Penetrating neck injury by an arrow: a paradigm of age old assault.

Penetrating neck injuries by traditional weapons are rare entity in the modern era of sophisticated weapons. We report an unusual case of penetrating neck injury by a metallic arrow entering anterior neck in zone II and its tip coming out of neck posteriorly causing difficulty for patient to lie down as well as posing challenge to intubate. Arrows are low velocity projectile and from a close proximity they can cause penetrating trauma similar to a low powered handgun.

"Safety pin"--a question to its safety!

Foreign body ingestion is not an uncommon problem in children. They can ingest various foreign objects and one of such objects is a safety pin. The ingestion of such foreign body is not widely reported in the literature.

A comparative study to analyze the cost of curative care at primary health center in ahmedabad.

Objectives: To determine the unit cost of curative care provided at Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and to examine the variation in unit cost in different PHCs.

Materials And Methods: The present study was carried out in three PHCs of Ahmedabad district namely Sanathal, Nandej, and Uperdal, between 1 April, 2006 and 31 March, 2007. For estimating the cost of a health program, information on all the physical and human resources that were basic inputs to the PHC services were collected and grouped into two categories, non-recurrent (capital resources vehicles, buildings, etc.

Tobacco control among disadvantaged youth living in low-income communities in India: introducing Project ACTIVITY.

Objective: To provide an overview of Project ACTIVITY, a group randomized intervention trial designed to test the efficacy of a community-based, comprehensive approach to tobacco control for youth (10-19 years) living in low- income communities in India. In doing so, details regarding baseline characteristics of the study sample are provided.

Methods: Fourteen slum communities in Delhi, India were matched and randomized to intervention (n=7) and control (n=7) conditions.

Detection of DNA Sequence with Enhanced Sensitivity and Higher FRET Efficiency Using a Light-Emitting Polymer, Peptide Nucleic Acid Probe and Anionic Surfactant System.

An improved strategy has been developed for detection of DNA sequence by using water-soluble cationic conjugated polymer (PFP)/single-strand (ss) DNA and peptide nucleic acid labeled with fluorescent dye (PNAC*), where an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) system has been used to improve the sensitivity of the sensor. The method of detection is simple to use, fast and cost-effective. This method uses the phenomenon of Forester Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET).

Environmental and experimental exposure of phthalate esters: the toxicological consequence on human sperm.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization release several chemicals such as phthalates into the environment and cause adverse effects on reproductive system, mainly endocrine disruption, testicular injury and decline in semen quality in humans. There are no reports in extrapolating of the epidemiological data with in vitro findings. Our study show the correlations between in vivo studies and in vitro data for the effect of phthalate esters.

Drug discovery in ovarian cancer.

Drug discovery in the ovarian cancer arena has led to the activation of several important clinical trials. Many biologic agents have come down the pipeline and are being studied in phase II trials for recurrent disease. These agents include antivascular compounds that disrupt angiogenesis through a variety of mechanisms (e.

Health risks of employees working in pesticide retail shops: An exploratory study.

Background: Shop keepers dealing with pesticides are exposed to multiple pesticides that include organophosphates, organochlorines, carbamates, pyrethroids. Hence an exploratory health study was conducted on shopkeepers selling pesticides in urban areas of Lucknow and Barabanki District, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Materials And Methods: Detailed information regarding socio-economic status, family history, personal habits and work practices were recorded for 20 subjects and controls by the investigator on a pre-tested questionnaire.

Ferroelectric control of spin polarization.

A current drawback of spintronics is the large power that is usually required for magnetic writing, in contrast with nanoelectronics, which relies on "zero-current," gate-controlled operations. Efforts have been made to control the spin-relaxation rate, the Curie temperature, or the magnetic anisotropy with a gate voltage, but these effects are usually small and volatile. We used ferroelectric tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic electrodes to demonstrate local, large, and nonvolatile control of carrier spin polarization by electrically switching ferroelectric polarization.

Chlamydia trachomatis causing neonatal conjunctivitis in a tertiary care center.

Chlamydia trachomatis is considered a major aetiological agent of conjunctivitis in newborns. The objective of the present study was to determine the aetiology of neonatal conjunctivitis and clinico-epidemiological correlates of chlamydial ophthalmia neonatorum. Fifty-eight newborns with signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis were studied.

Polymorphism in cytochrome P450 1A2 and their interaction with risk factors in determining risk of squamous cell lung carcinoma in men.

The present case-control study was carried out to investigate the association of functionally important polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) involved in the metabolic activation of tobacco derived procarcinogens with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of lung in North Indian men. The study consisted of 200 male cases with SCC of lung and an equal number of age and sex matched healthy controls. Our data showed that variant genotype of CYP1A2*1D and CYP1A2*1F were significantly associated with increased susceptibility to SCC of lung.

Modified fronto-lateral laryngectomy in treatment of glottic T1(a-b) cancer with anterior commissure involvement.

Objective: Evaluation of clinical and oncological safety of the modified fronto-lateral laryngectomy in the treatment of T1a-b glottic cancer.

Methods: Retrospective review of charts of patients managed with classical fronto-lateral laryngectomy or with our modified technique using a cervical fascia flap and a false cord flap to reconstruct the defect.

Results: No recurrence of cancer was observed in the present series and slight dysphonia was present in all cases.

Sudden infant death syndrome in mice with an inherited mutation in RyR2.

Background: Mutations in the cardiac ryanodine receptor gene (RyR2) have been recently identified in victims of sudden infant death syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine whether a gain-of-function mutation in RyR2 increases the propensity to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death in young mice.

Methods And Results: Incidence of sudden death was monitored prospectively in heterozygous knock-in mice with mutation R176Q in RyR2 (R176Q/+).

