Red Panda feces from Eastern Himalaya as a modern analogue for palaeodietary and palaeoecological analyses.

Modern feces samples of the endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens) were examined using multiproxy analysis to characterize the dietary patterns in their natural habitat in India. An abundance of Bambusoideae phytoliths and leaves (macrobotanical remains) provide direct evidence of their primary dietary plants. In contrast, Bambusoideae pollen is sporadic or absent in the pollen assemblages. An abundance of Lepisorus spores and its leaves along with broadleaved taxa, Betula, Engelhardtia, and Quercus are indicative of other important food sources. Average δ13C values (- 29.6‰) of the red panda feces indicate typical C3 type of plants as the primary food source, while the, δ15N values vary in narrow range (3.3-5.1‰) but conspicuously reveal a seasonal difference in values most likely due to differing metabolic activities in summer and winter. The multiproxy data can provide a baseline for the reconstruction of the palaeodietary and palaeoecology of extinct herbivores at both regional and global scales.

Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt Phenomenon.

A 3-y-3-mo old male child presented with massive hypertrophy and bluish-purple discoloration of the left upper limb and adjacent chest wall of 3 mo duration. There was no h/o fever, weight loss, painful large joint swelling, or any bleeding manifestations. He had spindle like nonprogressive, painless swelling of all fingers of the left hand since infancy. The child was moribund with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and consumptive coagulopathy without sepsis. He received multiple transfusions of fresh frozen plasma (FFP), platelets, and packed RBC. Paradoxical worsening of symptoms with platelet transfusions and radiological evidences led to the diagnosis of a very rare congenital multifocal vascular tumor, kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). The index case of KHE was multifocal with cutaneous lesions, osteolytic bony lesions of all phalanx and metacarpals of the left hand, and intrathoracic extension. It was successfully managed with a combination of steroid, vincristine and sirolimus.