Aspergillus galactomannan detection in exhaled breath condensate compared to bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients.

OBJECTIVES: Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a noninvasive means of sampling the airways that has shown significant promise in the diagnosis of many disorders. There have been no reports of its usefulness in the detection of galactomannan (GM), a component of the cell wall of Aspergillus. The suitability of EBC for the detection of GM for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) using the Platelia Aspergillus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was investigated. METHODS: Prospective, cross-sectional study of lung transplant recipient and haemotologic malignancy patients at a university centre. EBC samples were compared to concomitant bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples among lung transplant recipients and healthy controls. EBC was collected over 10 minutes using a refrigerated condenser according to the European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society recommendations, with the BAL performed immediately thereafter. RESULTS: A total of 476 EBC specimens with 444 matched BAL specimens collected from lung transplant recipients (n = 197) or haemotologic malignancy patients (n = 133) were examined. Both diluted and untreated EBC optical density (OD) values (0.0830, interquartile range (IQR) 0.0680-0.1040; and 0.1130, IQR 0.0940-0.1383), respectively, from all patients regardless of clinical syndrome were significantly higher than OD values in healthy control EBCs (0.0508, IQR 0.0597-0.0652; p < 0.0001). However, the OD index values did not correlate with the diagnosis of IA (44 samples were associated with IA). Furthermore, no significant correlation was found between EBC GM and the matched BAL specimen. CONCLUSIONS: GM is detectable in EBC; however, no correlation between OD index values and IA was noted in lung transplant recipients.

Structural, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of Urea tartaric acid single crystals.

Urea tartaric acid (UT) an organic nonlinear optical (NLO) material was synthesized from aqueous solution and the crystals were grown by the slow evaporation technique. The single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the UT crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system. The functional groups of UT have been identified by the Fourier transform infrared spectral studies. The optical transparent window in the visible and near the IR regions was investigated. The transmittance of UT has been used to calculate the refractive index (n) as a function of the wavelength. The nonlinear optical property of the grown crystal has been confirmed by the Kurtz powder second harmonic generation test. The birefringence of the crystal was determined using a tungsten halogen lamp source. The laser induced surface damage threshold for the grown crystal was measured using the Nd:YAG laser. The anisotropic in mechanical property of the grown crystals was studied using Vicker's microhardness tester at different planes. The etch pit density of UT crystals was investigated. The thermal behavior of UT was investigated using the TG-DTA and DSC studies.

Perfusion redistribution after a pulmonary-embolism-like event with contrast enhanced EIT.

Recent studies showed that regional pulmonary perfusion can be reliably estimated using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) with the aid of hypertonic saline based contrast enhancement. Building on these successful studies, we studied contrast EIT for pulmonary perfusion defect caused by an artificially induced pulmonary embolism (PE) in a large ovine model (N = 8, 78 ± 7.8 kg). Furthermore, the efficacy of a less invasive contrast bolus of 0.77 ml kg(-1) of NaCl 3% was compared with a more concentrated bolus of 0.13 ml kg(-1) of NaCl 20%. Prior to the injection of each contrast bolus injection, ventilation was turned off to provide a total of 40 to 45 s of apnoea. Each bolus of impedance contrast was injected through a catheter into the right atrium. Pulmonary embolisation was performed by balloon occlusion of part of the right branch of the pulmonary trunk. Four parameters representing the kinetics of the contrast dilution in the lung were evaluated for statistical differences between baseline and PE, including peak value, maximum uptake, maximum washout and area under the curve of the averaged contrast dilution curve in each lung. Furthermore, the right lung to left lung (R2L) ratio of each the aforementioned parameters were assessed. While all of the R2L ratios yielded significantly different means between baseline and PE, it can be concluded that the R2L ratios of area under the curve and peak value of the averaged contrast dilution curve are the most promising and reliable in assessing PE. It was also found that the efficacy of the two types of impedance contrasts were not significantly different in distinguishing PE from baseline in our model.