Common carotid artery pseudoaneurysm formation following foreign body ingestion.

Objective: To report an unusual case of pseudoaneurysm formation following ingestion of a thin wire.

Method: Case report, including management, and review of the world literature concerning pseudoaneurysm and its management.

Results: A 15-year-old boy presented as an emergency with a two-week history of painful swallowing, and a one-week history of a progressively enlarging, right-sided swelling of the lower neck.

Co-expression of p53 and Bcl-2 proteins in human papillomavirus-induced premalignant lesions of the uterine cervix: correlation with progression to malignancy.

Objective(s): To analyze aberrant expression of the apoptotic protein p53 and the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in premalignant lesions of the uterine cervix induced by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its significance for early diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: Cytological adequate smears (n = 382) from various grades of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs; n = 142), 'atypical squamous cells of unknown significance' (ASCUS; n = 128) and normal tissue (n = 112) were investigated immunocytochemically for aberrant expression of p53 and Bcl-2 proteins using the streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase method; HPV status was analyzed in cervical smears using general and type-specific primers.

Results: HPV-DNA of any type was detected in 25.

Perceived breast milk insufficiency in mothers of neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit.

Objective: A) To study the frequency of perceived breast milk insufficiency in mothers of hospitalized neonates. b) To assess subsequent duration of exclusive breast feeding and growth (upto three months) in neonates whose mothers perceived breast milk insufficiency.

Methods: Neonates whose mothers were willing to breastfeed their babies were included in the study.

PKC inhibition ameliorates the cardiac phenotype in a mouse model of myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Cardiac complications are a common cause of death in individuals with the inherited multisystemic disease myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). A characteristic molecular feature of DM1 is misregulated alternative splicing due to disrupted functioning of the splicing regulators muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1) and CUG-binding protein 1 (CUGBP1). CUGBP1 is upregulated in DM1 due to PKC pathway activation and subsequent CUGBP1 protein hyperphosphorylation and stabilization.

Otoneurological management of petrous apex cholesterol granuloma.

Objective: The aim of the study is to review the management of petrous apex cholesterol granuloma. The surgical approaches for drainage or total removal and the wait and see policy were analyzed, and outcomes were evaluated.

Methods: Retrospective charts of 27 patients managed for petrous apex cholesterol granuloma with a minimum follow-up of 12 months were analyzed in a quartenary skull base center.

Evaluation of four methods for processing human cord blood and subsequent study of the expansion of progenitor stem cells isolated using the best method.

Background Aims: The application of cord blood (CB)-derived hematopoietic cells in allogeneic transplantation has been restricted because of the unavailability of adequate cell numbers from one unit of CB and their delayed engraftment in recipients. The main purpose of this study was to develop an economic process for isolating nucleated cells from CB and expanding enriched CD133(+) cells.

Methods: Four protocols for processing CB, using different combinations of density-gradient centrifugation, hydroxyethyl starch (HES) and NH4Cl treatment, were compared regarding the yields of CD45(+), CD34(+)/CD133(+) and colony-forming cells.

2D polarization imaging of turbid media.

Cancer normally tends to result in the decrease of tissue elasticity; i.e., the cancerous region is more rigid than the normal surrounding areas.

Detection of known mutations for medical diagnostics by FRET spectroscopy.

A rapid, simple and low-cost method for the detection of known mutations in DNA oligonucleotide in a biothreat agent, Bacillus anthracis, has been reported. The technique is based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), that utilizes a cationic conjugated polymer and a PNA probe labeled with Fluorescein dye (PNAC*). When the PNA probe is hybridized with a complementary target ssDNA and its mutated sequences separately, the energy transfer from polymer to PNAC*/ssDNA complex decreases with increasing number of mutations.

Efficacy and safety of a single daily dose of gentamicin in hospitalized Indian children: a quasi-randomized trial.

Objectives: To compare the clinical efficacy, pharmacokinetic profiles and safety of once-daily dosing (ODD) and multiple daily dosing (MDD) of gentamicin in hospitalized Indian children.

Patients And Methods: Four hundred children admitted to our hospital were studied prospectively. The patients were randomized to ODD or MDD groups alternately.

Adverse health effects of pesticides in agrarian populations of developing countries.

Developing countries use only 20% of the world's agrochemicals, yet they suffer 99% of deaths from pesticide poisoning. Pesticide poisoning is a significant problem in developing countries primarily because of unsafe pesticide application and handling practices. Safety is further exacerbated by the illiteracy and poverty that prevails in most farming communities of developing countries.

Triple-FRET Technique for Energy Transfer Between Conjugated Polymer and TAMRA Dye with Possible Applications in Medical Diagnostics.

Three-component Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been used to obtain efficient FRET between the cationic conjugated polymer (CCP) as donor and 5-carboxy tetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) dye as acceptor, by using an intermediate donor, fluorescein. In spite of the fact that there is enough overlap between the emission spectra of CCP and absorption spectra of TAMRA, the efficiency of FRET between CCP and TAMRA is poor. The reason for this is that while the Förster critical distance is not very sensitive to the overlap, the FRET efficiency is extremely sensitive to it.

Polymorphism in cytochrome P4501A1 is significantly associated with head and neck cancer risk.

A case control study was undertaken to investigate the association of polymorphisms in cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) in North Indian population. The variant genotypes of CYP1A1*2A and CYP1A1*2C were found to be overrepresented in cases when compared to controls. The HNSCC risk also increased several folds in cases with combination of variant genotypes of CYP1A1*2A or CYP1A1*2C with null genotype of glutathione-S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), a phase II enzyme, particularly in cases who were tobacco users (smokers and tobacco chewers), demonstrating the role of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in the development of HNSCC.