bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunodeficiency in Chronic Sinusitis: Recognition and Treatment
Authors: Stevens Whitney W. , Peters Anju T.
Published: March 2015

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is estimated to affect over 35 million people. However, not all patients with the diagnosis respond to standard medical and surgical treatments. Although there are a variety of reasons a patient may be refractory to therapy, one possible etiology is the presence of an underlying immunodeficiency. This review will focus on the description, recognition, and treatment of several antibody deficiencies associated with CRS, including common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), selective IgA deficiency, IgG subclass deficiency, and specific antibody deficiency (SAD). The diagnosis of antibody deficiency in patients with CRS is important because of the large clinical implications it can have on sinus disease management. CVID is treated with immunoglobulin replacement, whereas SAD may be managed symptomatically and sometimes with prophylactic antibiotics and/or immunoglobulin replacement.
Clinical Considerations in the use of Sublingual Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis
Authors: Lee Stella , Nolte Hendrik , Benninger Michael S.
Published: March 2015

Background

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been in practice for more than 100 years. However, research in novel routes and delivery methods of immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinitis (AR) and conjunctivitis has only recently occurred in the United States, where the predominant form of AIT provided is largely via a subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) route. AIT may prevent new sensitizations, improve symptoms, decrease medication usage, and prevent allergic asthma. Although AIT is the only potentially curative treatment for AR, access and adherence continue to be problematic. Only a fraction of eligible patients actually undergo treatment, and attrition rates are high. An obvious limitation of SCIT includes the requirement of regular injections to be provided in the physician's office due to the potential for anaphylaxis. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for home administration has been investigated as a potential alternative to address this limitation of SCIT.

Methods

A literature review was performed including the current findings from randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses with a discussion of the most recent evidence for the efficacy, safety, and dosing of allergen SLIT.

Results

The current data suggest that SLIT is effective for treatment of seasonal allergies, can potentially prevent asthma, and has a favorable safety profile. Head-to-head studies, however, are few, and comparative effectiveness still remains to be answered. Optimal treatment algorithms for SLIT have not yet been established, with wide variation in dosage selection and schedules. Similarly to SCIT, only a few allergens such as ragweed and grass pollen have been found to be effective in large clinical trials.

Conclusion

Recent data indicate that SLIT is an effective treatment modality for seasonal AR, improve quality of life, and can potentially prevent asthma but head-to head studies comparing SLIT to SCIT are needed.
The Blood-Brain Barrier and Nasal Drug Delivery to the Central Nervous System
Authors: Miyake Marcel Menon , Bleier Benjamin S.
Published: March 2015

Background

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly efficient system that separates the central nervous system (CNS) from general circulation and promotes selective transport of molecules that are essential for brain function. However, it also limits the distribution of systemically administered therapeutics to the brain; therefore, there is a restricted number of drugs available for the treatment of brain disorders. Several drug-targeting strategies have been developed to attempt to bypass the BBB, but none has proved sufficiently effective in reaching the brain.

Methods

The objective of this study is to generally review these strategies of drug administration to the CNS.

Results

Noninvasive methods of drug delivery, such as chemical and biologic transport systems, do not represent a feasible platform, whereas for most drugs, it is still not possible to achieve therapeutic levels within the brain tissue after intravenous or oral administration, and the use of higher potency or more concentrated doses may cause serious toxic side effects. Direct intrathecal drug delivery through a catheter into the CNS also presents several problems. Intranasal drug delivery is a potential alternative method due to the direct transport into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartment along the olfactory pathway, but the study's conclusions are controversial. An endoscopic intranasal surgical procedure using established skull base surgery reconstruction techniques based on the use of a nasal mucosa surgical flap as the only obstacle between the nose and the subarachnoid space has appeared as a potential solution to increase the absorption of intranasal drugs to the CNS.

Conclusion

Despite extensive efforts to develop new techniques to cross the BBB, none has proved sufficiently effective in reaching the brain, whereas minimizing adverse effects and the endoscopic mucosal grafting technique offers new potential promise.
Nasal Air-Conditioning after Partial Turbinectomy: Myths versus Facts
Authors: Tsakiropoulou Evangelia , Vital Victor , Constantinidis Jannis , Kekes George
Published: March 2015

Background

Turbinectomy, although a common procedure, is often accused of having a negative impact in all nasal functions. This study is the first in vivo study that evaluates objectively the effect of partial turbinectomy on nasal air-conditioning capacity.

Methods

In total, 57 patients with prior partial inferior turbinectomy and 28 healthy controls were examined. Intranasal temperature and humidity values were measured at the level of the head of inferior and middle turbinate. Nasal patency was evaluated by means of acoustic rhinometry. The clinical assessment was completed with nasal endoscopy and the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation questionnaire for subjective evaluation of nasal patency.

Results

Significant changes of temperature were found in both detection sites with 13% reduced heating capacity of the air at the level of the inferior and 19% at the level of the middle turbinate, respectively. No similar results were found for humidity measurements. No correlations were found between air-conditioning values and acoustic rhinometry results for both study groups. Nasal endoscopy revealed normal healing in all patients. No major complications were reported by the patients. Their subjective ratings of nasal obstruction were similar to healthy controls.

