West. They occur in younger persons, have a greater mean basal diameter than that of Caucasians and are predominantly of the mixed cell type.

Myxoma of the orbit.

Myxomas are rare, benign neoplasms of mesenchymal origin that usually develop in soft tissues. As the clinical manifestations are non-specific, it is difficult to diagnose the tumour without biopsy and histopathological examination. We report a case of orbital myxoma with histopathological correlation.

Oncocytoma of the caruncle.

A rare case of oncocytoma of the caruncle in a 75-year-old female is reported. Clinical differential diagnosis and histopathologic features are discussed.

Gross photography of ophthalmic pathology specimens.

Removal of the entire eyeball or a portion of it is required in many ophthalmic conditions. The gross features of such specimens provide valuable information. Gross photography of an intraocular tumour, ruptured eyeball or other pathological specimens including lid lesions, orbital tumors, intraocular lens implants, intraocular and extraocular parasites, retinal pathology such as haemorrhages and peripheral degenerations, establishes a permanent documentation. We herein describe the technique of gross photography of such valuable specimens, using a dissecting microscope with a special arrangement. This technique is currently used by us with gratifying results.

Lid swelling and diplopia as presenting features of orbital sarcoid.

Sarcoid is an idiopathic multisystem non-caseating granulomatous disease with protean clinical manifestations. In the eye, the common sites of involvement are the skin of eyelid, conjunctiva, uveal tract, retina, optic nerve and lacrimal gland.

Diffuse malignant melanoma of the choroid simulating metastatic tumour in the choroid.

We report a case of diffuse choroidal melanoma in a 51-year-old patient presenting as a yellow subretinal mass with secondary retinal detachment. This case highlights the diagnostic difficulty in such cases.