Ultrasonographic evaluation of breast mass.

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality among women. The aim of the present study is to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in correlation with histopathology in suspected patients of breast mass. In this cross-sectional study, ultrasonography and histopathology was done on 50 clinically suspected patients of breast mass in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh from 1st April 2008 to 30th March 2009 for the period of one year. Women of all ages were included in the study. Findings of USG and histopathology were correlated. In diagnosis of malignant mass by USG, 32(64%) of cases were diagnosed as malignant and 18(36%) cases as other than malignant. Here 31(86.1%) of sonographically diagnosed malignant lesions were also proved as malignant lesion by histopathologically and 1(7.1%) other than malignant. Out of 18 sonographically diagnosed cases of other than malignant lesions 13(92.9%) were proved histopathologically and 5(13.9%) did not match with sonographic findings as other than normal. USG, in diagnosis of malignant lesion, sensitivity was 86.1%, specificity 92.9%, positive predictive value (PPV) (96.6%), negative predictive value 72.2% and accuracy was 88.0% and comparable to other study. In the conclusion this study permits to conclude that ultrasonography has significant sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value in the diagnosis of both benign and malignant breast mass.

Ultrasonographic determination of amniotic fluid volume in normal pregnancy.

Ultrasonographic assessment of amniotic fluid has important implications because documentation of abnormalities of amniotic fluid volume may provide valuable information to enhance fetal health assessment. But in our country no study was conducted to establish normal values of amniotic fluid volume. So, this study was designed to find out normal values of amniotic fluid volume at various stages of gestation. The study was conducted in the department of Radiology and Imaging, BIRDEM in collaboration with the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, BIRDEM from 1(st) July, 2001 to 30(th) June, 2002. One hundred and twenty patients of normal pregnancy between 15 to 38 weeks' gestation were scanned by ultrasonography and their amniotic fluid volume was measured. For each gestational age between 15 and 38 weeks, 5 patients were recruited, and only one examination was done per pregnancy. Currently, the three semi-quantitative methods of assessing amniotic fluid volume include the amniotic fluid index (AFI), single deepest pocket (SDP) and two diameter pocket (TDP). Amniotic fluid volume of the study population was measured by the three methods. The values were plotted against each week in tabulated form. Thus the normal range of amniotic fluid volume in three methods (AFI, SDP, TDP) across gestational age in normal pregnancies was established. The mean value of amniotic fluid volume in AFI, SDP and TDP were 13.224 cm, 4.679 cm and 19.252 cm(2) respectively. AFI and SDP showed amniotic fluid volume increased with increasing gestational age up to early third trimester, but volume decreased thereafter. The prevalence of false positive result for oligohydramnios was 0.83% for AFI, 0% for SDP and 23% for TDP. The prevalence of false positive result for hydramnios was 1.66% for AFI, 0.83% for SDP and 0% for TDP. Thus the normal values of amniotic fluid volume for each of the three ultrasonographic techniques in the perspective of our country were obtained from the study. As the study was conducted with a limited number of patients, further study may be carried out with a large number of observations to reevaluate the results of the study.

Intracellular development of choleraphage phi 149 under permissive and nonpermissive conditions: an electron microscopic study.

Intracellular development of choleraphage phi 149 following infection of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio eltor cells under different conditions was examined by thin-section electron microscopy. Degradation of the host DNA following infection and formation of mature phage particles inside the infected cells were demonstrated. The concatemeric DNA intermediate formed during intracellular replication of phi 149 DNA in permissive hosts was resolved. In confirmation of biochemical evidence, no concatemeric DNA intermediate was observed for infection in high-phosphate medium.

Effect of the mycotoxin citrinin on some hormones and on enzymes and substrates of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway in mice.

The effects of six weeks treatment with multiple i.p. doses of citrinin (15, 25 and 35 mg/kg) on some hormonal activities and on enzymes and substrates of the Embden--Meyerhof pathway in mice were studied. Adenosine triphosphatase, hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, lactic acid and pyruvic acid decreased in blood, liver, kidney and brain of citrinin-treated mice. Glucose levels in blood, kidney and brain increased and glycogen content of liver decreased. Cortisol, triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels of serum increased, but insulin levels decreased.

