Tension free, mesh free inguinal hernia repair: a prospective study of Desarda’s technique

Background: The Desarda repair for inguinal hernias is a new tissue-based technique. Application of the external oblique muscle aponeurosis in the form of un-detached strip has been established as a new concept in tissue-based hernia repair.Methods: A prospective study was conducted among 126 cases with 148 inguinal hernias repaired by Desarda’s technique for a period of 3 years in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The details pertaining to duration of hospital stay, pain, ambulation and complications were recorded.Results: The mean age of the patients was 38.4 years. Mean operating time was 62.5 min for unilateral and 123 min for bilateral hernias. About 97.8% patients were ambulatory within 6.42 hours and were freely mobile within 19.26 hours after surgery. About 96.4% patients returned to work within 6-14 days. About 91.26% patients were discharged on same day. The mean hospital stay duration of the patients was 1.11 days. Postoperative pain on movement out of bed was described as mild and tolerable in 92.6% patients on day 1. Two patients had seroma that subsided on its own. There were no long-term complications, recurrence of the hernias or chronic groin pain.Conclusions: The results of this new technique (Desarda repair) using continuous absorbable sutures appear promising. The continuous suturing saves time and just one packet of suture material without mesh saves cost.

Quantification of Neurons of Human Nucleus Accumbens by Fractal Analysis

Background: Analysis of volumetric and morphological neuronal data has been of keen interest to neurologists and neuroscientists because of its implications in pathological conditions such as schizophrenia, autism, obsessive compulsive disorder etc. One such part of human brain which has been explored in recent years is nucleus accumbens, a part of ventral striatum leaning against septal nuclei. An easier, freely accessible and cost effective technique to measure neurons of nucleus accumbens is the use of Image J -Fiji software. One of the applications of software is Fractal box analysis. This technique helps in analysis of the Euclidean geometry of neurons (Parameters such as length and breadth which are not good characteristics of multipolar neurons). Aim and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to study and analyze images of morphology of neurons of nucleus accumbens using Image J as an automated image analysis technique. Methods & Results: A qualitative cross sectional study was done using fifty five serial sections of nucleus accumbens. The 4 μ tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Freely downloadable Image J software was installed, images of serial sections were imported to Image J, processed and fractal box analysis was done. Fractal Box analysis of image of neurons of nucleus accumbens revealed statistically significant value (D= 1.99). Conclusion: Results of the present study can be extrapolated to correlate with pathological conditions associated with emotional and behavioral disorders involving nucleus accumbens Image J is cost effective software which is beneficial to identify and measure neurons of Nucleus accumbens

Candida and Enterobacter co-infection in a case of periampullary carcinoma with obstructive jaundice.

Pancreatic infection remains a significant clinical problem, with substantial morbidity and mortality. We report a case of periampullary carcinoma and culture of the pancreatic pus and bile showed growth of Candida albicans and Enterobacter species. Amphotericin B therapy is effective in clearing Candida infection, but affected patients have a high associated mortality

Vascular permeability and Evans blue dye: a physiological and pharmacological approach.

The acute inflammatory response consists of three main vascular effects: vasodilatation and increased blood flow, increased vascular permeability, and leukocytosis into the injured tissues. All three events are induced relatively quickly, and, for all three, the pattern of response is complex but consistent. Evans blue dye is an alkaline stain, so there is an affinity for the alkali in the acidic nucleus. The use of Evans blue dye as an in vivo marker through vascular permeability, facilitates the investigation of the effect of pathological changes in various disorders mainly, immunological disorders, inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cancers and others. Endothelials have pathophysiological roles in pulmonary hypertension, arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, cerebral vasospasm and inflammatory processes. The present review discussed with role of evans blue in the assessment of vascular permeability for the various pharmacological activities which are helps for the future investigations

A Rare Case of Angioimmunoblastic Lymphoma: A Report.

