Study of tumor budding and its association with clinicopathological parameters in breast carcinoma

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Tumor budding is a phenomenon in which the tumor cells detach from the main mass and are present at the invasive front. The present study was conducted to study tumor budding in invasive breast carcinoma and to correlate it with clinicopathological parameters and molecular subtypes. METHODS: The study was conducted over a period of 1 year, and tumor budding was studied as a single or group of cells at the invasive front of breast carcinoma counted in a high-power field (40×). The grading was statistically correlated with tumor size, grade, lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion, pathological TNM staging, molecular subtype, and survival of patients. RESULTS: A total of 50 cases of invasive breast carcinoma were included, out of which 66% (n=33) showed high-grade tumor budding, which was statistically significantly higher in grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma (p<0.05). High tumor budding was associated with lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and a high Ki-67 proliferative index. All cases showing low-grade budding were alive until 6 months of diagnosis, but there was no statistically significant association between stage and budding. CONCLUSION: Tumor buds are significantly higher in grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma with lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and a high Ki-67 proliferative index. Immunohistochemistry may prove helpful in distinguishing tumor buds from their mimickers. Further studies with extended follow-up are recommended to predict tumor budding as a prognostic marker in breast carcinoma, which may play an important role in cancer therapy.

Biorational Approaches for Purple Blotch Disease of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Incited by Alternaria porri (Ellis) Cif

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is the second most important bulb crop after onion. It is a major spice crop. Garlic is attacked by many diseases, one of which is Purple blotch. This study was aimed to determine the effect of botanicals and bio-agent on purple blotch disease of garlic caused by Alternaria porri. The research work was undertaken at Central Research Farm (CRF) Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, SHUATS, Naini, Prayagraj during Rabi in 2022-23. A randomized block design with eight treatments was employed including T0 (Control - untreated) , T1 ( Azoxystrobin @0.1% as treated check), T2 (Trichoderma harzianum @10g/litre) , T3 (Lantana camara leaf extract @10%), T4 (Azadirachta indica leaf extract @10%), T5 (Henna leaf extract @2% + Licorice root extract @2% + Rosemary leaf extract @2% ), T6 (Licorice root extract @10%) and T7 (Neem cake @50g/m2). The treatments led to significant decrease in purple blotch severity in garlic.The results revealed that among the treatments, T7 showed minimum disease intensity (4.33, 18.74 and 26.35%) at 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing (DAS) respectively; while maximum disease intensity was recorded in T0 (10.42, 25.52 and 34.68%). T7 also recorded maximum plant height (24.02, 34.01 and 45.71cm) at 30, 60 and 90 DAS, respectively and highest yield of 4.46t/ha. Maximum number of leaves were recorded with T3 (5.53, 7.5 and 9.4) at 30, 60 and 90 DAS respectively. Fungicide usage is increasing day by day that can lead to negative effect on human and soil health in the long run, so there is need to find effective and economic alternatives preferably some bio-agents and botanicals.

Association of new-born birth weight with maternal parameters

Background: Birth weight is the single largest determinant of the neonatal survival and wellbeing. Maternal anaemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and is associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. The effect of haemoglobin levels of the mother on the foetus however remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effect of maternal anaemia on neonatal birth weight. It also evaluates the effect of parity, gestational age and maternal age on the new-born birth weight.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on patients who had delivered in Al Falah hospital, a newly setup medical college in rural Haryana. The population was studied for maternal age, gestational period, and parity and haemoglobin levels. These parameters were correlated with neonatal birth weight. The study was carried out on deliveries which occurred over a period of six months from November 2018 to April 2019.Results: The low birth weight new-borns were 10.5%. Maternal anaemia was present in 79.74 % of women in the study group. Amongst all parameters studied, only higher parity and greater period of gestation had a positive correlation with neonatal birth weight. Haemoglobin levels or maternal age didn’t show a significant impact on the neonatal birth weight. Anaemic mothers didn’t have a higher incidence of low birth weight babies.Conclusion: The most significant contributor to improved neonatal weight is the gestational age of the foetus. All efforts to ensure better neonatal outcome must primarily concentrate on prevention of preterm births. Maternal haemoglobin levels do not directly impact the neonatal birth weight. However, as anaemia is a risk factor for preterm delivery, anaemia indirectly impacts on the neonatal birth weight and outcome.

