Subungual Osteochondroma of the Great Toe: A Case Report.

Bony outgrowths of the distal phalanx of the great toe have been described in the literature but rarely. These subungual bony outgrowths can be caused by subungual exostosis or subungual osteochondromas. Both of these abnormalities are bony outgrowths with differences in the cartilage cap wherein the exostoses have fibrocartilage, and osteochondromas have hyaline cartilage. The subungual exostosis and osteochondroma that are protruding present symptoms of pain, redness, and deformed nail bed, whereas the nonprotruding osteochondromas have only a lump as the presenting symptom. In both conditions, excision of the lesion and curettage of the base helps prevent a recurrence. Curettage at the end of the excision of the bony outgrowth is required to avoid recurrence. After excision, the specimen should be sent for histopathologic examination to differentiate between the exostosis and osteochondromas, which are underreported in subungual locations, and to rule out malignant transformation. We present a 13-year-old girl with an isolated subungual nonprotruding exostosis of the great toe that was treated by excisional biopsy. The histopathologic examination confirmed it as osteochondroma, which is underreported.

Pediatric high grade gliomas: A comprehensive histopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular integrated approach in routine practice.

Pediatric high grade gliomas have undergone remarkable changes in recent time with discovery of new molecular pathways. They have been added separately in current WHO 2021 blue book. All the entities show characteristic morphology and immunohistochemistry. Methylation data correctly identifies these entities into particular group of clusters. The pediatric group high grade glioma comprises- Diffuse midline glioma, H3K27-altered; Diffuse hemispheric glioma, H3G34-mutant; Diffuse pediatric-type high-grade glioma, H3-wild type & IDH-wild type; Infant hemispheric glioma and Epithelioid glioblastoma/Grade 3 pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma and very rare IDH-mutant astrocytoma. However it is not always feasible to perform these molecular tests where cost-effective diagnosis is a major concern. Here we discuss the major entities with their characteristic histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular findings that may help to reach to suggest the diagnosis and help the clinician for appropriate treatment strategies. We have also made a simple algorithmic flow chart integrated with histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular characteristics for better understanding.

Spinal astroblastoma, MN1 altered in 3-year-old child: An uncommon tumor at an unusual site.

Astroblastoma is an uncommon circumscribed glial tumor mostly involving the cerebral hemisphere. The characteristic molecular alteration is meningioma (disrupted in balanced translocation) 1 (MN1) rearrangement. No definite World Health Organization grade has been assigned as both low- and high-grade tumors are known to occur. Tumors in the spine are extremely rare; to date only three cases have been reported in the literature. A vigilant microscopy and ancillary testing aid in diagnosis when the tumors present in unusual locations, as in our case. The prompt differentiation of this tumor from its mimickers is a mandate as modalities of management are different and not clearly established.

Effect of dietary supplementation of fermented fish silage on serum biochemical parameters of broiler Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding fermented fish silage (FFS) on serum biochemical parameters of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 192, 7-day-old broiler Japanese quail chicks of either sex, were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments with four replicates in each group having 12 chicks in each replicate pen. The dietary treatments were T1 - Control diet, T2 - Diet containing 5% FFS, T3 - Diet containing 10% FFS, and T4 - Diet containing 15% FFS. Group body weight and feed consumption were recorded at weekly intervals. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was derived by dividing the feed consumed with the weekly body weight gain. At the end of the experiment, 8 birds from each treatment were selected randomly and sacrificed by cervical dislocation to study the carcass traits expressed as % pre-slaughter live weight. At 5 weeks of age, about 2 ml of blood was taken from the jugular vein of each selected bird, and serum samples were separated after centrifugation. Total protein, albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio, calcium, phosphorus, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were estimated in the serum. RESULT: The cumulative body weight gains from 1 to 5 weeks of age did not vary significantly between control and 5% FFS group. However, a linear decrease in body weight gain was observed by increasing the levels of FFS beyond 5% in the diet. The cumulative feed consumption was significantly higher in case of birds under control group during 1-5 weeks of age as compared to birds fed FFS based diet (5%, 10%, and 15%). No statistical difference in cumulative feed conversion ratio could be noticed during 1-5 weeks of age. The eviscerated yield decreased and giblet weight increased due to the dietary supplementation of FFS at 15% level. The breast meat yield decreased due to dietary supplementation of FFS at 10% and 15% level in the diet of broiler Japanese quails. The effect of FFS was found to be nonsignificant (p>0.05) with respect to serum total protein, globulin and A/G ratio under different treatments whereas significant difference observed in serum albumin concentration. Dietary supplementation of FFS at 10% and 15% level significantly increased the AST concentration in serum. There was no significant difference among the treatments regarding the parameters such as ALT, calcium, phosphorous, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-C, VLDL-C, and LDL-C. CONCLUSION: The serum-biochemical parameters are influenced by the dietary supplementation of FFS in broiler Japanese quails.