Fish p53 as a possible biomarker for genotoxins in the aquatic environment.

The p53 gene is a tumour suppressor gene which has a fundamental role in cell cycle control and division, and in mammals certain genotoxic agents induce specific mutations in p53, leading to tumourigenesis. Fish have been investigated as models for studying carcinogens, but as yet very little data exists that links exposure to specific chemicals with the aetiology of tumours found in wild populations. In this study, p53 was sequenced from five species of fish with a view to the possible use of mutations in the highly conserved domains of p53 to identify genotoxins in the aquatic environment. A 0.8 kb fragment of the cDNA encompassing the conserved DNA-binding domain of p53 was sequenced in three Oncorhynchus salmonid fish: coho (O. kisutch), chum (O. keta), and chinook (O. tshawytscha) and full-length p53 cDNAs were sequenced in the puffer fish (Tetraodon miurus) and the barbel (Barbus barbus). The full-length puffer fish and barbel p53 cDNAs were 1834 bp and 1790 bp in length, encoding a 367 aa protein and a 369 aa protein, respectively. The deduced aa sequences of the p53 cDNA in the Oncorhynchus salmon shared a 100% identity in the five conserved regions (I-V). Comparisons of the deduced aa sequences for puffer fish and barbel p53 with other fish p53s revealed a high homology within the conserved DNA binding domain (68-86% for puffer fish and between 66-88% for barbel). "Conserved" domain I was not highly conserved in fish, as it is in mammals, and, therefore, conserved domains II-V are most likely to provide the valuable sequences in fish p53 for use in mutational studies to fingerprint genotoxins in the aquatic environment.

Molecular characterization of the first non-mammalian p73 cDNA.

The p53 gene is believed to be mutated or deficient in over 50% of human tumours, and is therefore considered to be instrumental in the process of carcinogenesis. Recently in humans, homologues of p53 (such as p73 and p63) have been isolated. In our studies in fish, we have been isolating tumour suppressor genes with a view to their potential use to study genotoxins in the aquatic environment. In this paper, we report the characterisation of the first non-mammalian p73 cDNA, isolated from barbel (Barbus barbus), a freshwater cyprinid fish indigenous to UK rivers. The deduced barbel p73 amino acid sequence has a high homology with human p73 alpha: the proteins are 641 and 636 aa in length, respectively, and there is a 72% identity over the entire sequence length of the protein (over 90% in the putative DNA binding domain). The level of conservancy for p73 is considerably higher across class (from man to fish), than for p53 and it may therefore have particular value in studies on environmental mutagenesis. Northern analysis showed expression of three p73 mRNA transcripts/homologues. The patterns of p73 tissue expression in the barbel differed from the expression of p53 mRNA, suggesting specific functional roles for the two genes.

Coronary angioplasty for the control of intractable ventricular arrhythmia.

Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) that occur following an acute extensive anterior myocardial infarction (MI) usually respond to conventional antiarrhythmic regimes of treatment. Rarely, the VA may prove intractable to therapy. This report is of three patients who presented at varying time frames (3 h to 10 weeks) following an anterior MI. They exhibited sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and hemodynamic instability despite multiple antiarrhythmic drug therapy, intravenous magnesium, direct-current cardioversion (DCCV), overdrive pacing (in one case), and intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP). Although there was no clinical evidence of continuing ischemia and although coronary angiography that was done in each case showed the infarct-related artery (IRA) to subtend akinetic areas on left ventricular (LV) angiogram, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of the IRA was done in all three cases. Reestablishing patency of the IRA helped in controlling the VA dramatically with average therapeutic doses of antiarrhythmic drugs. All three patients showed this control to have been maintained over a follow-up period of more than 1 year, with partial improvement in LV function and signal-averaged electrocardiogram negative for late potentials. Thus, in patients with extensive infarction and intractable VA, PTCA of the IRA may provide control of VA even in the absence of clinical signs of active ischemia or viable muscle mass.