Conclusion

Partial turbinectomy seems to have a negative impact on intranasal air heating but not to humidification. This effect has no impact on clinical condition and subjective perception of surgical outcome.
Nasal Cytological Changes as Late Effects of Radiotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Authors: Riva Giuseppe , Boita Monica , Ravera Mattia , Moretto Francesco , Badellino Serena , Rampino Monica , Ricardi Umberto , Pecorari Giancarlo , Garzaro Massimiliano
Published: March 2015

Background

Radiation therapy is a cornerstone in nasopharyngeal cancer treatment. However, it can induce acute and long-term adverse effects, such as acute mucositis and late submucosal fibrosis. Late toxicities could not only affect submucosa but also mucosal cells, determining long-term cytological changes.

Objective

Evaluation of delayed nasal cytological alterations in patients who underwent radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods

In this case-control study, we analyzed 30 healthy subjects and 30 patients treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for NPC between 2003 and 2011, with a median follow-up of 59 months. All subjects underwent symptoms anamnestic evaluation (rhinorrea, nasal obstruction), endoscopic fiber optic nasal examination, skin-prick tests, and nasal scraping for cytological exam.

Results

A higher percentage of rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, mucosal hyperemia, and presence of nasopharyngeal secretions at fiber optic endoscopic exam was found in radiated subjects (p < 0.05). Nasal cytology analysis demonstrated a higher percentage of neutrophilic inflammation and squamous cell metaplasia and mucous cell metaplasia in treated patients (p < 0.05). No cytological atypia was seen. No statistically significant correlation between nasal cytological changes and objective findings, patients' age, tobacco smoking, and gastroesophageal reflux has been found in the radiotherapy group (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Radiation therapy induces late nasal mucosal changes, which may be related to clinical consequences, such as abundant mucus production and its consequent endonasal stagnation. In the future, detailed knowledge of cytological changes in patients' nasal mucosa could represent a key prerequisite for the choice of effective interventions for late radiation-induced rhinitis.
Adaptive Learning in Bayesian Networks for Incident Duration Prediction
Authors: Demiroluk Sami , Ozbay Kaan
Published: March 2015

The development of a practical model for incident management is investigated through Bayesian networks (BNs) in this study. BNs are capable of accurately predicting incident durations and can easily be incorporated into incident management activities of traffic management centers to improve the real-time decision-making process. Three structure learning algorithms were used to construct BN structures. They were estimated by using 2005 New Jersey incident data; the best-performing one was chosen for the incident duration prediction with the use of the 10-fold cross-validation method and the Bayesian information criterion statistic. To demonstrate the performance of Bayesian learning, the chosen model was fed by 2011 New Jersey incident data on a monthly and quarterly basis. Comparing the prediction results for 2011 data with and without adaptive learning showed that the developed BN had the capability to automatically adapt itself to future conditions by learning the patterns of new incidents and their respective durations.
Data Mining and Complex Network Algorithms for Traffic Accident Analysis
Authors: Lin Lei , Wang Qian , Sadek Adel W.
Published: March 2015

The field of traffic accident analysis has long been dominated by traditional statistical analysis. With the recent advances in data collection, storage, and archival methods, the size of accident data sets has grown significantly. This result in turn has motivated research on applying data mining and complex network analysis algorithms to traffic accident analysis; the data mining and complex network analysis algorithms are designed specifically to handle data sets with large dimensions. This paper explores the potential for using two such methods–-namely, a modularity-optimizing community detection algorithm and the association rule learning algorithm–-to identify important accident characteristics. As a case study, the algorithms were applied to an accident data set compiled for Interstate 190 in the Buffalo–Niagara, New York, metropolitan area. Specifically, the community detection algorithm was used to cluster the data to reduce the inherent heterogeneity, and then the association rule learning algorithm was applied to each cluster to discern meaningful patterns within each, related particularly to high accident frequency locations (hot spots) and incident clearance time. To demonstrate the benefits of clustering, the association rule algorithm was also applied to the whole data set (before clustering) and the results were compared with those discovered from the clusters. The study results indicated that ( a) the community detection algorithm was quite effective in identifying clusters with discernible characteristics, ( b) clustering helped unveil relationships and accident causative factors that remained hidden when the analysis was performed on the whole data set, and ( c) the association rule learning algorithm yielded useful insight into accident hot spots and incident clearance time along I-190.
Evidence-Based Decision Making for Transportation Asset Management
Authors: Smith-Colin Janille , Fischer Jamie Montague , Akofio-Sowah Margaret-Avis , Amekudzi-Kennedy Adjo
Published: March 2015

