Nutritional composition, mineral content, antioxidant activity and quantitative estimation of water soluble vitamins and phenolics by RP-HPLC in some lesser used wild edible plants.

The present study aimed to investigate the nutritional properties and antioxidant activities of six underutilized wild edible plants viz. Ipomoea aquatica, Achyranthes aspera, Aasystasia ganjetica, Enhydra fluctuans, Oldenlandia corymbosa and Amaranthus viridis that are commonly consumed as food in the India The antioxidant properties of the plants were evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging ability, reducing power capacity, metal chelating activity, lipid peroxidation assay, estimation of total phenolic content and flavonoids content in different solvent extraction system like benzene, chloroform, methanol and 70% aqueous (aq.) ethanol. The quantitation of phenolic acids and flavonoids and water soluble vitamins in these plants were carried out by HPLC using Acclaim C 18 column (5 µm particle size, 250 × 4.6 mm), Dionex Ultimate 3000 liquid chromatograph and detection was carried out in photo diode array (PDA) detector. The results of investigation showed that these plants are rich sources of protein, carbohydrate minerals and vitamins, especially the B group of vitamins that can contribute immensely to nutrition, food security, and health and therapeutic benefits. The different levels of antioxidant activities were found in the solvent systems used. The HPLC analysis also showed the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids in various amounts in these plants which could be utilized as natural antioxidant.

Characterization of grain nutritional quality in wheat.

Ten Indian wheat varieties viz. RSP-566, RSP-561, PBW-396, HD-2687, C-306, PBW-175, RSP-81, PBW-550, DBW-17 and WH-542 were characterized for grain nutritional quality parameters viz., macronutrients (viz. starch, protein, protein fractions, sugars, fat), essential elements (calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc), carotenoids, antioxidant and antinutritional parameters (phytic acid, total phenol, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and trypsin inhibitor). RSP-561 possessed highest starch content, total protein, albumin, globulin, microelements (iron and zinc) and lowest antinutritional phytic acid and its grain contained second highest values of gluten (gliadin + glutenin), calcium, carotenoids and antioxidant contents and second lowest in antinutritional total phenol, PPO, trypsin inhibitor compositions. HD-2687 showed highest content of albumin, gliadin and total phenol constituents besides highest starch and total protein content. PBW-175 had highest sugar, calcium and carotenoids. However, antinutritional trypsin inhibitor, total phenol and PPO were found lowest in RSP-566, PBW-550 and RSP-81 respectively. The finding of this study concludes that on the basis of overall nutritional status, RSP-561 genotypes can be selected as one of best genotypes.

Subglottic chicken bone in a five month old baby.

Foreign body aspiration most commonly affects young children, with respiratory symptoms such as wheeze and cough after a choking episode. When the foreign body is first inhaled as per witnessed by the parents or caregiver there is always choking or gaging episode, followed by a coughing spell. The absence of a cough strongly rules out the possibility of foreign body having entered the air passage. Here we report a case of chicken bone inhaled as foreign body in a five months old baby.

Sphenoid sinus mucocele with blindness: a rare presentation.

Isolated sphenoid sinus mucocele is a rare entity. Here we report a case of isolated sphenoid sinus mucocele in a 9 years old girl presenting with unilateral blindness and without any sinonasal complaints. C.T. scan revealed an isolated sphenoid sinus mucocele which was managed endoscopically. A brief review of literature is also included.

Myiasis infestation in postoperative mastoid cavity.

This is a case report of myiasis in modified radical mastoidectomy cavity in a 48 years old male presented in the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, T.U. Teaching Hospital, Katmandu, Nepal. Around 50 maggots were removed from his mastoid cavity. Patient was managed with turpentine oil and antibiotics which was given to prevent secondary infection. Literature search revealed only one case report of Myiasis infestation in a postoperative mastoid cavity.

OK-432: an effective sclerosing agent for the treatment of lymphangiomas of head and neck.

