[Carcinosarcomas of the common bile duct: a case report].

Carcinosarcomas of the bile ducts are very rare tumors. Their diagnosis and management remain difficult. We here report the case of a patient in whom the diagnosis was suspected due to cholestatic jaundice associated with a deterioration in general condition.

Improving sensitivity in the deep regions of a volume conductor using electrical focused impedance methods.

Bioimpedance measurements are becoming important in probing the human body for diagnosis and monitoring. An age old 4-electrode technique called tetrapolar impedance measurement (TPIM), giving transfer impedance, cannot localize a specific zone besides having large zones of negative sensitivity. A new technique named the focused impedance method (FIM) from Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh used the algebraic average of two concentric and orthogonal TPIMs, localizing a zone of interest and having reduced magnitudes of negative sensitivity.

Sensitivity study of a locally developed six electrode focused impedance method.

The Focused Impedance Method (FIM) is a new technique of electrical bioimpedance measurements in the human body. The idea originated in Bangladesh and provides an opportunity for localized measurement of bioimpedance down to reasonable depths from the body surface using skin surface electrodes. This has potential applications for physiological studies of targeted organs in the body and in detecting or diagnosing diseases and disorders.

Chromosome level genome assembly of the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus.

Suncus etruscus is one of the world's smallest mammals, with an average body mass of about 2 grams. The Etruscan shrew's small body is accompanied by a very high energy demand and numerous metabolic adaptations. Here we report a chromosome-level genome assembly using PacBio long read sequencing, 10X Genomics linked short reads, optical mapping, and Hi-C linked reads.

Scalable, accessible, and reproducible reference genome assembly and evaluation in Galaxy.

Improvements in genome sequencing and assembly are enabling high-quality reference genomes for all species. However, the assembly process is still laborious, computationally and technically demanding, lacks standards for reproducibility, and is not readily scalable. Here we present the latest Vertebrate Genomes Project assembly pipeline and demonstrate that it delivers high-quality reference genomes at scale across a set of vertebrate species arising over the last ~500 million years.

Multi-Modal Portable Respiratory Rate Monitoring Device for Childhood Pneumonia Detection.

Accurate assessment of Respiratory Rate (RR) is the most important mechanism in detecting pneumonia in low-resource settings. Pneumonia is a disease with one of the highest mortality rates among young children under five. However, the diagnosis of pneumonia for infants remains challenging, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Increase in conduction velocity in myelinated nerves due to stretch - An experimental verification.

Background: Based on published experimental evidence, a recent publication revealed an anomalous phenomenon in nerve conduction: for myelinated nerves the nerve conduction velocity (NCV) increases with stretch, which should have been the opposite according to existing concepts and theories since the diameter decreases on stretching. To resolve the anomaly, a new conduction mechanism for myelinated nerves was proposed based on physiological changes in the nodal region, introducing a new electrical resistance at the node. The earlier experimental measurements of NCV were performed on the ulnar nerve at different angles of flexion, focusing at the elbow region, but left some uncertainty for not reporting the lengths of nerve segments involved so that the magnitudes of stretch could not be estimated.

Evaluation of gastric emptying in critically ill patients using electrical impedance method: a pilot study.

Nasogastric feeding is commonly used to deliver enteral feed in critically ill patients and several methods are used for assessing the gastric residual volume with limitations. A new approach for gastric emptying time measurement has been developed using Electric Impedance Method (EIM). The study aims to establish whether EIM is useful for measuring gastric emptying during nasogastric feeding compared with nasogastric suction.

Overactive bladder: A multicenter study in Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the overall prevalence of overactive bladder in Pakistan, and to determine the difference in prevalence in relation to gender.

Methods: The multicenter study was conducted from February 2017 to October 2018 at 11 institutions across the country, and comprised randomly selected healthy subjects of either gender who were assessed on the basis of symptoms defined by the International Continence Society for overactive bladder. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the symptoms which was filled for the respondent by designated health workers.

Persistent autism-relevant behavioral phenotype and social neuropeptide alterations in female mice offspring induced by maternal transfer of PBDE congeners in the commercial mixture DE-71.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are ubiquitous persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are known neuroendocrine disrupting chemicals with adverse neurodevelopmental effects. PBDEs may act as risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), characterized by abnormal psychosocial functioning, although direct evidence is currently lacking. Using a translational exposure model, we tested the hypothesis that maternal transfer of a commercial mixture of PBDEs, DE-71, produces ASD-relevant behavioral and neurochemical deficits in female offspring.

Internet of Things for Mental Health: Open Issues in Data Acquisition, Self-Organization, Service Level Agreement, and Identity Management.

The increase of mental illness cases around the world can be described as an urgent and serious global health threat. Around 500 million people suffer from mental disorders, among which depression, schizophrenia, and dementia are the most prevalent. Revolutionary technological paradigms such as the Internet of Things (IoT) provide us with new capabilities to detect, assess, and care for patients early.

Relationship between COVID-19 infection rates and air pollution, geo-meteorological, and social parameters.