Recent emphasis on performance-based approaches, reflected, for example, in the mandates of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, provides opportunities for more rigorous approaches to collecting and using “evidence” in transportation asset management (TAM). A strong evidence-based approach was founded on well-documented studies demonstrating failure or success following the implementation of an intervention. This study explored the use of evidence in TAM and performance-based decision making. The study's methodology included a review of evidence-based approaches from various fields, an “evidence exchange” between transportation practitioners, and case studies providing examples of evidence in TAM. The study identified attributes of evidence-based approaches that could lend themselves to enhancing AASHTO's existing framework for TAM program advancement and asset management decision making. These attributes were used to ( a) develop a formal hierarchy of evidence to be used in evidence-based decision making for TAM and ( b) develop a documentation framework for TAM that can be applied at the project and program levels to ensure evidence-based decisions. The results of this work demonstrate for TAM practitioners what constitutes quality evidence, how it is gathered, and how it can be interpreted and used.
The influence of lesion volume, perilesion resection volume, and completeness of resection on seizure outcome after resective epilepsy surgery for cortical dysplasia in children
Authors: Oluigbo Chima O. , Wang Jichuan , Whitehead Matthew T. , Magge Suresh , Myseros John S. , Yaun Amanda , Depositario-Cabacar Dewi , Gaillard William D. , Keating Robert
Published: March 2015

OBJECT

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is one of the most common causes of intractable epilepsy leading to surgery in children. The predictors of seizure freedom after surgical management for FCD are still unclear. The objective of this study was to perform a volumetric analysis of factors shown on the preresection and postresection brain MRI scans of patients who had undergone resective epilepsy surgery for cortical dysplasia and to determine the influence of these factors on seizure outcome.

METHODS

The authors reviewed the medical records and brain images of 43 consecutive patients with focal MRI-documented abnormalities and a pathological diagnosis of FCD who had undergone surgical treatment for refractory epilepsy. Preoperative lesion volume and postoperative resection volume were calculated by manual segmentation using OsiriX PRO software.

RESULTS

Forty-three patients underwent first-time surgery for resection of an FCD. The age range of these patients at the time of surgery ranged from 2 months to 21.8 years (mean age 7.3 years). The median duration of follow-up was 20 months. The mean age at onset was 31.6 months (range 1 day to 168 months). Complete resection of the area of an FCD, as adjudged from the postoperative brain MR images, was significantly associated with seizure control (p = 0.0005). The odds of having good seizure control among those who underwent complete resection were about 6 times higher than those among the patients who did not undergo complete resection. Seizure control was not significantly associated with lesion volume (p = 0.46) or perilesion resection volume (p = 0.86).

CONCLUSIONS

The completeness of FCD resection in children is a significant predictor of seizure freedom. Neither lesion volume nor the further resection of perilesional tissue is predictive of seizure freedom.
Traumatic spondyloptosis: a series of 20 patients
Authors: Mishra Akash , Agrawal Deepak , Gupta Deepak , Sinha Sumit , Satyarthee Guru D. , Singh Pankaj K.
Published: March 2015

OBJECT

Spondyloptosis represents the most severe form of spondylolisthesis, which usually follows high-energy trauma. Few reports exist on this specific condition, and the largest series published to date consists of only 5 patients. In the present study the authors report the clinical observations and outcomes in a cohort of 20 patients admitted to a regional trauma center for severe injuries including spondyloptosis.

METHODS

The authors performed a retrospective chart review of patients admitted with spondyloptosis at their department over a 5-year period (March 2008–March 2013). Clinical, radiological, and operative details were reviewed for all patients.

RESULTS

In total, 20 patients with spondyloptosis were treated during the period reviewed. The mean age of the patients was 27 years (range 12–45 years), and 17 patients were male (2 boys and 15 men) and 3 were women. Fall from height (45%) and road traffic accidents (35%) were the most common causes of the spinal injuries. The grading of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) was used to assess the severity of spinal cord injury, which for all patients was ASIA Grade A at the time of admission. In 11 patients (55%), the thoracolumbar junction (T10–L2) was involved in the injury, followed by the dorsal region (T1–9) in 7 patients (35%); 1 patient (5%) had lumbar and 1 patient (5%) sacral spondyloptosis. In 19 patients (95%), spondyloptosis was treated surgically, involving the posterior route in all cases. In 7 patients (37%), corpectomy was performed. None of the patients showed improvement in neurological deficits. The mean follow-up length was 37.5 months (range 3–60 months), and 5 patients died in the follow-up period from complications due to formation of bedsores (decubitus ulcers).

CONCLUSIONS

To the authors' best knowledge, this study was the largest of its kind on traumatic spondyloptosis. Its results illustrate the challenges of treating patients with this condition. Despite deformity correction of the spine and early mobilization of patients, traumatic spondyloptosis led to high morbidity and mortality rates because the patients lacked access to rehabilitation facilities postoperatively.
Syringohydromyelia in association with syringobulbia and syringocephaly: case report
Authors: Menezes Arnold H. , Greenlee Jeremy D. W. , Longmuir Reid A. , Hansen Daniel R. , Abode-Iyamah Kingsley
Published: March 2015

