Fibrolipomatous Hamartoma of Median Nerve - A Diagnostic Challenge.

Introduction: Fibrolipomatous hamartoma (FLH) is an uncommon slow-growing tumor of benign etiology, which predominantly affects the median nerve.

Case Report: We report the case study of a 17-year-old male patient, who presented with complaints of a gradually increasing localized swelling over the volar aspect of left hand for 1 year. A contrast-enhanced Magnetic resonance (MR) scan of the left hand was performed which demonstrated characteristic findings.

Signal parameter estimation of complex exponentials using fourth order statistics: additive Gaussian noise environment.

A novel approach based on fourth order statistics is presented for estimating the parameters of the complex exponential signal model in additive colored Gaussian noise whose autocorrelation function is not known. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the proposed method performs better than an existing method which also utilizes fourth order statistics under the similar noise condition. To deal with the non-stationarity of the modeled signal, various concepts are introduced while extending the estimation technique based on linear prediction to the higher order statistics domain.

Signal parameter estimation using fourth order statistics: multiplicative and additive noise environment.

Parameter estimation of various multi-component stationary and non-stationary signals in multiplicative and additive noise is considered in this paper. It is demonstrated that the parameters of complex sinusoidal signal, complex frequency modulated (FM) sinusoidal signal and complex linear chirp signal in presence of additive and multiplicative noise can be estimated using a new definition of the fourth order cumulant (FOC), and the computed accumulated FOC (AFOC). Analytical expressions for the FOC/AFOC of the above signals are derived.

Systemic vaccination induces clonally diverse SIV-specific CD8+ T-cell populations in systemic and mucosal compartments.

An HIV-1 vaccine must elicit a clonally diverse virus-specific CD8+ T-cell response to contain mutant virus forms, and these responses must be present in mucosal tissues, which are the site of early HIV-1 replication. We show that systemic delivery of prototype vaccine vectors in rhesus monkeys induced SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus)-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in systemic and mucosal compartments with comparable clonal compositions. Although clonal sharing was maintained between the peripheral blood and lungs, the clonal constituents of the vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cell populations in the gastrointestinal mucosal tissues evolved away from the peripheral blood population.

Robust vaccine-elicited cellular immune responses in breast milk following systemic simian immunodeficiency virus DNA prime and live virus vector boost vaccination of lactating rhesus monkeys.

Breast milk transmission of HIV remains an important mode of infant HIV acquisition. Enhancement of mucosal HIV-specific immune responses in milk of HIV-infected mothers through vaccination may reduce milk virus load or protect against virus transmission in the infant gastrointestinal tract. However, the ability of HIV/SIV strategies to induce virus-specific immune responses in milk has not been studied.

Clonal repertoires of virus-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes are shared in mucosal and systemic compartments during chronic simian immunodeficiency virus infection in rhesus monkeys.

Because it is thought that mucosal tissues play a fundamental role in early HIV/SIV infection, it is crucial to understand the virus-specific responses in mucosal tissues to facilitate devising strategies to prevent and control these infections. We have employed TCR repertoire analyses to define the clonal composition of a dominant SIV epitope-specific CD8(+) T cell population in mucosal and systemic compartments of SIV-infected rhesus monkeys during both acute and chronic infection. We show that the CD8(+) T cell repertoire in mucosal tissues of uninfected rhesus monkeys is oligoclonal, whereas the CD8(+) T cell repertoire in blood is polyclonal.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) peptide (s) mimic gibberellin action and regulate stomatal opening.

Wheat peptides (0.5 to 3 KDa M(r)) mimick hormonal activity like that of gibberellins and forced open dark closed stomata. The deionized amphoteric peptides solution after passing through cation and anion exchanger resins was run through Amicon's ultrafilters, 10, 3 and 0.

Spontaneous rupture of tuberculous spleen in a HIV seropositive patient on maintenance hemodialysis.

Spontaneous rupture of the spleen usually occurs secondary to infection, hematological disorders or infiltrative lesions of the spleen. In patients with positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who present with acute abdomen, splenic rupture should be considered as a possible cause and should additionally be investigated for co-infection with tuberculosis. Spontaneous rupture of spleen in asymptomatic patients requires a high index of suspicion for diagnosis.

A matter of timing: unsynchronized antigen expression and antigen presentation diminish secondary T cell responses.

Despite the low and short expression of secondary Ag, prime-boost immunizations using homologous or heterologous vectors are capable of amplifying memory CD8(+) T cells. This is mainly attributed to the rapid presentation of Ag by APCs and the high proliferative capacity of memory CD8(+) T cells. Nevertheless, certain viruses and vectors often require prolonged Ag presentation for optimal T cell priming, and the influence of such a prolonged presentation during secondary immune induction is not clear.

Morbidity and mortality among patients with hip fractures surgically repaired within and after 48 hours.

Objective: The objectives were (1) to compare the morbidity and mortality of patients with hip fractures surgically repaired within and after 48 hours of the occurrence of fracture and (2) to establish whether timing of repair alone had a major role in determining how the patients fared after the surgical repair or whether comorbidities also affected outcomes.

Sample: The study involved the medical records of 49 patients (aged 51 to 99 years) admitted to Coney Island Hospital between January 2003 and January 2004 with a primary diagnosis of hip fracture who underwent surgical repair.

Design: Analysis of data was done by retrospective chart review of patients admitted with the diagnosis of hip fracture to an acute care hospital setting.

Duration of antigen expression in vivo following DNA immunization modifies the magnitude, contraction, and secondary responses of CD8+ T lymphocytes.

The duration of Ag expression in vivo has been reported to have a minimal impact on both the magnitude and kinetics of contraction of a pathogen-induced CD8(+) T cell response. In this study, we controlled the duration of Ag expression by excising the ear pinnae following intradermal ear pinnae DNA immunization. This resulted in decreased magnitude, accelerated contraction and differentiation, and surprisingly greater secondary CD8(+) T cell responses.

An alternate mechanism of abortive release marked by the formation of very long abortive transcripts.

The Esigma70-dependent N25 promoter is rate-limited at promoter escape. Here, RNA polymerase repeatedly initiates and aborts transcription, giving rise to a ladder of short RNAs 2-11 nucleotides long. Certain mutations in the initial transcribed sequence (ITS) of N25 lengthen the abortive initiation program, resulting in the release of very long abortive transcripts (VLATs) 16-19 nucleotides long.

Aripiprazole-induced syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH).

Aripiprazole is a newer atypical antipsychotic agent used for effective treatment of schizophrenia. It significantly reduces unwanted side effects of older typical antipsychotics by targeting, with high affinity, dopamine D2/D3 and serotonin 5-HT1A/5-HT-2A receptors. Its documented mechanism of action makes it an unlikely agent to cause syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH).

Molecular insights into the origins of the Shompen, a declining population of the Nicobar archipelago.

The Shompen, one of the most isolated and poorly understood contemporary hunter-gatherer populations, inhabit Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost island of the Nicobar archipelago. Morphological imprints in the Shompen were interpreted to favour a mixed Indo-Chinese, Malay, Negrito and Dravidian origin. Analyses of the mitochondrial, Y-chromosomal and autosomal gene pool of contemporary Shompen have revealed low diversity, illustrating a founder effect in the island population.

Cytokinin Changes in Embryo and Endosperm of Cassia fistula during Fruit Growth.

Cytokinin activity was determined in embryo and endosperm tissues from 30-day (stage 1), 55-Jay (stage 2), and 80-day (stage 3) old fruits of Cassia fistual. High cytokinin activity was associated with stage 1 and the least in stage 3. This indicated that the cytokinins disappeared during the course of seed development.