Effect of supplementing different concentrations of organic trace minerals on performance, antioxidant activity, and bone mineralization in Vanaraja chickens developed for free range farming.

An experiment was conducted to determine the performance, antioxidation activity, and bone mineral content in Vanaraja chickens fed diet supplemented with organic trace minerals (oTM) at reduced levels. A total of 360 day-old chicks were selected and distributed randomly into 60 battery brooder pens. A maize-soybean meal-based control diet was supplemented with inorganic trace minerals (iTM), i.e., Mn, Zn, Fe, and Cu at 50, 45, 40, and 7.5 mg/kg, respectively, and varying concentration of oTM, i.e., Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, I, Se, and Cr at 45, 50, 7.5, 40, 2, 0.30, and 0.25 mg/kg (diet II); 33.75, 37.50, 5.63, 30.0, 1.50, 0.23, and 0.19 mg/kg (diet III); 22.5, 25.0, 3.75, 20.0, 1.0, 0.15, and 0.13 mg/kg (diet IV); 18.0, 20.0, 3.0, 16.0, 0.80, 0.12, and 0.10 mg/kg (diet V); and 13.5, 15.0, 2.25, 12.0, 0.60, 0.09, and 0.08 mg/kg (diet VI), respectively. Each diet was allotted randomly to ten replicates and fed ad libitum from 1 to 42 days of age. The body weight at 14, 28, and 42 days was not affected by reducing the supplementation of oTM concentration in the diets. Similarly, feed intake at 14 days of age was not affected but reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in the group fed diet IV (50% oTM) compared to that in the other groups. The higher feed conversion ratio and increased concentration of Ca, P, and trace minerals in tibia were evident in the group fed oTM-supplemented diets compared to the diet containing iTM. Activities of glutathione peroxidase and ferric reducing ability in plasma did not differ in the groups fed on lower concentration of oTM compared to those fed on diet I (control diet). Therefore, it is concluded that the dietary supplementation of trace minerals can be reduced greatly when supplemented as organic form without affecting growth and antioxidant status in Vanaraja chickens.

Effect of supplementing organic selenium on performance, carcass traits, oxidative parameters and immune responses in commercial broiler chickens.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing various concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 µg/kg diet) of organic Se on growth performance, carcass traits, oxidative stress, and immune responses in commercial broiler chickens reared in open-sided poultry house under tropical climatic conditions. Each diet was fed ad libitum to eight replicates consisting of six birds in each pen from 1 to 42 d of age. Body weight gain and feed efficiency, and relative weight of liver, abdominal fat and ready to cook yields were not affected (p>0.05) by organic Se supplementation to broiler diets. Lipid peroxidation in plasma decreased, while activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in plasma increased (p<0.01) linearly with Se concentration in diet. The ratios between heterophyls and lymphocytes and relative weight of lymphoid organs (bursa, spleen, and thymus), and antibody production to Newcastle disease vaccination were not affected (p>0.05) by Se supplementation to broiler diets. However, the cell-mediated immunity (lymphocyte proliferation ratio) increased (p<0.01) linearly with dietary Se concentration. The results of the present study indicate that the supplementation of Se did not influence body weight and feed efficiency. However, supplementation of Se increased antioxidant status and lymphocyte proliferation in broiler chickens.