The authors present the case of a 14-year-old boy with holocord syringohydromyelia extending into the brainstem, cerebral peduncle, internal capsule, and cerebral cortex. At the posterior fossa exploration, an opaque thickened arachnoid with occlusion of the foramen of Magendie was encountered. Careful documentation of postoperative regression of the syringocephaly, syringobulbia, and syringohydromyelia was made. The pathophysiology is discussed.
Local control after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases in patients with melanoma with and without BRAF mutation and treatment
Authors: Ly David , Bagshaw Hilary P. , Anker Christopher J. , Tward Jonathan D. , Grossmann Kenneth F. , Jensen Randy L. , Shrieve Dennis C.
Published: March 2015

OBJECT

BRAF inhibitors improve progression-free and overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma. Brain metastases are common, and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been used, resulting in excellent local control. Because BRAF inhibitors are associated with intracranial responses, the authors hypothesized that BRAF inhibitors would improve local control in patients with melanoma who are receiving SRS for brain metastases.

METHODS

The authors retrospectively identified patients with metastatic melanoma who had been tested for BRAF mutation and treated with SRS for brain metastases. Patients with previous resection, multiple brain metastases, or multiple courses of SRS were eligible. SRS was delivered in a single fraction to a median dose of 2000 cGy. Patients with a BRAF mutation were treated with a BRAF inhibitor on the basis of physician preference.

RESULTS

The authors identified 52 patients who were treated in 82 treatment sessions for 185 brain metastases and 13 tumor beds. At a median follow-up of 10.5 months, the 1-year local control rate was 69.2%. At 1 year, the local control rate for brain metastases in patients with BRAF mutation with BRAF treatment was 85.0%, and the local control rate for brain metastases in those without BRAF treatment was 51.5% (p = 0.0077). The rates of distant brain failure, freedom from whole-brain radiation, and overall survival were not different on the basis of BRAF mutation status or inhibitor therapy. The number of new intratumoral hemorrhages after SRS was increased significantly in patients with BRAF treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment with BRAF inhibitors was associated with improved local control after SRS in patients with melanoma and brain metastases. An increased number of intratumoral hemorrhages was associated with BRAF inhibitor therapy.
Survival impact of time to initiation of chemoradiotherapy after resection of newly diagnosed glioblastoma
Authors: Sun Matthew Z. , Oh Taemin , Ivan Michael E. , Clark Aaron J. , Safaee Michael , Sayegh Eli T. , Kaur Gurvinder , Parsa Andrew T. , Bloch Orin
Published: March 2015

OBJECT

There are few and conflicting reports on the effects of delayed initiation of chemoradiotherapy on the survival of patients with glioblastoma. The standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma is concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy after maximal safe resection; however, the optimal timing of such therapy is poorly defined. Given the lack of consensus in the literature, the authors performed a retrospective analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to investigate the effect of time from surgery to initiation of therapy on survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

METHODS

Patients with primary glioblastoma diagnosed since 2005 and treated according to the standard of care were identified from TCGA database. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to compare overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between groups stratified by postoperative delay to initiation of radiation treatment.

RESULTS

There were 218 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with known time to initiation of radiotherapy identified in the database. The median duration until therapy was 27 days. Delay to radiotherapy longer than the median was not associated with worse PFS (HR = 0.918, p = 0.680) or OS (HR = 1.135, p = 0.595) in multivariate analysis when controlling for age, sex, KPS score, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients in the highest and lowest quartiles for delay to therapy (≤ 20 days vs ≥ 36 days) did not statistically differ in PFS (p = 0.667) or OS (p = 0.124). The small subset of patients with particularly long delays (> 42 days) demonstrated worse OS (HR = 1.835, p = 0.019), but not PFS (p = 0.74).

CONCLUSIONS

Modest delay in initiation of postoperative chemotherapy and radiation does not appear to be associated with worse PFS or OS in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, while significant delay longer than 6 weeks may be associated with worse OS.
Fetal-type posterior cerebral artery: the pitfall of parent artery occlusion for ruptured P2 segment and distal aneurysms
Authors: Xu Jing , Xu Liang , Wu Ziheng , Chen Xianyi , Yu Jun , Zhang Jianmin
Published: March 2015

OBJECT

P2 segment and distal aneurysms are rare lesions of the cerebrovascular system. The efficacy and safety of endovascular occlusion for these types of aneurysms remain controversial. The aim of this study was to reveal risk factors for endovascular parent artery occlusion of ruptured P2 segment and distal aneurysms.

METHODS

Between March 2010 and November 2012, 812 patients with a ruptured intracranial aneurysm were admitted to the authors' hospital. Among them, 11 patients presented with P2 segment and distal posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. These patients were subjected to endovascular treatment. Periprocedural data and clinical and angiographic records were studied retrospectively.

RESULTS

Of the patients with a ruptured PCA aneurysm, 2 of them underwent selective aneurismal coiling, and the remaining patients were treated with simultaneous occlusion of the parent artery. Patients with an adult-type PCA (n = 6), treated with either selective coiling or simultaneous parent artery occlusion, had no serious neurological deficits on follow-up. Four patients with a fetal-type PCA that was also occluded intraoperatively exhibited newly developed permanent paralysis and hemianopsia. However, 1 patient with a fetal-type PCA aneurysm that was selectively coiled recovered without complications. No recanalization was observed in any of the treated aneurysms.