OBJECTIVE: The basic objective of this study was to find out the efficacy of OK-432 for the conservative treatment of lymphangiomas of head and neck regions at the Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu, Nepal. METHODS: It was a hospital based prospective, cross-sectional, case series, conducted among the patients suffering from different lymphangiomas of head and neck regions and treated with intra-lesional injection of OK-432, from March, 2005 to September 2006. Altogether eleven patients were enrolled in this modality of treatment out of which one patient was excluded from the study, which was treated surgically due to very ugly scar at the site of lesion resulting from previous surgery for the same. The data were analyzed by using simple mathematical tools like percentage and frequency. RESULTS: Out of ten patients treated with intralesional injection of OK-432, absolute response, i.e. total resolution of swelling was found in nine patients (90%) after the first dose. Remaining one patient also responded well on the treatment but some residual swelling was in situ for which second dose was given. After the second dose it was also totally resolved. In this way we achieved 100% response after the second dose of OK-432. CONCLUSION: The results of this study so far indicate that OK-432 is an effective and safe tool for the treatment of lymphangioma of head and neck region. As the procedure can be done in an out patient department, without hospitalization and has got minimal side effects, it can be proposed as the first line treatment of lymphangiomas of head and neck.

Lipoblastoma in head and neck--a rare childhood tumour.

Lipoblastoma is an uncommon benign mesenchymal tumour that occurs primarily in children younger than 3 yrs of age. Despite the lesions being benign, great difficulty can be encountered in its management because of its tendency to invade the different fascial planes. A rare case of huge lipoblastoma diagnosed in a 22 months old child, involving various spaces of face and skull base has been reported. This huge tumour was completely and successfully removed through cheek incision without any postoperative complications.

Hearing results after myringoplasty.

BACKGROUND: Myringoplasty is one of the various surgical techniques for the management of chronic supurative otitis media of tubotympanic type (CSOM-TT). The presence of a perforation of tympanic membrane with intermittent discharge and hearing loss of conductive nature are the indications of myringoplasty. It is a beneficial procedure done for closing tympanic membrane perforation and improving hearing. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess hearing improvement after myringoplasty within ten weeks following surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 50 patients who were suffering from CSOM-TT. Preoperative and postoperative examinations of the patients were conducted clinically as well as audiologically. Pre and postoperative air-bone (A-B) gap were calculated by taking the averages of bone conduction and air conduction at the frequencies of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz. Myringoplasty was performed with underlay technique under local anaesthesia by either permeatal or endaural approach. Temporal muscle fascia was used as grafting material for reconstruction of the tympanic membrane. RESULTS: Preoperatively, air-bone gap of 30 db or more was observed in 39 (76%) patients whereas post operatively A-B gap of 30 db or more was observed in only one patient. Using hearings gain exceeding 15 dB as the criterion, thirty-nine (78%) patients had their hearing gain exceeding 15 dB. Using postoperative A-B gap within 20 dB as the criterion, 42 (84%) patients had their A-B gap within 20 dB. CONCLUSION: Myringoplasty is a beneficial procedure for hearing improvement. Using the proportion of patients with a postoperative A-B gap of 30 dB as the criterion, in this study, 98% of patients achieved their A-B gap closer within 30 dB. Using hearing gain exceeding 15 dB as the criterion, 78% patient had their hearing gain exceeding 15 dB.

Distribution of malignancies in head and neck regions and their management.

A retrospective, cross sectional, series of cases were currently studied in the department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) Kathmandu, Nepal to find out the distribution of different malignancies in head and neck regions and to identify their treatment modalities during the period of one year from January 2003 to December 2003. Altogether 159 new cases of histopathologically/cytopathologically confirmed malignancies of head and neck regions and their treatment modalities were analyzed. Out of 159 cases, malignancies of larynx (41), pharynx (31) and oral cavity (30) were found to be the commonest head and neck malignancies where as malignancies of ear (1), and salivary glands (4) were found to be the least common. Likewise surgery with or without radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy was found to be the commonest treatment modality. Of the 159 cases seven were occult primary. As the laryngo-pharyngo-oral malignancies are the commonest malignancies and surgery with or without radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy the commonest treatment modalities for these head and neck malignancies. A well equipped head and neck unit is needed at TUTH along with proposed radiotherapy and medical oncology support for better management of these malignancies.