Effect of feeding different levels of energy and protein on performance of Aseel breed of chicken during juvenile phase.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding different metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on performance of Aseel chicken during 0 to 8 weeks of age (Juvenile phase). At 1 day old, 432 chicks were randomly distributed into nine groups. Each group had 48 chicks distributed into eight replicates with six birds in each. Maize-soybean meal-based diets with three ME levels (2,400, 2,600 and 2,800 kcal/kg) and three CP levels (16%, 18% and 20%) were fed to birds in a 3 × 3 factorial design. Different ME levels had significant effect on body weight gain (BWG), feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Birds fed diet with 2,400 kcal/kg ME had significantly lower BWG (P < 0.004), lower shank length (P < 0.0007), higher feed intake (P < 0.0001) and poor FCR (P < 0.0001) than those fed diet with either 2,600 or 2,800 kcal/kg ME. Energy efficiency ratio was not influenced by ME, CP or their interaction. However, protein efficiency ratio was significantly higher at higher ME levels and lower at higher CP levels. There was significant effect of ME, CP and their interaction on serum protein and cholesterol levels. However, they made no significant effect on antibody titre against New Castle disease vaccine. The study concluded that provision of 2,600 kcal/kg ME and 16% CP would be ideal for optimum growth of Aseel birds during juvenile phase. However, to obtain better FCR, feeding Aseel birds with diet having 2,800 kcal/kg ME and 16% CP would be ideal.

Effect of nutrient density on production performance, egg quality and humoral immune response of brown laying (Dahlem Red) hens in the tropics.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of various concentrations of metabolizable energy (ME) with graded incremental levels of crude protein (CP) and essential amino acids (lysine and methionine) on production performance, egg quality and humoral immune response of Dahlem Red laying hens. Four experimental diets based on maize-soybean meal-deoiled rice bran were prepared. Diet 1 was fed as a control diet containing 2,600 kcal ME/kg, 15% CP, 0.75% Lys and 0.36% Met, and in the other three diets (D2, D3 and D4), concentrations of the above nutrients were increased by 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5%, respectively. The levels of Ca (3.5%) and available P (0.32) were constant in all the diets. Each diet was offered ad libitum from 28 to 40 weeks of age to eight replicates containing six birds in each replicate. The egg production, egg weight and egg mass (in grams of egg per hen per day) were not affected by increasing the nutrient density up to 7.5% (2,795 kcal ME/kg diet) compared to the control group (2,600 ME/kg diet). However, feed consumption and feed efficiency (in grams of egg per gram of feed) were influenced by the variation in the nutrient density of diets. As the nutrient density increased by 5% (2,730 ME/kg diet), birds consumed significantly (P < 0.001) less feed. The birds in the 7.5% higher density group produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher egg mass per unit feed consumption compared to the control diet. Increasing nutrient density up to 7.5% had no effect on relative weight of albumen, yolk or shell. The Haugh unit, yolk colour and shell thickness were also not affected due to variation in the nutrient density. The humoral immune response measured at 34 and 40 weeks was progressively improved by increasing the nutrient density up to 5%. Increasing the nutrient density beyond 5% in the diet had no further influence on the humoral immune response. Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that Dahlem Red laying hens required 2,795 kcal/kg ME, 16% CP, 0.8% lysine and 0.4% methionine for eliciting optimum performance and immune response during 28 to 40 weeks of age.

Evaluation of two Indian native chicken breeds for reproduction traits and heritability of juvenile growth traits.

The present study was conducted to evaluate two Indian native chicken breeds, namely, Aseel and Kadaknath for fertility, hatchability, genetic parameters of juvenile growth traits, and semen quality traits at the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility was similar in Aseel (86.96%) and Kadaknath (85.15%); however, a relatively higher hatchability was observed in Kadaknath (77.94%) than Aseel (70.74%). Heritability estimates of body weights at 4 weeks of age were almost similar in Aseel (0.37) and Kadaknath (0.39), while the estimate of body weight at 6 weeks of age was higher in Aseel (0.42) than Kadaknath (0.31). The heritability estimate of shank length at 6 weeks of age was lower in Aseel (0.16) compared to Kadaknath (0.35). The age at first egg in the flock was comparable in Aseel (148 days) and Kadaknath (150 days). Aseel breed with significantly (P ≤ 0.001) higher body weight, absolute and relative testes weights had significantly higher semen volume (P ≤ 0.05) and sperm motility (P ≤ 0.01) but had lower seminal plasma cholesterol level (P ≤ 0.05) as compared to Kadaknath. It can be concluded that there is a scope for genetic improvement of these two native breeds for juvenile growth traits since heritability estimates of these traits were relatively high.