Masseter muscle cross over flap in primary closure of oral-oropharyngeal defects

A new technique of closure of the oral-oropharyngeal defects after tumour surgery in selected cases, using the masseter cross-over flap, has been described.     

Acoustic and aerodynamic parameters of speech after laryngectomy and the Staffieri procedure

The voice obtained with the Staffieri method of surgical voice rehabilitation after total laryngectomy was studied in 20 subjects and objectively described in terms of selected acoustic and aerodynamic parameters. Intensity and frequency, pressure and airflow were studied during sustained phonation of the vowel 'a'. Simultaneous recordings showed a relationship between intensity and between fundamental frequency, pressure and airflow in most of the subjects. As the subjects in the present study were not able to produce a vowel at target intensities and frequencies, the data were interpolated to 65 dB (A) intensity level for comparison purposes. We found no indication that from an acoustical and aerodynamical point of view, the Staffieri procedure should be preferred over other alaryngeal voice production methods.     

Nutritional status of preschool children in a backward community

The nutritional status of harijan and tribal preschool children upto 2 years of age in Manikpur block, Banda District, Uttar Pradesh was monitored at an interval of one year. Rates of improvement, recovery and deterioration were computed. Of children with grade-I malnutrition 16·4% became normal while 37·3% with grade II malnutrition entered either grade I or became normal. Maxumum improvement (i.e. 50%) was observed in grade III children. Thus, in all 30% of the children showed an improvement in their nutritional status, i.e. recovery rate took place in 10·6% only. In all, 31·5% of subjects worsened or died (3·0%). Of the children who were normal at the beginning 51·2% deteriorated. The % of children who deteriorated in grade I, II and III cohorts respectively were 30·2%, 28·8% and 10·7%. Thus the rates of deterioration were higher than the rates of recovery in different cohorts studied.     

Temperature sensitive liposomes of plumbagin: characterization and in vivo evaluation in mice bearing melanoma B16F1

The effectiveness of the combination of thermosensitive liposomes of plumbagin and hyperthermia is described. Small-sized, thermosensitive liposomes were prepared by thin film hydration and subsequent sonication. The liposomes were characterized for size, phase transition temperature, in vitro drug release and stability. The results of particle size analysis indicated that almost 90% of the vesicles were below 0.19 microm size. The phase transition temperature of the liposomes as determined by differential scanning calorimetry was found to be 41.32 degrees C. The results of in vitro release studies in phosphate buffered saline + mouse plasma indicated that maximum drug release (51.25%) occurred at 42 degrees C compared to the less than 9% release at 37 degrees C. Better stability profile was observed when the plumbagin liposomes were stored at 4 degrees C. When combined with localised hyperthermia (43 degrees C, 30 min or 1 h), liposomal plumbagin administered intravenously to C57BL/6J mice bearing melanoma exhibited better anticancer activity as compared to animals treated with an equivalent dose of free plumbagin with or without hyperthermia, which was evident by enhanced volume doubling time and growth delay.     

Distinct regulation of expressed calcium channels 2.3 in Xenopus oocytes by direct or indirect activation of protein kinase C

Protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent regulation of voltage-gated Ca (Ca(v); with alpha(1)beta1Balpha2/delta subunits) channel 2.3 was investigated using phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), or by M(1) muscarinic receptor activation in Xenopus oocytes. The inward Ca(2+)-current with Ba(2+) (I(Ba)) as the charge carrier was potentiated by PMA or acetyl-beta-methylcholine (MCh). The inactivating [I(inact)] and non-inactivating [I(noninact)] components of I(Ba) and the time constant of inactivation tau(inact) were all increased by MCh or PMA. This may be a PKC-dependent action since the effect of MCh and PMA was blocked by Ro-31-8425 or beta-pseudosubstrate. MCh effect was blocked by atropine, guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) trilithium (GDPbetaS) or U-73122. The effect of MCh but not PMA was blocked by the inhibition of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors, intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i)) or the translocation of conventional PKC (cPKC) with heparin, BAPTA and betaC2.4, respectively. While a lower concentration (25 nM) of Ro-31-8425 blocked MCh, a higher concentration (500 nM) of Ro-31-8425 was required to block PMA action. This differential susceptibility of MCh and PMA to heparin, BAPTA, betaC2.4 or Ro-31-8425 is suggestive of the involvement of Ca(2+)-dependent cPKC in MCh action, whereas cPKC and Ca(2+)-independent novel PKC (nPKC) in PMA action. PMA led to additional increase in I(Ba) that was already potentiated by preadministered MCh (1 or 10 microM), leading to the suggestion that differential phosphorylation sites for cPKC and nPKC may be present in the alpha(1)2.3 subunit of Ca(v) 2.3 channels.     

Investigation of geo-spatial hotspots for the occurrence of tuberculosis in Almora district, India, using GIS and spatial scan statistic

Background  

The World Health Organization has declared tuberculosis a global emergency in 1993. It has been estimated that one third of the world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. The emergence of TB/HIV co-infection poses an additional challenge for the control of tuberculosis throughout the world. The World Health Organization is supporting many developing countries to eradicate tuberculosis. It is an agony that one fifth of the tuberculosis patients worldwide are in India. The eradication of tuberculosis is the greatest public health challenge for this developing country. The aim of the present population based study on Mycobacterium tuberculosis is to test a large set of tuberculosis cases for the presence of statistically significant geographical clusters. A spatial scan statistic is used to identify purely spatial and space-time clusters of tuberculosis.     

Vitamin A supplementation in Tanzania: the impact of a change in programmatic delivery strategy on coverage

Background  

Efficient delivery strategies for health interventions are essential for high and sustainable coverage. We report impact of a change in programmatic delivery strategy from routine delivery through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI+) approach to twice-yearly mass distribution campaigns on coverage of vitamin A supplementation in Tanzania     

Encephalocoele as a complication of intranasal surgery

Intranasal encephalocoele can be congenital or acquired as a consequence of injury to the floor of anterior cranial fossa disrupting dura resulting in herniation of brain tissue in the nasal cavity. Authors came across a case of encephalocoele as a complication of intranasal polypectoury. We are reporting this case due to its rareness.     

Squamous cell carcinoma of maxillary sinus

BACKGROUND: Medical records of 43 patients with histologically proved diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma who were treated between the years 1975 and 1994 at the department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, VU Amsterdam were examined. METHODS: Tumors were restaged according to UICC classification 1997. Thirty-eight patients were treated for cure, nine were treated with chemotherapy followed by external beam radiotherapy, and 28 patients were treated with surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy. No patient was lost to follow-up. Data with respect to survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighty-three percent of the tumours were in stage III or stage IV at the time of first presentation. Five-year survival after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for all patients was 64%. For stages II, III, and IV it was 83%, 49%, and 37%, respectively. Cervical nodal metastases were present in 4.1% at the time of presentation. Thirty-seven percent of the patients survived 2 years after chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Squamous cell carcinoma continues to be diagnosed late. Surgery followed by radiotherapy remains the treatment of choice. Mandibulotomy should be considered for better clearance of retromaxillary space in T3 -T4 tumors. The eye should be preserved whenever it is oncologically safe to do so.     

Castleman's disease as a uncommon cause of a neck mass

Castleman's disease is an uncommon cause of a neck mass; in only 6% of the cases reported in the literature was the disease located in the neck. We present the case of a 21-year-old woman who developed a swelling in the left side of her neck that was subsequently diagnosed as Castleman's disease. The different forms of the disease and its histopathology are discussed.