Direction-selective free expansion of laser-produced plasmas from planar targets.

Direction-selective expansion of laser-produced plasmas from planar slab targets of Al, Ni, Mo, and Ta are reported. Angular distributions of the particles emitted from the targets, produced by a 130 mJ, 5 nsec, Nd:YAG laser, were obtained by means of a retarding potential analyzer and a quartz crystal. It was observed that the angular distributions of the particles had mainly three characteristics. For a given laser energy and a given target element, the angular distribution showed more preferential focusing toward the target normal as the value of the focal spot size B increased. Second, for a given laser energy and a given focal spot size, the focusing was more pronounced toward the target normal as the atomic mass number of the target materials increased. Third, for a given energy, a given focal spot size and a given element, the particles with higher ionization states were much more focused toward the target normal. Our experimental results confirm the Monte Carlo simulation results of the earlier works taking into account collision and recombination processes.

Reflectivity and energy balance in pulsed-laser deposition experiments from mono- and bi-atomic targets.

Reflectivity and complete energy balance from the planar targets of aluminum, copper, nickel, and molybdenum have been measured using a Nd: glass laser (lambda=1060 nm,tau=5 ns) in the low intensity regime of laser plasma interaction as a function of focal spot size. The magnitude of partition of total incident laser energy into different channels is observed to decrease as the focal spot size increases. It is further observed that the magnitude of partition of the incident energy into these channels, in general, decreases as the atomic number increases for any given focal spot size, although, the reflectivity component of the partitioned energy increases with focal spot size for any given element. The reflectivities of copper and tungsten and their alloy were measured separately. The reflectivity from the alloy plasma was reduced by a factor of 6 compared to either element separately. This observation confirms the recent theory that in the multiion plasma the ion acoustic waves are additionally damped due to additional Joule, thermal diffusion, and viscous terms in the modified ion-fluid theory of the ion acoustic waves in a multiion species plasma.

Doubly rotated contoured quartz resonators.

Doubly rotated contoured quartz resonators are used in the design of temperature-compensated stable clocks and dual-mode sensors for simultaneous measurements of pressure and temperature. The design of these devices is facilitated by models that can predict frequency spectra associated with the three thickness modes and temperature and stress-induced frequency changes as a function of crystalline orientation. The Stevens-Tiersten technique for the analysis of the C-mode of a doubly rotated contoured quartz resonator is extended to include the other two thickness modes. Computational results for harmonic and anharmonic overtones of all three thickness modes of such resonators help in optimizing the radius of curvature of the contour and electrode shape for suppression of unwanted modes and prevention of activity dips. The temperature and stress-induced changes in thickness-mode resonator frequencies are calculated from a perturbation technique for small dynamic fields superposed on a static bias. The static bias refers to either a temperature or stress-induced static deformation of the resonator plate. Phenomenological models are also used for calculating the temperature and stress-induced changes in resonant frequencies as a function of crystalline orientation. Results for the SBTC-cut quartz plate with a spherical convex contour of 260 mm indicate that normal trapping occurs for the third (n = 3) and fifth (n = 5) harmonic of the A-mode, the fundamental (n = 1) and third (n = 3) harmonic of the B-mode, and the fundamental (n = 1) and fifth (n = 5) harmonic of the C-mode.

Personality disorder in university students: a multitrait-multimethod matrix study.