CONCLUSIONS

Endovascular occlusion of an aneurysm and its parent artery is a safe and effective method for managing adult-type P2 segment and distal aneurysms. However, the authors' clinical data suggest that this method is of high risk for patients with fetal-type PCA aneurysms.
Influence of sea ice on the seasonal variability of hydrography and heat content in Tvärminne, Gulf of Finland
Authors: Merkouriadi Ioanna , Leppäranta Matti
Published: March 2015

The seasonal variability of hydrography, heat content, freshwater budget and sea ice is examined for the past century in Tvärminne, Gulf of Finland. The aim was to evaluate the seasonal sea-ice impact on the physical properties of the coastal waters, which can also be subject to riverine influences. The Gulf of Finland is an optimal location for such a study, given the high interannual variability of the ice conditions. This is the first time annual cycles of physical properties have been analyzed based on such a long-term dataset in the Archipelago Sea. The maximum water temperature occurred in August at the sea surface, and at the bottom in September, with the 1 month lag due to vertical heat diffusion. The annual salinity cycle varied greatly in the surface layer. The variations were largely connected to sea-ice formation and break-up processes, and the ice cover, which prevented wind mixing of the surface waters. The largest heat loss occurred in November-December (∼150 W m-2) and the highest heat gain in June (∼180 W m-2) . Especially in April, latent heat released/absorbed in sea-ice formation/break-up contributed to a seasonal variation in heat budget of ∼40 W m -2.
Observations of interannual and spatial variability in rift propagation in the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 2002–14
Authors: Walker Catherine C. , Bassis Jeremy N. , Fricker Helen A. , Czerwinski Robin J.
Published: March 2015

Iceberg calving and basal melting are the two primary mass loss processes from the Antarctic ice sheet, accounting for approximately equal amounts of mass loss. Basal melting under ice shelves has been increasingly well constrained in recent work, but changes in iceberg calving rates remain poorly quantified. Here we examine the processes that precede iceberg calving, and focus on initiation and propagation of ice-shelf rifts. Using satellite imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), we monitored five active rifts on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica, from 2002 to 2014. We found a strong seasonal component: propagation rates were highest during (austral) summer and nearly zero during winter. We found substantial variability in summer propagation rates, but found no evidence that the variability was correlated with large-scale environmental drivers, such as atmospheric temperature, winds or sea-ice concentration. We did find a positive correlation between large propagation events and the arrival of tsunamis in the region. The variability appears to be related to visible structural boundaries within the ice shelf, e.g. suture zones or crevasse fields. This suggests that a complete understanding of rift propagation and iceberg calving needs to consider local heterogeneities within an ice shelf.
Development and survivability of ovarian follicles of goat in different feeding systems
Authors: Alam MH , Kabir ME , Sarker MB , Saha BK , Khan RI , Moniruzzaman M
Published: March 2015

The present study was aimed to know the effects of feeding systems on follicular development in Black Bengal goats. Nine female post-weaned Black Bengal goats were randomly assigned to 3 feeding systems namely stall feeding, tethering and grazing. After 240 days of rearing, goats were slaughtered and ovaries were collected for morphometric analysis. Histological examination revealed that the percentages of secondary (p<0.01) and antral follicles (p<0.05) were higher in stall-fed than tethering and grazing goats. Percentage of primordial follicles (61±2%) was lower in stall-fed goats and higher in tethering (71±3%) goats. Number of degenerated follicles was higher in tethering goats and lower in stall-fed groups. These results reveal that development and degeneration of ovarian follicles are influenced by feeding systems of goats.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v43i3.21644 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (3): 175-179
Pregnancy diagnosis in Black Bengal goat by progesterone assay
Authors: Islam MM , Kizaki K , Takahashi T , Khanom JS , Debnath S , Khandoker MAMY
Published: March 2015

Pregnancy is the main event in the life of a female mammal to reproduce the progeny and maintain the descents of the species. Progesterone level in the plasma is one of the indications of stages of pregnancy of an individual and the present study was undertaken to determine the progesterone level in different stages of pregnant Black Bengal does and to correlate blood progesterone level with stages of pregnancy in Black Bengal does. For this experiment the blood samples were collected from different stages of pregnant and non-pregnant Black Bengal does, kids and bucks, and subjected to use for further study.  The progesterone level was measured at 3 different stages of pregnancy (25-30 days, 60- 70 days, and 90-92 days) using the test kit (EIA TEST KIT Progesterone, Biocheck, Inc. Foster city, CA 94404 USA). Progesterone was also assayed in different ages of non-pregnant does, kids and bucks blood as the control. The logarithmic graph paper was used to calculate the progesterone level.  The progesterone levels were found 1.5 ng/ml, 6.6-9.3 ng/ml and 14-15.5 ng/ml in 25-30 days, 60-70 days and 90-92 days of pregnancy, respectively.  In case of non-pregnant does the progesterone level varied from 0.19-6.6 ng/ml in different ages.  Whereas the progesterone level was found between <0.1 ng/ml and 4.4 ng/ml in kids blood samples and in case of bucks the progesterone level was <0.1 ng/ml.  So, it is clear that the progesterone level simultaneously increased as the stages of pregnancy advanced in the blood of pregnant Black Bengal does.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v43i3.21645 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (3): 180-184
Trend of livestock population and nutritional evaluation of available feed resources in coastal areas of Noakhali district
Authors: Rahman MZ , Ershaduzzaman M , Huque KS , Ali MY
Published: March 2015

