Retroperitoneal hamartoma: a rare entity.

Retroperitoneal hamartoma in adult is an extremely rare entity. Here we report a case of 23-years-old lady who presented with a large retroperitoneal mass and abdominal pain. The mass was surgically removed and the diagnosis of hamartoma was made on histological findings.

An efficient cryopreservation procedure for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) utilizing the new ice blocking agent, Supercool X1000.

Cryopreservation has been recognized as a practical and efficient tool for long-term storage of vegetatively propagated plants. This study was conducted to investigate effects of modified vitrification techniques on cryopreservation of potato. In vitro plants of potato cultivars "Superior" and "Atlantic" were cold acclimated, and axillary buds were precultured, osmoprotected, exposed to PVS-2 solution, plunged into liquid nitrogen, thawed, and finally planted in the regeneration medium. In the modified vitrification technique an ice-blocking agent, Supercool X1000, was added with PVS-2 solution. Cold acclimation affected survival of cryopreserved shoot tips, and the highest survival (46.7%) was obtained after 3 weeks of acclimation at 10 degrees C. Shoot tips exposed to 2M glycerol plus 0.6M sucrose for 40 min gave 51.5% and 11.7% survival in "Atlantic" and "Superior" at 10 degrees C, respectively. Cold acclimated and osmoprotected shoot tips were dehydrated with PVS-2 containing different concentrations of Supercool X1000 prior to a plunge into liquid nitrogen. Treatments with 0.1% and 1% of Supercool X1000 significantly improved survival by 55% in "Superior" and 71.3% in "Atlantic", respectively. After cryopreservation, vitrified shoot tips resumed growth within a week in a medium (1 mg l(-1) GA(3), 0.5 mg l(-1) zeatin, and 0.1 mg l(-1) IAA) with a low level of Pluronic F-68 (0.005%) and survival was 33.7% higher in "Atlantic" and 14.7% higher in "Superior" than the control (without Pluronic F-68).

Immune response to chlamydial 60-kilodalton heat shock protein in tears from Nepali trachoma patients.

Although the host immune response to the 60-kDa chlamydial heat shock protein (hsp60) has been implicated in trachoma pathogenesis, no studies have examined mucosal immune responses to hsp60 in populations for which chlamydia is endemic. Tears and sera from Nepali villagers were reacted against hsp60 fusion proteins, whole hsp60, and the major outer membrane protein (MOMP). Tears from villagers without disease were anti-hsp60 immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactive in 6 (38%) of 16 villagers compared with 36 (90%) of 40 with follicular trachoma (TF) (P < 0.001); 47 (89%) of 53 with inflammatory trachoma (TI) (P < 0.001); and 31 (84%) of 37 with conjunctival scarring (TS) (P = 0.002). By multivariate analysis, odds ratios for tear hsp60 IgG immunoreactivity in villagers with TF, TI, and TS were 49.2 (confidence interval [CI], 2.7 to 898), 22.6 (CI, 3 to 170), and 13.6 (CI, 1.4 to 133), respectively. There were no significant differences for tear IgA or secretory IgA (sIgA) reactivity to hsp60 or for tear sIgA and IgG reactivity to MOMP. Serum anti-hsp60 IgG immunoreactivity was associated with TI only. These data suggest that anti-hsp60 IgG immunoreactivity represents largely locally derived antibodies, which may promote disease pathology. In contrast, nonspecific high rates of anti-hsp60 sIgA antibodies suggest chronic or repeat stimulation from an endemic source of organisms.

Conjunctival impression cytology for vitamin A deficiency in the presence of infectious trachoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Increased morbidity and mortality from a number of infectious diseases have been associated with vitamin A deficiency. Trachoma and vitamin A deficiency are both important causes of blindness in Nepal. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the diagnosis of vitamin A deficiency by conjunctival impression cytology and the diagnosis of infectious trachoma by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the Lumbini zone of Nepal. METHODS: 70 children under the age of 11 in a rural village in the Lumbini zone were examined for clinical evidence of active trachoma. The conjunctiva of each child was tested for ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection using PCR, and for loss of goblet cells (a sign of subclinical vitamin A deficiency) using conjunctival impression cytology. RESULTS: The presence of infectious trachoma was associated with the loss of goblet cells on conjunctival impression cytology (p = 0.02). This relation was present and significant even when adjusted for age (p = 0.05) and degree of inflammation (p = 0.02). In fact, even subclinical infection with chlamydia was associated with an abnormal conjunctival impression cytology (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Children with infectious trachoma are significantly more likely to have an abnormal conjunctival impression cytology, even if the infection is subclinical. Thus, the diagnosis of vitamin A deficiency from conjunctival impression cytology alone should be made with some caution in areas with endemic trachoma. Further studies will be needed to determine the cause of this association.