ABSTRACT
Background: Lumbar puncture (LP) is frequently performed in patients with advanced intraocular retinoblastoma. However, this may not be necessary in a significant proportion of patients. Materials and Methods: A file review of patients who were diagnosed with retinoblastoma over a 13-year-period was performed. Patients who underwent LP as part of staging were included in the study. Results: The study included 223 patients. One-third had bilateral retinoblastoma. The grouping was C, D, and E in 4 (2.9%), 41 (29.9%), and 92 (67.2%) patients, respectively. The stage was 0, I, II, III, and IV in 14 (6.3), 123 (55.2%), 13 (5.8%), 70 (31.4%), and 3 (1.3%) patients, respectively. Eight (3.6%) patients had a positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology. None of the patients with intraocular disease and 7 (10%) patients with extraocular disease had a positive CSF. Conclusions: A diagnostic CSF is not indicated in patients with intraocular retinoblastoma.
ABSTRACT
Both, the tobacco caterpillar Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) and the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), are serious polyphagous pests causing considerable loss to crops. Indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides for controlling them has rather resulted in their resistance development. Microbial pesticides, Bacillus thuringiensis in particular, play an important role in pest management. Here, we isolated Bacillus thuringiensis-like bacteria from the soil samples primarily collected from North East region of India along with some states viz., Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttarakhand and studied their toxicity against the above two insect pests at 10 µg/g along with standard strain B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1 and at 1 µg/g Pseudomonas fluorescens based MVPII expressing Cry1Ac toxin and AUG-5. Isolates AUG-5 and GTG-7 proved toxic to more than 75% larvae on the 4th as well as 7th day of the treatment of the neonates of H. armigera. The AUG-5 isolate was also effective against S. litura. Ten effective isolates (AUG-5, GTG-4, GTG-7, GTG-9, GTG-42, GTG-64, GTG-70, GTG-3S, GTG-4S and GTG-6S) were characterized using biochemical and 16S rDNA analysis. Nearly, all the isolates tested positive for utilizing monosaccharides. All selected B. thuringiensis isolates showed resistance to ampicillin and co-trimoxazole except AUG-5 to co-trimoxazole. AUG-5 and GTG-7 were highly toxic to both insects, and possessed cry1, cry1A and cry2 genes. These isolates AUG-5 and GTG-7 also contained high Cry1Ac (104.8 and 88.32 ng/mg) and Cry2Ab (3792 and 1305.9 ng/mg), respectively in their spore-crystal complex. Both, AUG-5 and GTG-7 isolates, could be considered for further development as bioinsecticides. The present study has established the diversity and richness of B. thuringiensis-like isolates in soils collected from north-eastern region of India.