A survey work was undertaken with a total of 200 farm households of the coastal areas of Noakhali were categorized into landless, marginal, small, medium and large based on their landholding and sheep population. All categories of farmers had higher number of sheep compared to goat and cattle. In case of lamb (0-4months) farmers didnt supplied concentrate. The average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) of lamb were 70.24, 0.97 and 13.35, respectively. For growing sheep (4-15 month) small, medium and large farmers provided little but landless and marginal farmers provided very little amount of concentrate. The average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) of growing sheep were 257.31, 2.62 and 34.75, respectively. In case of adult ewe (>15 month, milking) the average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) were 441.87, 2.81 and 35.45, respectively. Livestock farming contributed about 17.2% of annual family income in which the contribution of sheep of the total household income was about 11% followed by goat (3.58%) and cattle (2.62%). The available feed resources were durba, asamilata, chaila, bothoua, gamma, alias grass, shon, bontil, khesari, pakisthani lata, bean leaf, ipil ipil, mayahagoni, kadam, boroi leaf, jackfruit, babla, mango leaf, kitchen wastes, rice straw, and rice bran, til oil cake. Surveyed information on existing available nutrient status of sheep and feed resources would help to develop a feeding system of sheep in coastal areas of Bangladesh.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v43i3.21652 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (3): 213-217
Outcome of management of congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Authors: Saha Amar Kumar , Ali Md Barkat , Biswas Sunil Kumar
Published: March 2015

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) is a defect in the dome of diaphragm, more often in left and postero-lateral that permits the herniation of abdominal contents into the thorax. The lungs hypoplasia, pulmonary hypertension and persistent foetal circulation are important determinant of survival. The incidence is <5 in 10,000 live-births. Antenatal diagnosis is ofen made and this may be helpful in postnatal management. Treatment after birth requires all the refinements of critical care prior to surgical correction. The best hospital series report 80-100% survival. Advances in surgical management include delayed surgical approach that enables preoperative stabilization, improved prenatal diagnosis, introduction of minimal invasive surgery and application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in addition to the standard open repair. In our short series survival was 100% where surgical correction was made on selective 12 cases of left sided CDH in a non-ICU set-up. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmjk.v47i1-2.22556 Bang Med J (Khulna) 2014; 47 : 12-15
Clinical effectiveness of VIA and colposcopy based management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
Authors: Jesmin Zannatul Ferdous , Khanam Afroza , Saha Eti , Hossain Md Mokter
Published: March 2015

Cervical cancer develops from early precancerous lesion known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Khulna Medical college Hospital provides primary screening for preventing cervical cancer and a secondary referral centre for management of CIN by colposcopy. Primary objective of this study was to do an audit between January 2012 to February 2014 to update clinical efficacy of colposcopy based diagnosis, treatment and follow up of 510 CIN cases and also to document any shortcomings in existing services and suggestion for early rectification. Colposcopic findings in our study group were: 309(60.6%) cases were CIN-1, 124 (24.3%) cases was CIN II, and 49 (9.6%) cases were CIN III. Suspicious of invasive lesion was in 7 (1.4%) abnormal looking cervix and biopsy was done in 21(4.1%). Treatment procedure was done with individualization of cases and options were cold coagulation, Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), hysterectomy, biopsy and post treatment follow up. Histopathological diagnosis was documented in 387 cases, where CINI was found in 161 (31.6%), CIN II in 92 (18%), CIN III in 26 (5.1%), non specific Inflammatory cervicitis in 87(17.1%), Squamous cell carcinoma in 15(2.9%), abnormalities consistent with koilocytic atypia in 6 (12%) and reports missed in 123 (24.1%). Cases results showed Positive predictive value (PPV) of 53% and 68% respectively for low grade (CIN I) and high grade lesion (CIN II, III). 481 patient were eligible for post treatment follow up but only 99 (20.5%) patient came and among them 74 (74.7%) were colposcopically negative, 25 (25.2%) had residual CIN and Risk Ratio (RR) was 0.25. Colposcopy is gold standard for diagnosis of CIN but our screening program is opportunistic and far way from population based. Histopathological correlation were often inaccurate with colposcopic diagnosis in practice and about one third case reports were missed. Majority of women did not complete follow up protocol. Residual or recurrent CIN lesion in dropped out cases would be a concern in near future. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmjk.v47i1-2.22557 Bang Med J (Khulna) 2014; 47 : 16-20
Epilepsia partialis continua
Authors: Salam Abdus , Quddus Md Ruhul , Sheikh Md Sayedur Rahman
Published: March 2015