Prevalence and pattern of anaemia and correlation with booking status in a new Medical College in Haryana, India

Background: Anaemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy. It is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality.  This study analyses the   prevalence and pattern of anaemia and correlates it with booking status in a   new medical college in rural Haryana.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted to analyze prevalence, severity and morphology of anaemia in hospitalized pregnant patients at the time of labour in a new medical college in rural Haryana.  Antenatal booking status was correlated with haemoglobin levels and severity. The study was conducted over a period of six months from Nov ’18 to April’19.Results: 390 singleton labour patients at or near term with no other known medical complications were evaluated. Prevalence of anaemia in the centre serving as a referral with onsite blood bank facilities was as high as 79.7 %. 47.9%   of patients did not have even a single antenatal visit. 50.8% had microcytic hypochromic anaemia followed by 32.3% who had normal morphological picture; dimorphic was 14% and macrocytic 2.8%. The prevalence in booked patients was 78.91% compared to 80.1% in unbooked.Conclusions: Anaemia continues to be a major challenge to the obstetric services despite targeted efforts by the government and various organizations to provide free prophylaxis. Iron deficiency or nutritional anaemia is the commonest.  However, booking visits, counselling and free distribution of iron tablets doesn’t ensure that the patient is protected from anaemia. This raises concerns about compliance and hence effectiveness of oral iron therapy. An aggressive strategy for diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of anaemia as well as a method to ensure compliance must be developed.

Historic migration to South Asia in the last two millennia: A case of Jewish and Parsi populations

The South Asian populations have a mosaic of ancestries likely due to the interactions of long-term populations of the landmassand those of East and West Eurasia. Apart from prehistoric dispersals, there are some known population movements to India. Inthis study, we focussed on the migration of Jewish and Parsi populations on temporal and spatial scales. The existence of Jewishand Parsi communities in India are recorded since ancient times. However, due to the lack of high-resolution genetic data, theirorigin and affiliation with other Indian and non-Indian populations remains shrouded in legends. Earlier genetic studies onpopulations of Indian Jews have found evidence for a minor shared ancestry of Indian Jews with Middle Eastern (Jews)populations, whereas for Parsis, the Iranian link was proposed. Recently, in our high-resolution study, we were able to quantifythe admixture dynamics of these groups, which has suggested a male-biased admixture. Here, we added the newly availableancient samples and revisited the interplay of genes and cultures. Thus, in this study we reconstructed a broad genetic profile ofIndian Jews and Parsis to paint a fine-grained picture of these ethnic groups.

Modified functionally generated path technique to develop occlusal scheme in single complete denture

Single maxillary denture often represents vigorous challenge to the practicing dentists. The difficulty arises when the maxillary dentures are set to fit the occlusion of natural mandibular teeth. The functionally generated pathway technique registers occlusal pathways of the posterior teeth in functional wax and is described as the “three-dimensional static expression consists of dynamic tooth movement.” The current article represents a technique for a patient who was rehabilitated with a maxillary complete denture, and a harmonious occlusion was achieved between the complete denture and the mandibular natural dentition. Functional maxillary denture is therefore in medical dentistry the successful culmination of human's high practice and represents the golden goal sought by every dental practitioner and expected by every denture patient.

Urine Analysis Revisited: A Review

Analysis of urine represents a basic test in the diagnostic battery for most of the systemic disorders and renal diseases in particular. Significant informations can be obtained by urinalysis as many disease processes invariably display urinary abnormalities. It offers a simple, often quick way of following response to treatment in these diseases, without putting the patient under much distress. For urinalysis to be maximally useful as a diagnostic tool, attention to details is necessary in the methodology of urine collection, timely sample processing and most importantly, a thorough knowledge on the various abnormalities that can be detected during the analysis. This article is a comprehensive review on urinalysis, including the intricacies of sample collection, various normal and abnormal physical and chemical parameters with an emphasis on the importance of a meticulous microscopic examination of urine sample to arrive at a diagnosis.

Giant Rhinolith- An Unusual Entity: A Case Report

Rhinolith is defined as a mineralized mass resulting from calcification of an endogenous or exogenous nidus within the nasal cavity. A case of a 25 year old female with a history of unilateral nasal stuffiness and nasal bleed, which was clinically and radiologically diagnosed as rhinolith, is being reported here.