Multiplane transesophageal echocardiography: our initial experience.

We present our experience in the diagnostic assessment of a wide spectrum of cardiovascular disorders using multiplane transesophageal echocardiography (MP-TEE). Two hundred and seventeen patients in the age range of 11-71 years were subjected to MP-TEE from January to November 1993. The male:female ratio was 1.1:1. One hundred and ten patients had predominantly mitral valve disease of rheumatic origin, eleven had mitral valve prolapse, twenty patients had aortic valve disease and thirty seven patients had more than one valve involvement. Six patients with suspected prosthetic heart valve dysfunction and ten patients of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were also studied. Two patients had unexplained pulmonary hypertension, three had pericardial disease and three had proximal aortic dissections. Twenty six patients with congenital heart disease were studied of which nineteen had atrial septal defects, one had corrected transposition of great vessels with pulmonic stenosis and one adult had Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve. In our experience, MP-TEE enhances the versatility of TEE by providing incremental diagnostic information and enhancing delineation of pathology. The procedure was well-tolerated and no complications occurred.

Anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds.

Many aromatic compounds and their monomers are existing in nature. Besides they are introduced into the environment by human activity. The conversion of these aromatic compounds is mainly an aerobic process because of the involvement of molecular oxygen in ring fission and as an electron acceptor. Recent literatures indicated that ring fission of monomers and obligomers mainly occurs in anaerobic environments through anaerobic respiration with nitrate, sulphate, carbon dioxide or carbonate as electron acceptors. These anaerobic processes will help to work out the better situation for bioremediation of contaminated environments. While there are plenty of efforts to reduce the release of these chemicals to the environment, already contaminated sites need to be remediated not only to restore the sites but to prevent the leachates spreading to nearby environment. Basically microorganisms are better candidates for breakdown of these compounds because of their wider catalytic mechanisms and the ability to act even in the absence of oxygen. These microbes can be grouped based on their energy mechanisms. Normally, the aerobic counterparts employ the enzymes like mono-and-dioxygenases. The end product is basically catechol, which further may be metabolised to CO2 by means of quinones reductases cycles. In the absense of reductases compounds, the reduced catechols tend to become oxidised to form many quinone compounds. The quinone products are more recalcitrant and lead to other aesthetic problems like colour in water, unpleasant odour, etc. On the contrary, in the reducing environment this process is prevented and in a cascade of pathways, the cleaved products are converted to acetyl co-A to be integrated into other central metabolite paths. The central metabolite of anaerobic degradation is invariably co-A thio-esters of benzoic acid or hydroxy benzoic acid. The benzene ring undergoes various substitution and addition reactions to form chloro-, nitro-, methyl- compounds. For complete degradation the side chains must be removed first and then the benzene ring is activated by carboxylation or hydroxylation or co-A thioester formation. In the next step the activated ring is converted to a form that can be collected in the central pool of metabolism. The third step is the channeling reaction in which the products of the catalysis are directed into central metabolite pool. The enzymes involved in these mechanisms are mostly benzyl co-A ligase, benzyl alcohol dehydrogenase. Other enzymes involved in this path are yet to be purified though many of the reactions products that have been theoretically postulated have been identified. This is mainly due to the instability of intermediate compounds as well as the association of the enzyme substrate is femoral and experimental conditions need to be sophisticated further for isolation of these enzymes. The first structural genes of benzoate and hydroxy benzoate ligases were isolated from Rhodopseudomonas palustris. This gene cluster of 30 kb size found in Rhodopseudomonas palustris coded for the Bad A protein. Similarly, some of the bph A,B,C and D cluster of genes coding for the degradation of pentachlorobenzenes were located in Pseudomonas pseudoalgaligenesKF 707.

Cytomorphological patterns of tubercular lymphadenitis revisited.