Changes of lipid spectrum in different tissues of Furadan-treated mice.

The effects of multiple intraperitoneal doses of Furadan (0.125 mg/kg, 0.25 mg/kg and 0.50 mg/kg, respectively) for the 2nd week, 4th week and 6th week of treatment on the concentrations of total lipid and its different fractions and lipase activity in mice were studied. The following were measured in liver, kidney, brain and serum; total lipid, cholesterol (total and free), phospholipid (total and its fractions--lecithin, lysolecithin, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine), triglyceride, free fatty acid. Lipase activity was measured in liver and serum. Furadan caused biochemical disorders of the tissues. All the aforesaid lipid fractions (except free fatty acid) are elevated significantly in liver, kidney and serum of Furadan-treated mice. Free fatty acid increased significantly in serum and remain constant in other tissues of pesticide-treated mice. All the lipid fractions except phospholipid and its fractions remained constant in brain of treated mice; total phospholipid and its fractions decreased significantly in brain of treated mice. Lipase activity decreased significantly in liver and serum of treated mice. Such disorders of lipid levels in the aforesaid tissues might be associated with CNS depressant action and structural and functional toxicity of other tissues induced by Furadan.

Lipid spectrum in different tissues of MT81 toxin-treated mice.

The effects of different intraperitoneal doses of MT81 (2.5 mg/kg, 5.0 mg/kg and 7.5 mg/kg, respectively) for a 2-week, 4-week and 6-week treatment on concentration of total lipid and its different fractions of liver, brain, kidney, testis and serum in mice were studied. The following were measured: total lipid, free and total cholesterol, total phospholipid and its fractions (lecithin, lysolecithin, phosphotidylethanolamine and lysophosphotidylethanolamine), triglyceride, free fatty acid; lipase activity was also measured in serum, liver, and testis. Ascorbic acid content of testis was also measured. This mycotoxin (MT81) caused biochemical disorders of the tissues. Total cholesterol, free cholesterol, total phospholipid and its fractions, triglycerides and total lipids were elevated significantly in liver, serum, kidney and testis of toxin-treated animals. Free fatty acid increased significantly at a later stage in serum and remained constant in other tissues of toxin-treated mice. All the lipid fractions except total phospholipid and its fractions remained constant in brain of treated animals; total phospholipid and its fractions decreased significantly in brain of toxin-treated mice. Lipase activity decreased significantly in serum, liver and testis of treated mice. Ascorbic acid content of testis of treated animals increased significantly. Such disorders of lipid concentrations in the aforesaid tissues might be associated with the CNS depressant action and structural and functional toxicity of other tissues induced by the MT81 toxin.

Changes of acetylcholine, catecholamines and amino acid in mice brain following treatment with Nuvacron and Furadan.

The effects of multiple intraperitoneal doses of Nuvacron (0.8 mg/kg) or Furadan (0.25 mg/kg) on the concentrations of brain neurotransmitters in mice were studied. The following were measured: acetylcholine, acetylcholinesterase, gamma-aminobutyric acid, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine. These pesticides caused a significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity and a significant increase in acetylcholine, gamma-amino-butyric acid, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and 5-hydroxy tryptamine concentrations. The increased concentrations of the neurotransmitters in mouse brain might be associated with CNS depressant action induced by the insecticides.

Hematological changes produced in mice by Nuvacron or Furadan.

The effects of multiple intraperitoneal doses of Nuvacron (0.8 mg/kg) or Furadan (0.25 mg/kg) on hematological values in mice were studied. The following were measured: clotting time, hemoglobin content, total count of red blood cells and white blood cells, differential count of white blood cells, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hematocrit value, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, bone marrow and splenic measurements. These pesticides caused a significant decrease in hemoglobin content, total count of red blood cells, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hematocrit value. The administration of Nuvacron or Furadan prolonged the clotting time and caused an increase in total count of white blood cells. Among white blood cells, there was an increase in neutrophils and basophils and a fall in the count of lymphocytes in treated animals. Bone marrow depression and splenic hyperplasia were observed in mice after administration of the pesticides.