AVALIAÇÃO OBJETIVA E SUBJETIVA DA NECESSIDADE DE TRATAMENTO ORTODÔNTICO DO ADOLESCENTE E SEU IMPACTO SOBRE A AUTOESTIMA / OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF ADOLESCENT'S ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT NEEDS AND THEIR IMPACT ON SELF-ESTEEM

RESUMO Objetivo: Verificar a presença de associação entre a avaliação objetiva e subjetiva da necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico em adolescentes e seu impacto na autoestima. Métodos: Estudo transversal com adolescentes de 10 a 17 anos da cidade de Sri Ganganagar, Rajastão, Índia. Foi utilizado o Índice de Ortodontia de Saúde Dental (IOTN) para avaliar de modo objetivo a necessidade de tratamento (DHC) e o componente estético desse índice (AC) para a avaliação subjetiva. Os estudantes selecionados foram também avaliados quanto a traumatismos dentários, perda dentária e cárie dentária. Aplicou-se a escala de autoestima de Rosenberg para determinar o nível de autoestima dos estudantes. Os dados foram analisados por regressão linear múltipla, testando a associação individual das diferentes variáveis clínicas independentemente da autoestima dos adolescentes, de acordo com o escore da escala de Rosenberg. Resultados: Entre 1.140 adolescentes estudados, a prevalência da necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico avaliado de modo objetivo pelo IOTN-DHC ocorreu em 56,9% dos indivíduos. A avaliação subjetiva do adolescente (IOTN-AC) revelou prevalência de necessidade de tratamento de 53,3%. A análise multivariada mostrou que, além de todos os problemas dentários, o componente objetivo (IOTN-DHC), seguido do componente estético subjetivo (IOTN-AC), teve maior impacto na autoestima dos estudantes analisados. Conclusões: A insatisfação com a aparência dental é um forte preditor de baixa autoestima na adolescência.

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the presence of association between objective and subjective evaluation of orthodontic treatment needs in adolescents and their impact on their self-esteem. Methods: Cross-sectional study with adolescents aged 10-17 years old in Sri Ganganagar city, Rajasthan, India. The objective index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) dental health component (DHC) and the subjective aesthetic component (AC) were used to determine the normative and the self-perception need for orthodontic treatment, respectively. The selected students were further examined for dental trauma, tooth loss, and dental caries. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was applied for self-esteem level determination. Linear regression analysis was executed to test the individual association of different independent clinical variables with self-esteem scores. Results: Among 1,140 studied adolescents, the prevalence of dental normative orthodontic treatment need was in 56.9% of individuals, whereas 53.3% of individuals considered themselves as needy for the treatment. Multivariate analyses revealed that out of all dental disorders, DHC followed by AC of IOTN had maximum impact on the self-esteem of the adolescence. Conclusions: Dissatisfaction with dental appearance is a strong predictor for low self-esteem in adolescence.

Are we overlooking infections owing to non-tuberculous mycobacteria during routine conventional laboratory investigations?

A large number of potentially pathogenic non-tuberculous mycobacteria [NTM] encountered in the clinical laboratory makes it necessary to identify their species to ensure appropriate treatment. However, labor-intensive conventional methods of speciation are not used in every laboratory, and hence NTM infections are often ignored. Polymerase chain reaction [PCR] restriction analysis [PRA] was applied in this study for early identification and speciation of mycobacterial species on 306 cultures of acid-fast bacilli isolated from patients suspected of suffering from tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified in 85.6% of the isolates. The NTM isolated most commonly was Mycobacterium kansasii/gastri group [3.5%], followed by Mycobacterium fortuitum [3.2%]. Four of the M. fortuitum were grown from cultures obtained on the same day, but from samples from different patients and were probably laboratory contaminants. Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium avium were identified in 2.94% and 2.28% of the isolates, respectively. Three isolates of M. avium and two isolates of M. intracellulare were obtained in repeated cultures from sputum samples of the same patients and were thus pathogenic. A single isolate of Mycobacterium abscessus was obtained from a breast abscess. A rare pathogen Mycobacterium phocaicum was isolated from one patient with epididymitis. However, whether it was the causative agent of epididymitis in this patient remains doubtful. The results of this study highlight the importance of speciation of mycobacteria for appropriate diagnosis and the importance of including molecular assays to augment conventional methods of diagnosis of mycobacterial diseases for rapid identification of NTM so that these potential pathogens are not overlooked in routine diagnostic procedures.