Epilepsia partialis continua (EPC) is a rare syndrome of continuous focal jerking of a body part, usually localized to a distal limb, occurring over hours, days or even years. Etiology is multiple and diverse as well as the outcome is also variable. Here we report two cases of EPC admitted almost in a same period in our hospital in Khulna with different etiology and outcome. The first one, an adult diabetic patient, developed status epilepticus followed by right sided epilepsia partialis continua over a period of three days after a viral illness. He responded well with treatment. The second case, a three year old girl, progressively developed epilepsia partialis continua over a period of six months with no antecedent event. Her treatment response is not satisfactory. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmjk.v47i1-2.22559 Bang Med J (Khulna) 2014; 47 : 25-28
Kugelberg-Welander disease
Authors: Chowdhury Poritosh Kumar , Paik Bishnupada , Saha Bishnu Pada , Roy Poritosh Kumar , Biswas Palash
Published: March 2015

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a group of genetically determined disorders affecting spinal and cranial motor neurons, characterized by proximal and distal wasting, fasciculation and weakness of muscles. This patient presented with the features of slow progression of weakness and wasting of limbs, involuntary muscle twitching & without sensory impairment. No definitive treatment is yet to be discovered. SMA in adulthood is very rare. Most cases are detected in childhood and adolescence period. Sooner the diagnosis can be done, better the prognostic value. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmjk.v47i1-2.22560 Bang Med J (Khulna) 2014; 47 : 29-31
The Place of Targeted Agents in the Treatment of Elderly Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Matikas Alexios , Asimakopoulou Natalia , Georgoulias Vassilis , Souglakos John
Published: March 2015

Despite the high prevalence of colorectal cancer in a continuously aging population and the substantial advances in the treatment of metastatic disease during the past decade, the treatment of elderly patients with advanced, unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer is a clearly unmet need. Since older patients are under-represented or even excluded from randomized trials, the evidence that oncologists use as guidance is weak. However, small prospective studies, pooled analyses and observational studies show that combination approaches are safe, efficacious and feasible in the geriatric population with metastatic colorectal cancer. The use of biologic agents targeting angiogenesis and the epidermal growth factor receptor, which have been shown to clearly improve outcomes in multiple prospective trials in patients with advanced colorectal cancer, is a vital component of the aforementioned combination approaches. Herein, we review all available data concerning the management of elderly patients with these agents and underscore the differences between this age subgroup and younger patients.
Energy’s Shadow Price and Energy Efficiency in China: A Non-Parametric Input Distance Function Analysis
Authors: Sheng Pengfei , Yang Jun , Shackman Joshua
Published: March 2015

This paper extends prior research on energy inefficiency in China by utilizing a unique shadow price framework allocation in 30 Chinese provinces. We estimate the shadow price for energy input using the framework of production, and use the ratio of the shadow price to the market price to describe energy utilization. Using Chinese provincial-level data from 1998 to 2011, the results of the analysis reveal that shadow prices in China have grown rapidly during the sample period, which signifies that China has improved its performance in energy utilization since 1998. However, there are eighteen provinces whose shadow prices are lower than market prices. This result suggests that energy utilization is at a low level in these provinces and can be improved by a reallocation of inputs.
Microarray Analysis on Gene Regulation by Estrogen, Progesterone and Tamoxifen in Human Endometrial Stromal Cells
Authors: Ren Chun-E , Zhu Xueqiong , Li Jinping , Lyle Christian , Dowdy Sean , Podratz Karl , Byck David , Chen Hai-Bin , Jiang Shi-Wen
Published: March 2015

Epithelial stromal cells represent a major cellular component of human uterine endometrium that is subject to tight hormonal regulation. Through cell-cell contacts and/or paracrine mechanisms, stromal cells play a significant role in the malignant transformation of epithelial cells. We isolated stromal cells from normal human endometrium and investigated the morphological and transcriptional changes induced by estrogen, progesterone and tamoxifen. We demonstrated that stromal cells express appreciable levels of estrogen and progesterone receptors and undergo different morphological changes upon hormonal stimulation. Microarray analysis indicated that both estrogen and progesterone induced dramatic alterations in a variety of genes associated with cell structure, transcription, cell cycle, and signaling. However, divergent patterns of changes, and in some genes opposite effects, were observed for the two hormones. A large number of genes are identified as novel targets for hormonal regulation. These hormone-responsive genes may be involved in normal uterine function and the development of endometrial malignancies.
Accurate Splicing of HDAC6 Pre-mRNA Requires SON
Authors: Battini Vishnu , Bubulya Athanasios , Bubulya Paula
Published: March 2015