The present study examined the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) in a sample of first-year university students. The three self-report measures used to assess personality disorders were the (a) Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI); (b) Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II); and (c) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Personality Disorder Scale (MMPI-PD). The prevalence of PD was estimated by including the number of participants above the cut-off scores selected for each of the three PD instruments. The results indicate prevalence in the range of 0% to 16% for the males, and approximately 1% to 26% for the females. These findings generally confirm the prevalence range of 5% to 15% reported in other investigations of nonpatient samples. With few exceptions, the three tests are generally consistent in their estimates of PD prevalence of all the 11 personality disorders. The multitrait-multimethod matrix reveals that the disorders are generally positively correlated with each other on all the three tests, suggesting considerable construct overlap. Specifically, passive-aggressive and schizotypal disorders produce the most convergent correlations. On the MMPI-PD, however, schizoid is a relatively more discriminant disorder.

Time of flight measurements on ion-velocity distribution and anisotropy of ion temperatures in laser plasmas.

Using a 200-mJ, 5-ns, Nd:YAG laser (where YAG denotes yttrium aluminum garnet), time of flight spectra for ions produced from slab targets of carbon, aluminum, nickel, and tantalum were obtained at a laser intensity of approximately 5x10(10) W/cm(2). The velocity distribution function of ions of each ionization state, at several angles, in the plane of incidence, was investigated and was observed to depart significantly from the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function. Kinetic temperatures of ions of each ionization state were estimated separately at various angles in the plane of incidence and were observed to show a highly anisotropic property leading one to conclude that the equipartition of energy between the plasma electrons and ions has not taken place. The results are discussed and the relevant conclusions are presented.

Pitfalls in the diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma presenting in an unusual site: a case report.

The cytologic appearance of epithelioid sarcoma in fine-needle aspiration biopsy cytology (FNABC) smears has not been extensively described. We report a case of epithelioid sarcoma in a 55-year-old male who presented with nodular swellings in the abdominal wall and scrotum. The scrotal swelling was subsequently demonstrated to arise from the vas deferens. We highlight the cytomorphologic, immunocytochemical, and histopathologic features of this rare lesion in an unusual site, with particular emphasis on the dilemma encountered in the cytodiagnosis of this lesion.

Construction of a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector expressing murine interleukin-12 (IL-12).

IL-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine that is known to induce tumor regression and long-term antitumor immunity. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are advantageous for gene therapy in that they lack pathogenicity in humans, infect dividing as well as nondividing cells, and show a broad range of infectivity. We constructed an rAAV vector expressing interleukin-12 (IL-12) for cancer immunotherapy studies in a mouse model by inserting murine IL-12 (mIL-12) p35 and p40 cDNAs into the plasmid pRep4 and inserting the encephalomyocarditis virus internal ribosomal entry site between the p35 and p40 cDNAs. The mIL-12 expression cassette containing the Rous sarcoma virus promoter and a simian virus 40 polyadenylation signal was subcloned into the AAV plasmid p008Sub/NeoR, which contains two AAV inverted terminal repeat sequences and the NeoR gene driven by the thymidine kinase promoter. rAAV virions (10(4) infectious particles/ml) were generated by cotransfection of rAAV-mIL-12 and a helper plasmid (pAAV/Ad) into 293 cells previously infected with adenovirus 5. After infection of D6 fibroblasts with rAAV-mIL-12, G418-resistant clones were isolated. Each of the 1D D6 clones isolated produced up to 5.2 ng/10(6) cells/48 hours of mIL-12 as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Induction of interferon-gamma, enhanced lymphocyte proliferation, and cytotoxicity assays confirmed biologically functional IL-12 production by the vector. This is the first report indicating that an rAAV vector expresses mIL-12, which can be used to model the effects of mIL-12 alone and/or in combination with other antitumor agents.

Long-term stability and performance characteristics of crystal quartz gauge at high pressures and temperatures.