Like all infectious diseases, the infection rate of COVID-19 is dependent on many variables. In order to effectively prepare a localized plan for infectious disease management, it is important to find the relationship between COVID-19 infection rate and other key variables. This study aims to understand the spatial relationships between COVID-19 infection rate and key variables of air pollution, geo-meteorological, and social parameters in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Spontaneous splenic rupture: case report and review of literature.

Splenic rupture is a potentially life-threatening condition, often associated with chest or abdominal trauma. Spontaneous rupture is very rare and is usually reported as being secondary to underlying pathological conditions. We report a case of atraumatic splenic rupture in a patient with no underlying disease pathology.

Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria on Mobile Phone Surface.

Background: With the introduction of multiple uses of mobile phones, including social networking sites, people are being addicted to the device. Most people carry the device to places which are loaded with possible pathogenic microorganisms such as toilets and washrooms, enabling the device to act as a potent fomite.

Aims And Objective: This study aims to determine the presence of potential pathogenic and multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria on the surface of mobile phones used by different occupational groups.

Probing for Stomach using the Focused Impedance Method (FIM).

For probing deep organs of the body using electrical impedance, the conventional method is to use Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). However, this would be a sophisticated machine and will be very expensive when a full 3D EIT is developed in the future. Furthermore, for most low income countries such expensive devices may not deliver the benefits to a large number of people.

A new six-electrode electrical impedance technique for probing deep organs in the human body.

Electrical impedance measurements of biological tissue have many potential applications and tetrapolar impedance measurement (TPIM) with four electrodes is traditionally used which eliminates high skin contact impedance. A linear array of four electrodes for TPIM on the horizontal plane of a cylindrical volume conductor of diameter D, where the length of the array is πD/2 with potential electrodes near the centre of the array, will give a high sensitivity near the surface which reduces rapidly with depth. A recently proposed six-electrode variation of TPIM uses an additional pair of potential electrodes on the opposite side of the volume conductor in the same horizontal plane around the circumference, with the expectation that the sensitivity of the deeper regions will thereby be enhanced.

Evaluation of adaptive low cost solar water pasteurization device for providing safe potable water in rural households.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a simplified, low cost, pasteurization device in inactivating the diarrheal pathogens present in pond/lake/river water in order to provide safe potable water to people living in the rural areas of low resource countries. In this process, water in polyethylene bags was exposed to sunshine, where UV radiation emissions and heat absorption from the sunshine occurs simultaneously, and maintaining the heating at <60 °C, and minimum UV radiation emissions of 996.2 W/m for approximately 30 minutes was found enough to inactivate diarrheal pathogens in water.

Use of a Conical Conducting Layer with an Electrical Impedance Probe to Enhance Sensitivity in Epithelial Tissues.

Tetra-polar electrical impedance measurement (TPIM) with a square geometry of electrodes is useful in the characterization of epithelial tissues, especially in the detection of cervical cancer at precancerous stages. However, in TPIM, the peak planar sensitivity just below the electrode surface is almost zero and increases to a peak value at a depth of about one third to one half of the electrode separation. To get high sensitivity for the epithelial layer, having thicknesses of 200 μm to 300 μm, the electrode separation needed is less than 1 mm, which is difficult to achieve in practical probes.

Biofilter for generation of concentrated sulphuric acid from H2S.

Biofilters are used for the conversion of odorous hydrogen sulphide to odourless sulphate in wastewater treatment plants under the right conditions of moisture and pH. One of the consequences of maintaining the suitable pH and moisture content is the production of large volumes of weakly acidic leachate. This paper presents a biofilter with a maximum H2S elimination capacity of 16.

Should we use the shorter Thai-version quality of life and symptoms questionnaires in women with overactive bladder?

Aim: The aim of this study was to test: (i) the validation and reliability of the Thai versions of overactive bladder (OAB) questionnaires (the 8-item and 3-item Overactive Bladder Symptoms Score questionnaires [OAB-v8 and OAB-v3, respectively] and the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire [OAB-q]); and (ii) the correlation of the OAB-v8, OAB-v3, and the single-question Quality of Life Questionnaire (1-QoL) to the OAB-q in Thai women with OAB.

Material And Methods: During January to March 2011, 36 Thai women with OAB attending a urogynecology clinic at Chulalongkorn Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand were recruited. All questionnaires were given as a psychometric test twice, 2 weeks apart.

A Rare Internal Herniation in Adult: Meckel's Diverticulum.

Intestinal obstruction due to Meckel's diverticulum is the most common presentation in adults. There are various mechanisms by which it can cause intestinal obstruction such as volvulus of small intestine around a fibrous band extending from Meckel's diverticulum to umbilicus, intussusception, and Littre's hernia. We report the case of a young adult operated on emergency for acute intestinal obstruction.

Primary pelvic hydatid cyst an unusual cause of cystic adnexal image (mass).

Hydatid cyst is a parasitic human infection which is endemic in North Africa. It is more frequently localized in the liver and the lung. Involvement of others sites is usually secondary to these primary localizations.