Angioimmunoblastic lymphoma is a rare type of T-cell lymphoma. A 60-year-old male presented with complaints of cough with expectoration and chest pain associated with exertional dyspnea since two months. There was history of significant loss of weight. Chest X-ray showed large opacity suggestive of mass with ill-defined margins seen in left posterosuperior aspect overlapping the posterior aspect of aortic arch and proximal descending aorta. CT guided biopsy showed angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. This case is presented for its rarity.

Epidural analgesia during brachytherapy for cervical cancer patients.

AIMS: To find out the efficacy of epidural analgesia in providing continuous pain relief for patients undergoing brachytherapy for cervical cancer. SETTINGS: Teaching Hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective Study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 152 patients of cervical cancer received epidural analgesia during 18 to 21 hours of pelvic brachytherapy. Epidural top up was given using 60-100 microg of buprenorphine every 08-10 hrs. Additional top up or systemic analgesics were given for breakthrough pain. RESULTS: Majority of patients 119 out of 152 received epidural top up twice during their stay in the brachytherapy ward. Only 20 out of 152 needed additional analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural analgesia is safe and provides satisfactory pain relief during brachytherapy and makes patient's stay more comfortable.

Cloning of an ovule specific promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana and expression of beta-glucuronidase.

Tissue specific expression of transgenes in plant species has several advantages over constitutive expression. Identification of ovule specific promoters would be useful in genetic engineering of plants with a variety of desirable traits such as genetically engineered parthenocarpy, female sterile plants or seedless fruits. Relative inaccessibility and difficulty in harvesting adequate amounts of tissue at known developmental stages has impeded the progress in cloning of promoters involved in ovule development. In the present study an ovule specific promoter was cloned from Arabidopsis AGL11 gene and used to express GUS (beta-glucuronidase) gene in transgenic Arabidopsis. Histochemical staining of GUS appeared in the center of young ovary (ovules), but no detectable GUS activity was observed in vegetative plant tissues, sepals, petals and androecium. AGL11 gene promoter can be useful to modify the developmental path of plants by expressing either plant hormones or lethal genes for agronomic purpose.

Phytochemical investigation and evaluation of anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities of essential oil of Strobilanthus ixiocephala Benth.

Column chromatographic fractionation of essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the flowering tops of S. ixiocephala resulted in the isolation of beta-caryophyllene, fenchyl acetate, T-cadinol and a new sesquiterpene alcohol for which a name ixiocephol has been proposed. The beta-caryophyllene and fenchyl acetate were identified by Co-TLC with authentic samples whereas T-cadinol and ixiocephol were structurally elucidated by UV, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectral data. The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil has also revealed the presence of various monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids. The essential oil of S. ixiocephala demonstrated a dose dependant anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema. It has also revealed good activity in cotton pellet granuloma and adjuvant induced arthritis model in rats.

Effect of betacarotene on protein glycosylation in alloxan induced diabetic rats.

Free radicals are increasingly formed in diabetes mellitus by the auto oxidation of glucose and glycosylated proteins. Oxidative stress and proteinglycosylation are closely related processes and have been shown to contribute to the development of complications in diabetes mellitus. The extent of protein glycosylation was assessed in alloxan induced diabetic rats after being treated with 50 mg of betacarotene for 40 days. The level of fructosamine and glycosylated haemoglobin was comparison with non treated diabetic rats. The results indicate the beneficial role of betacarotene in reducing diabetic complications like glycosylation in experimental diabetic rats.

Chronic berylliosis of the lung: report of a case.

We report a case of chronic berylliosis of the lung in a patient who was exposed to copper beryllium alloy, which was mistaken and being treated as miliary tuberculosis. The relevant literature is reviewed.

An interactive image analysis system for quantitative cytology & to classify cervical cells.

Introduction of computers and image analysis systems are gaining faster momentum in order to quantitate the assessment of cells for diagnosis and prognosis, and this system aims to relieve the operator from the tedium of microscopic observation and reduce operator bias and human error. This paper discusses the design and configuration of an interactive image analysis system built in the laboratory for the purpose of cell analysis and classification. The software developed to compute various textural and morphological parameters of cells on smear are briefly described. The results of the experiments carried out to classify normal and abnormal cells on cervical smear show 94 per cent success rate.