Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis masquerading as chest wall malignancy: Just never ceases to surprise!

With the emergence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, we witnessed a higher incidence of disseminated and extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The infection sites commonly include lymph nodes, pleura, and osteoarticular areas, although any organ can be involved. Given the atypical presentation of the extrapulmonary disease, it poses a significant diagnostic challenge for the physicians; therefore, a high index of suspicion should be maintained, particularly where tuberculosis is endemic. Here we present a case of isolated chest wall tuberculosis in an immunocompetent patient.

Mutational Analysis Of Beta Thalassaemia By Multiplex Arms-Pcr In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Beta thalassaemia is one of the commonest genetic conditions in the world. More than 200 different mutations have been reported in the beta globin chain genes. Notably, regional and ethnic variations in most common mutations in beta-thalassaemia have been identified. It is therefore imperative that region- and ethnicity- specific commonest mutations be identified for cost-effective molecular diagnosis of ß-thalassaemia mutations. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular mutations in ß-globin chain gene in patients with thalassemia in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) using multiplex- Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) PCR. METHODS: It was a cross sectional descriptive study. Blood samples from newly diagnosed ß thalassemia patients was collected and used as source for DNA isolation. ARMS PCR was performed for detection of mutations in ß-globin gene. SDS-PAGE was conducted for visualization of the amplicon. RESULTS: Prominent mutations were Fr 8-9 (+G), CD 5 (-CT) and Fr 41-42 (-TTCT). Congenital marriages and lack of awareness are largest contributing factor for increasing the disease burden. Organomegaly being a serious clinical complication which contributes to morbidity was proportional to age and disease progression. Fr 8-9 (+G) & CD 5 (- CT) were the most frequent mutation prevalent among different ethnic groups residing in KP. CONCLUSIONS: Multiplex-ARMS PCR is capable of assessing for multiple mutations in a single tube. Regional- and ethnic- variations in the commonest mutations in KP are noted. Any mutational diagnostic strategy should consider costs and genetic variations in a particular setting..

Evaluation of seminal plasma composition and spermatozoa quality parameters of silver barb, Barbonymus gonionotus Bleeker, 1850.

Seminal composition and semen quality are the important determinants in assessing the reproductive performance of different fishes. This study was carried out to evaluate the seminal composition and sperm quality of Barbonymus gonionotus. The seminal plasma contained 17.2 ± 0.34 mmol/l, 20.9 ± 0.48 mmol/l, 0.72 ± 0.04 mmol/l, 3.8 ± 0.2 mmol/l, and 1.49 ± 0.02 g/dl of Na+, K+, Ca++, Mg++, and total protein, respectively. The physical spermatological parameters, such as sperm volume, sperm motility, motility duration, sperm density, osmolality, and pH values were 1.55 ± 0.15 ml, 89 ± 2%, 391.9 ± 8.5 s, 2.8 ± 0.2 × 1010 /ml, 400.6 ± 5.1 mmol/kg, and 8.75 ± 0.10, respectively. In correlation matrix, the K+ (R2 = 0.39, P < 0.01) and Ca++ (R2 = 0.27, P < 0.05) ions and osmolality (R2 = 0.29, P < 0.05) showed significant positive correlations with sperm motility. Similarly, fertilization rate significantly influenced by sperm motility (R2 = 0.26, P < 0.05) and K+ (R2 = 0.30, P < 0.05) and Ca++ (R2 = 0.26, P < 0.05) ions. Also, osmolality significantly and negatively correlated with Mg++ (R2 = 0.33, P < 0.05) and sperm motility duration (R2 = 0.28, P < 0.05). Therefore, based on this results, it can be concluded that seminal plasma ions, K+ and Ca++ and osmolality are the key factors for the determination of sperm quality of silver barb, and these parameters could be considered during standardization of artificial fertilization or cryopreservation technique of silver barb spermatozoa.