Pre-mRNA splicing requires proper splice site selection mediated by many factors including snRNPs and serine-arginine rich (SR) splicing factors. Our lab previously reported that the SR-like protein SON maintains organization of pre-mRNA splicing factors in nuclear speckles as well as splicing of many human transcripts including mRNAs coding for the chromatin-modifying enzymes HDAC6, ADA and SETD8. However, the mechanism by which SON maintains accurate splicing is unknown. To build tools for understanding SON-dependent pre-mRNA splicing, we constructed a minigene reporter plasmid driving expression of the genomic sequence spanning exons 26 through 29 of HDAC6. Following SON depletion, we observed altered splicing of HDAC6 reporter transcripts that showed exclusion of exons 27 and 28, reflecting the splicing patterns of endogenous HDAC6 mRNA. Importantly, loss of HDAC6 biological function was also observed, as indicated by truncated HDAC6 protein and corresponding absence of aggresome assembly activities of HDAC6 binding-of-ubiquitin zinc finger (BUZ) domain. We therefore propose that SON-mediated splicing regulation of HDAC6 is essential for supporting protein degradation pathways that prevent human disease.
Molecular Mechanisms of Taste Recognition: Considerations about the Role of Saliva
Authors: Fábián Tibor , Beck Anita , Fejérdy Pál , Hermann Péter , Fábián Gábor
Published: March 2015

The gustatory system plays a critical role in determining food preferences and food intake, in addition to nutritive, energy and electrolyte balance. Fine tuning of the gustatory system is also crucial in this respect. The exact mechanisms that fine tune taste sensitivity are as of yet poorly defined, but it is clear that various effects of saliva on taste recognition are also involved. Specifically those metabolic polypeptides present in the saliva that were classically considered to be gut and appetite hormones (i.e., leptin, ghrelin, insulin, neuropeptide Y, peptide YY) were considered to play a pivotal role. Besides these, data clearly indicate the major role of several other salivary proteins, such as salivary carbonic anhydrase (gustin), proline-rich proteins, cystatins, alpha-amylases, histatins, salivary albumin and mucins. Other proteins like glucagon-like peptide-1, salivary immunoglobulin-A, zinc-α-2-glycoprotein, salivary lactoperoxidase, salivary prolactin-inducible protein and salivary molecular chaperone HSP70/HSPAs were also expected to play an important role. Furthermore, factors including salivary flow rate, buffer capacity and ionic composition of saliva should also be considered. In this paper, the current state of research related to the above and the overall emerging field of taste-related salivary research alongside basic principles of taste perception is reviewed.
RNA-Seq Transcriptome Analysis of Maize Inbred Carrying Nicosulfuron-Tolerant and Nicosulfuron-Susceptible Alleles
Authors: Liu Xiaomin , Xu Xian , Li Binghua , Wang Xueqing , Wang Guiqi , Li Moran
Published: March 2015

Postemergence applications of nicosulfuron can cause great damage to certain maize inbred lines and hybrids. Variation among different responses to nicosulfuron may be attributed to differential rates of herbicide metabolism. We employed RNA-Seq analysis to compare transcriptome responses between nicosulfuron-treated and untreated in both tolerant and susceptible maize plants. A total of 71.8 million paired end Illumina RNA-Seq reads were generated, representing the transcription of around 40,441 unique reads. About 345,171 gene ontology (GO) term assignments were conducted for the annotation in terms of biological process, cellular component and molecular function categories, and 6413 sequences with 108 enzyme commission numbers were assigned to 134 predicted Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways. Digital gene expression profile (DGE) analysis using Solexa sequencing was performed within the susceptible and tolerant maize between the nicosulfuron-treated and untreated conditions, 13 genes were selected as the candidates most likely involved in herbicide metabolism, and quantitative RT-PCR validated the RNA-Seq results for eight genes. This transcriptome data may provide opportunities for the study of sulfonylurea herbicides susceptibility emergence of Zea mays.
Stochastically Estimating Modular Criticality in Large-Scale Logic Circuits Using Sparsity Regularization and Compressive Sensing
Authors: Alawad Mohammed , DeMara Ronald , Lin Mingjie
Published: March 2015

This paper considers the problem of how to efficiently measure a large and complex information field with optimally few observations. Specifically, we investigate how to stochastically estimate modular criticality values in a large-scale digital circuit with a very limited number of measurements in order to minimize the total measurement efforts and time. We prove that, through sparsity-promoting transform domain regularization and by strategically integrating compressive sensing with Bayesian learning, more than 98% of the overall measurement accuracy can be achieved with fewer than 10% of measurements as required in a conventional approach that uses exhaustive measurements. Furthermore, we illustrate that the obtained criticality results can be utilized to selectively fortify large-scale digital circuits for operation with narrow voltage headrooms and in the presence of soft-errors rising at near threshold voltage levels, without excessive hardware overheads. Our numerical simulation results have shown that, by optimally allocating only 10% circuit redundancy, for some large-scale benchmark circuits, we can achieve more than a three-times reduction in its overall error probability, whereas if randomly distributing such 10% hardware resource, less than 2% improvements in the target circuit’s overall robustness will be observed. Finally, we conjecture that our proposed approach can be readily applied to estimate other essential properties of digital circuits that are critical to designing and analyzing them, such as the observability measure in reliability analysis and the path delay estimation in stochastic timing analysis. The only key requirement of our proposed methodology is that these global information fields exhibit a certain degree of smoothness, which is universally true for almost any physical phenomenon.