Good long-term stability of high precision quartz pressure sensors is necessary for various applications ranging from pressure transient analysis to permanent monitoring systems for optimal reservoir management in the petroleum industry. A crystal quartz gauge (CQG(1 )) is a dual-mode, thickness-shear, quartz pressure sensor that has been used in oil field services for the past 8 years. High accuracy, resolution, and fast response time of this sensor enable a reliable estimate of formation permeability and oil/water interfaces in reservoirs that help reduce the overall cost of oil and gas production. The sensing resonator characteristics can be described in terms of equivalent circuit parameters (motional resistance and capacitance), resonator-Q and the short-term frequency stability of both the B- and C-modes of vibrations at various temperatures. The pressure reading errors of manufactured gauges are less than 8.89 kPa (1 psi) (plus 0.01% of the reading because of the uncertainty of the dead-weight tester). The pressure resolution is better than 20.7 Pa (0.003 psi) over a 1-s gate time. An extremely effective dynamic compensation algorithm yields corrected pressure readings with a very fast response time as short as a strain-gauge-based pressure transducer while retaining the high performance of a quartz gauge. Recent long-term stability tests of CBGs show a negligibly small drift of the order of a few tenths of 1 psi (0.1 psi=689 Pa) at 103 MPa (15 kpsi) and 175 degrees C for a period of more than 1 yr. These results confirm that the CQG characteristics exceed the demanding specifications for both the well tests and permanent monitoring systems.

In vivo studies of adenovirus-mediated p53 gene therapy for cis-platinum-resistant human ovarian tumor xenografts.

We have recently reported that mutations of the tumor suppressor p53 gene are associated with the development of resistance to cis-platinum in human ovarian cancer cells, and that adenovirus-mediated reintroduction of the wild-type p53 (wtp53) gene in ovarian tumor cells resulted in the sensitization of tumor cells to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether i.p. treatment of CDDP-resistant tumor cells expressing mutant p53 (mutp53) with a recombinant adenovirus expressing wtp53 (Adwtp53) would result in the sensitization of resistant cells to CDDP. In order to determine whether i.p. injection of a recombinant adenovirus would result in expression of the transgene in tumor cells growing intraperitoneally, we first injected A2780/CP cells in nude mice and 10 days later the mice were injected i.p. with a recombinant adenovirus expressing beta-galactosidase (Ad beta-gal). Twenty-four hours following i.p. injection of Ad beta-gal, tumors were removed and stained for beta-gal. While tumors showed extensive staining for beta-gal, indicating internalization of adenovirus and the expression of the transgene in tumors, no expression of beta-gal protein was detected in liver. I.p. treatment of A2780/CP tumor xenografts with Adwtp53 caused extensive tumor cell death, which was further enhanced by CDDP. Treatment with Adwtp53 (5 x 10(7) pfu/day, 3-5 treatments) resulted in a significant decrease in tumor volume and increase in animal survival compared to either no treatment or treatment with vector alone without p53 gene. Additional therapy with CDDP (1 mg/kg/day x 3-4) further reduced tumor volume and increased survival (30-40%), suggesting that combination therapy of Adwtp53 and CDDP was better than single agents alone. Our results indicate that i.p. dosing with adenovirus-mediated wtp53 gene therapy could be beneficial in combination with CDDP for the treatment of ovarian tumors expressing mutp53.

Predicting personality disorder traits with the Defense Style Questionnaire in a normal sample.

This research examined the efficacy of the 40-item Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), measuring mature, neurotic and immature defense styles, to predict DSM-III-R personality disorders. The Coolidge Axis II Inventory, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II, and the MMPI personality disorder scales were used to measure 11 personality disorders in a nonclinical sample. The results show that most personality disorders are positively associated with the highly maladaptive immature defense style, and negatively associated with the mature defense style. Multiple regression analyses reveal that the combined variance accounted for by the defense styles range from 12% to 42% on the CATI, 3% to 42% on the MCMI-II, and 2% to 32% on the MMPI-PD. However, specific personality disorders cannot be predicted with the defense styles on any measure.