BACKGROUND: Tubercular lymphadenitis is one of the most common causes of lymph node enlargement in developing countries. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) plays an important role in diagnosing Tubercular lymphadenitis and prevents unnecessary surgical intervention. AIM: To study the cytomorphological patterns of tubercular lymphadenitis in our study population and correlate the bacillary load by acid fast staining with cytomorphological patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 150 cases of cytological proven granulomatous lymphadenitis and cases without granuloma, but positive acid fast bacilli (AFB) on Ziehl Neelson (ZN) stain were included in our study. Cytomorphological patterns were categorized into four patterns. Pattern A - Epithelioid granuloma without necrosis, Pattern B - Epithelioid granuloma with necrosis, Pattern C - Necrosis without epithelioid granuloma with neutrophilic infiltrate. Pattern D - with numerous macrophages. Chi-square test was done to correlate cytomorphological pattern and bacillary load. A 2 × 2 analysis was done to test the degree of one hypothesis. A P < 0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: PATTERNS AND THE NUMBER OF CASES OBSERVED ARE AS FOLLOWS: Pattern A - 29 cases, Pattern B - 84 cases, Pattern C - 34 cases. A distinct D Pattern with abundant foamy macrophages was seen in three immunodeficient patients. Positive ZN staining was seen in 81/150 54% of cases. The cytological patterns of AFB positive cases Pattern A: 6/29 (21%), Pattern B: 46/84 (55%), Pattern C: 25/34 (73.5%), Pattern D: 4/4 (100%). CONCLUSION: FNAC is useful in diagnosing tubercular lymphadenitis. Maximum bacillary load was seen in Pattern C. A distinct D Pattern was seen in immunodeficient patients.

Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck: imaging findings.

The hydrocele of the canal of Nuck is quite a rare condition and results from the failure of obliteration of the distal portion of evaginated parietal peritoneum within the inguinal canal which forms a sac containing fluid. It generally presents with painless inguinal swelling. Ultrasonography and MRI is plays an important role to differentiate from the other conditions presenting with inguinal swelling. We present the imaging findings of a case in 5-year-old girl.

Female epispadias.

Isolated female epispadias without bladder exstrophy is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. The symptoms of female epispadias are primary urinary incontinence and abnormal anatomical features. A 7-year-old girl presented with partial incontinence of urine. On physical examination, bifid clitoris and labia minora were seen. The vagina and hymen were normal. Voiding cystourethrogram showed no reflux. With the diagnosis of isolated female epispadias, single stage reconstruction of the urethra, labia minora and clitoris was performed.

A complication of Le Fort I osteotomy.

Le Fort I osteotomy is a routine procedure for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Following advances in instrumentation and anaesthesia, it is usually carried out safely as an elective procedure in hospitals with no adverse complications. Life-threatening complications are rare although the operation is performed in an area with an extensive vascular supply. The authors report a case of Le Fort I osteotomy that resulted in an unusual complication of cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Multivessel coronary angioplasty with anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery.

We report a case of coronary angioplasty to the right coronary artery, the circumflex, and the left anterior descending artery in a patient with anomalous left main coronary artery arising from the right aortic sinus of Valsalva. At angiographically documented follow-up of more than 2 years, the patient remains well without restenosis. This case represents the only such report in the literature. Angioplasty hardware was an important factor in successful crossing and dilatation of multiple severe and distal stenoses in the anomalous left system; appropriate technical details are discussed.

Electronic ECG simulator.

This paper describes the design of an ECG simulator which outputs both normal and abnormal waveforms. Both heart rate and signal amplitude may be controlled. Applications include a test signal source for repair/maintenance of ECG monitoring equipment, and as a laboratory simulation device for student educational use.

A sampling and storage system for arbitrary biomedical waveforms.

This paper describes a microcontroller based system which can sample, monitor and store, and generate biomedical waveforms. The frequency of the output waveform is controllable. The inherent advantage of this system is the programming flexibility offered by the microcontroller. Applications include patient monitoring, test signal generator for repair and maintenance of EEG or ECG monitoring equipment, and a laboratory simulation device for student educational use.