Imaging of the small intestine in Crohn's disease: Joint position statement of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology and Indian Radiological and Imaging Association

The Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Task Force on Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) developed combined ISG-IRIA evidence-based best-practice guidelines for imaging of the small intestine in patients with suspected or known Crohn's disease. These 29 position statements, developed through a modified Delphi process, are intended to serve as reference for teaching, clinical practice, and research.

Identification of morphological and biochemical changes in keratin-8/18 knock-down cells using Raman spectroscopy

Accurate understanding of cellular processes and responses to stimuli is of paramount importance in biomedical research and diagnosis. Raman spectroscopy (RS), a label-free and nondestructive spectroscopic method has the potential to serve as a novel 'theranostics' tool. Both fiber-optic and micro-Raman studies have demonstrated efficacy in diagnostics and therapeutic response monitoring. In the present study, we have evaluated the potential of micro-Raman spectroscopic maps in identifying changes induced by loss of K8/18 proteins in a tongue cancer cell line. Furthermore, we also evaluated the efficacy of less expensive and commercially available fiber probes to identify K8/18 wild and knock-down cell pellets, in view of the utility of cell pellet-based studies. The findings suggest that major differences in the cellular morphology and biochemical composition can be objectively identified and can be utilized for classification using both micro-Raman and fiber-probe-based RS. These findings highlight the potential of fiber-optic probe-based RS in noninvasive cellular phenotyping for diagnosis and therapeutic response monitoring, especially in low-resource settings.

Nutritional Status of Dalit Children: A Comparative Study with Non-Dalit Children in Eastern Terai of Nepal

IntroductionThe poor nutritional status of under five children has been considered a serious problem in Nepal for many years. Children need adequate nutrition for their proper physical, emotional as well as psychological development.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess and compare the nutritional status of under five children and explore its socio demographic determinants.MethodologyAn analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Eastern Terai, ecological belt of Nepal. Predesigned, pretested interview schedule was used to collect the information. Information was collected from 720 Dalit as well as Non-dalit mothers about their youngest children. The nutritional status was measured byusing anthropometric measurements.  ResultsIn bi-variate analysis the significant difference were observed among children's nutritional status between castes as well as a number of socio-demographic variables however in multivariate analysis only caste, number of Children Ever Born (CEB) and mother's education were found significant determinants of height for age, mother's education was found significant determinant for weight for height and caste, age of children and mother's education were found significant determinants of weight for age of children.ConclusionDalit children were found much more malnourished than Nondalit. The castes, age of child, CEB to mother and mothers' education were found as the determinants of nutritional status among under-five children.Birat Journal of Health Sciences Vol.2/No.1/Issue 2/ Jan - April 2017, Page: 117-126

Study of cyanide removal from contaminated water using zinc peroxide nanomaterial

The present study highlights the potential application of zinc peroxide (ZnO₂) nanomaterial as an efficient material for the decontamination of cyanide from contaminated water. A process patent for ZnO₂ synthesis has been granted in United States of America (US Patent number 8,715,612; May 2014), South Africa, Bangladesh, and India. The ZnO₂ nanomaterial was capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to control the particle size. The PVP capped ZnO₂ nanomaterial (PVP-ZnO₂) before and after adsorption of cyanide was characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry. The remaining concentration of cyanide after adsorption by PVP-ZnO₂ was determined using ion chromatograph. The adsorption of cyanide over PVP-ZnO₂ was also studied as a function of pH, adsorbent dose, time and concentration of cyanide. The maximum removal of cyanide was observed in pH range 5.8-7.8 within 15min. The adsorption data was fitted to Langmuir and Fruendlich isotherm and it has been observed that data follows both the isotherms and also follows second order kinetics.

Short-term outcome of substance-induced psychotic disorder in a large UK first episode psychosis cohort

OBJECTIVE

The incidence and outcome of first-episode substance-induced psychotic disorder (SIPD) are unclear. The study aimed to compare the 1-year outcomes of those given a SIPD diagnosis by clinicians compared to other psychosis diagnoses in a first-episode cohort.

METHOD

Data were from a large (n = 1027) cohort of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients admitted to early intervention services in the UK (National EDEN). Diagnosis, including that of SIPD, was made by treating psychiatrists at baseline using ICD10 criteria. Details on symptoms, functioning, quality of life, relapse and recovery were available at baseline and 12 months.

RESULTS

There were 67 cases of SIPD (6.5% of the cohort). At baseline, SIPD patients were no different to other psychoses on symptoms, functioning and quality of life. At 12 months, there was no difference in SIPD and other psychoses on functioning, quality of life or relapse and recovery rates. Levels of psychotic and general symptomatology were similar but depressive symptoms were higher in the SIPD group.

CONCLUSIONS

First-episode psychosis patients with a diagnosis of SIPD do not appear to have better outcomes than those with other primary psychotic diagnoses. The higher levels of depressive symptoms may be a specific marker in these patients.

Voice and endocrinology

Voice is one of the advanced features of natural evolution that differentiates human beings from other primates. The human voice is capable of conveying the thoughts into spoken words along with a subtle emotion to the tone. This extraordinary character of the voice in expressing multiple emotions is the gift of God to the human beings and helps in effective interpersonal communication. Voice generation involves close interaction between cerebral signals and the peripheral apparatus consisting of the larynx, vocal cords, and trachea. The human voice is susceptible to the hormonal changes throughout life right from the puberty until senescence. Thyroid, gonadal and growth hormones have tremendous impact on the structure and function of the vocal apparatus. The alteration of voice is observed even in physiological states such as puberty and menstruation. Astute clinical observers make out the changes in the voice and refer the patients for endocrine evaluation. In this review, we shall discuss the hormonal influence on the voice apparatus in normal and endocrine disorders.

Tufted Angioma of Eyelid in an Adult - A Case Report

Tufted Angiomas also known as angioblastomas /Angioblastoma of Nagakawa are rare vascular neoplasms localised to the skin and subcutaneous tissues with the upper trunk and neck being most common sites. They are mainly seen in children but a few cases in juveniles and adults have been reported. We hereby report this case, a 40-year-old male who presented with a right lower lid, painless, slowly progressive, firm swelling diagnosed as Tufted Angioma on histopathology and immunohistochemistry.