Spontaneous expulsion of unusual tracheobronchial foreign body.

An extremely rare case of long, thin and sharp pin in a young boy which was inhaled initially and defied removal at branchoscopy was eventually recovered in stool after a long and variable course through alimentary tract has been reported.

Prevention of N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced lung tumorigenesis by ellagic acid and quercetin in mice.

The polyphenolic antioxidants, consumed as an integral part of vegetables, fruits and beverages, are suggested as possessing anticarcinogenic properties. In the present study we have looked into the anticarcinogenic potential of plant polyphenols ellagic acid (EA) and quercetin against N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced lung tumorigenesis in mice. Ellagic acid was able to significantly reduce tumour incidence to 20% from the control value of 72.2%. Similarly, tumour burden was also decreased, although not significantly, from 3.15 to 2.5. Quercetin (QR) caused the tumour incidence to decrease from 76.4% to 44.4% when fed until the third dose of carcinogen. Both of the polyphenols suppressed the tumour incidence mainly by acting at the initiation phase of the carcinogenesis, since continuing the feeding of polyphenols until the termination of the experiment did not cause any apparent change in tumour incidence or tumour burden. Besides this, ellagic acid was found to be a better chemopreventor than quercetin. In order to search for their mechanism of action, the effect of feeding of these compounds on reduced glutathione (GSH), an important endogenous antioxidant, and on lipid peroxidation was investigated. Both ellagic acid and QR caused a significant increase in GSH and decrease in NADPH- and ascorbate-dependent lipid peroxidation. Ellagic acid was found to be more effective in decreasing the lipid peroxidation and increasing the GSH. This may be one of the reasons for its observed better anticarcinogenic property as compared to quercetin.

Ab externo 4-point scleral fixation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of ab externo 4-point scleral fixation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses (PC IOLs) as a primary or secondary procedure. SETTING: Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India. METHODS: This retrospective study comprised 25 patients: 17 aphakic and 8 with traumatic subluxated lenses. The subluxated cataracts were removed intracapsularly. All patients had ab externo 4-point flapless scleral fixation of a PC IOL. Preoperative status, intraoperative details, and postoperative outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 8.02 months (range 6 to 26 months). The preoperative findings included sector iridectomy (n = 6), peripheral anterior synechias (n = 5), corneal scar (n = 2), vitreous hemorrhage (n = 2), traumatic angle recession (n = 1), retinitis pigmentosa (n = 1), primary open-angle glaucoma (n = 1), and macular pigmentary mottling (n = 1). There were no intraoperative problems related to scleral fixation. Postoperative complications and findings included cystoid macular edema (CME) (n = 2), uveitis (n = 1), and a healed macular choroidal tear (n = 1). No patient had suture exposure, IOL tilt/decentration, or infection. Twenty-two patients (88.0%) had a visual acuity of 6/12 or better at final follow-up. The cause of poor visual recovery in 3 patients included pre-existing macular degeneration, healed macular choroidal tear, and CME in 1 patient each. CONCLUSION: Four-point scleral fixation is a simple technique that in this series of 25 patients was not associated with major intraoperative or postoperative complications and gave satisfactory visual results.

Effect of combined deficiency of fat and vitamin A on N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced lung carcinogenesis in mice.

The present investigation shows the effect of combined dietary deprivation of fat and vitamin A on N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) induced lung carcinogenesis in male Swiss NMRI mice. Lung tumors were induced by three intragastric administrations of NDEA (80, 80, 40, mg/kg body wt.) in normal saline with a gap of 4 weeks between each administration. The tumor incidence and tumor burden in control animals were found to be 39.1 and 3.9%, respectively. Fat deficiency decreased the tumor incidence to 30.4% and tumor burden to 3.7%. On the other hand, vitamin A deficiency increased them to 95.6 and 6.8%, respectively. Fat deprivation in the diet of animals fed with vitamin A deficient diet decreased the tumor burden and tumor incidence to 59.0 and 4.0%, respectively which were still more than in the control animals. This study suggests a protective role for low intake of fat in vitamin A deficiency.

Influence of ellagic acid on antioxidant defense system and lipid peroxidation in mice.

Addition of ellagic acid (EA) to liver microsomes of mice resulted in a steady increase in inhibition of NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation up to 2 mM concentration. The maximum of 70% inhibition of ascorbate-dependent lipid peroxidation was achieved at 1 mM concentration of EA. Feeding of EA significantly increased the levels of reduced glutathione and glutathione reductase in liver and lungs of male and female mice. However, there were no changes in the activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase. On the other hand, microsomes from liver and lungs of EA fed animals showed significantly suppressed NADPH- and ascorbate-dependent lipid peroxidation.

Oral versus axillary temperatures in human volunteers.

We measured the oral and axillary temperatures of 100 individuals (including 40 females) in the medical wards. Twenty six had fever ranging from 37.3 degrees C to 40.5 degrees C while the rest had normal temperature. Although the oral temperature was higher than axillary temperature in all the cases, there was no correlation between the two; in one case the difference was as high as 1 degrees C. We conclude that while recording temperature the site must be clearly stated, and no attempt must be made to extrapolate the axillary to the oral temperature.

Differential effects of fat deficiency on hepatic and pulmonary drug metabolizing enzymes in rat and mouse.

In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of dietary fat deprivation on the carcinogen/drug metabolizing enzymes in rats and mice. In rats, hepatic AHH, Cyt.P-450 Cyt.b5 and Cyt.c-reductase were significantly decreased due to fat deficiency, whereas in lungs, AHH and Cyt.c-reductase were decreased without any change in Cyt.P-450 level. In mice, feeding of fat-free diet did not cause any alteration in hepatic AHH and Cyt.P-450, but the levels of Cyt.b5 and Cyt.c-reductase were significantly reduced. In contrast to liver, Cyt.P-450 and Cyt.b5 were increased in lungs. Activity of UDPGT was lowered both in liver and lungs of rats whereas GST and GSH were increased in liver only. In mice, a decrease in UDPGT and appreciable increases in GST and GSH in liver were observed. However, in lungs, UDPGT activity was enhanced by feeding fat-free diet. These observations suggest that mice and rats respond differentially to the depletion of fat in the diet.

Toilet facilities in a large Indian teaching hospital.

While assessing the total medical care provided by any large hospital in a community, hardly any stress is laid on the sanitary facilities which the hospital provides and which form such an integral part of every hospital patient. We studied the toilet facilities of M.L.B. Medical College, Jhansi. They seem to be adequate for the ambulant patient but are insufficient for the bedridden and for those who have weak legs. The findings are discussed.