Mature teratoma of the pancreas: A rare entity

Aim and Background

Pancreatic cystic lesions are being increasingly recognized and comprise different pathological entities. The management of these lesions is often challenging, because of inadequate preoperative diagnosis. Among this family of lesions, mature cystic teratomas are an extremely rare finding and are usually found in children.

Case Report

We present the rare case of a 60-year-old man being evaluated for melena. Preoperative investigation revealed a pancreatic mass. The patient underwent a Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy. Surprisingly, histopathology revealed a mature teratoma of the pancreas.

Conclusion

This case highlights the difficulty in establishing a preoperative diagnosis of this benign pathological entity. Though unusual in older patients, mature teratomas can present in this subgroup of patients. Mimicking malignancy, they warrant a radical surgical resection.     

A template free protocol for fabrication of a Ni(ii)-loaded magnetically separable nanoreactor scaffold for confined synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl sulfides in water

In the present report, an environmentally benign magnetically recoverable nickel(ii)-based nanoreactor as a heterogeneous catalyst has been developed via a template free approach. The catalytic performance of the synthesized catalyst is assessed in the confined oxidative coupling of arenethiols with arylhydrazines to form unsymmetrical diaryl sulfides under aerobic conditions. The salient features of our protocol include oxidant- and ligand-free conditions, use of water as a green solvent, room temperature and formation of nitrogen and water as the only by-products. Moreover, a broad range of functional groups are tolerated well and provide the corresponding diaryl sulfides in moderate to good yields. Moreover, the heterogeneous nature of the catalyst permits facile magnetic recovery and reusability for up to seven runs, making the present protocol highly desirable from industrial and environmental standpoints.

An environmentally benign nickel(ii)-based magnetic nanoreactor has been developed for oxidative coupling of arenethiols with arylhydrazines to form unsymmetrical diaryl sulfides in water at room temperature.     

Continuous assessment of undergraduate students at a dental college in India

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the quantitative assessment of a structured essay and standardized oral examination and its correlation to the final-year graduating exam in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Meenakshi Ammal Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India. The records of 531 students from 2005 to 2009 were collected. Students were categorized based on their "completion" and "grading" in a structured essay and standardized oral examination, which is a continuous assessment of dental students in the college. The grades obtained by continuous assessment were compared to students' final-year examination scores. The assessment showed that students who completed all tasks and had desirable performance in their written assessment and standardized oral examination also scored better on their final examination. Therefore, the continuous assessment by written assessment and standardized oral examination had a direct relationship to students' performance on the final examination and is useful for evaluation.