Synthesis,AM<Subscript>1</Subscript> calculation,and biological studies of thiopyran-4-one and their azine derivatives

Some novel N(1)-arylidene-N(2)-cis-2,6-diphenyltetrahydrothiopyran-4-one azine derivatives were synthesised and their antibacterial activity against Streptococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus and antifungal activity against Candida-6, Candida-51, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus were evaluated.     

Multidisciplinary approach in the long-term management of intrahepatic stones: Indian experience.

BACKGROUND: Intrahepatic stones, though common in East Asia, are uncommon in India. There is paucity of data from India regarding the treatment and long-term outcome of patients with intrahepatic stones. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed medical records of 35 patients with intrahepatic stones who had been treated surgically. Endoscopic biliary drainage had been used in patients who presented with acute cholangitis. Intraoperative stone clearance was confirmed by choledochoscopy and intraoperative cholangiography. Outcome of surgery, frequency and subsequent management of recurrent intrahepatic stones, and factors associated with stone recurrence and cholangitis were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-one (60%) patients had bilobar disease. Eight patients underwent hepatectomy and 16 hepatico-jejunostomy with access loop; 12 of these were jejuno-duodenal anastomoses. Postoperative morbidity was observed in 10 patients (29%). Recurrence of stones occurred in 12 patients (34%) and cholangitis in 9 patients (26%). Presence of bilobar disease and associated biliary strictures were associated with recurrent cholangitis (p< 0.05). Two patients (6%) required re-operation for recurrent cholangitis. Complete removal of recurrent stones using conventional endoscope was possible through jejuno-duodenostomy in all 5 cases who had this type of access loop construction. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment for intrahepatic stones depends on the site of involvement. Construction of a jejuno-duodenal access loop in patients with bilobar disease and intrahepatic strictures is helpful in facilitating postoperative stone clearance. A multidisciplinary approach is beneficial especially when the disease is bilobar and recurrent in type.     

Descriptive epidemiology of lymphoid and haemopoietic malignancies in Bangalore,India

Lymphoid and haemopoietic malignancies as a group constitute one of the important cancers in India, as elsewhere in the world. While information on incidence and mortality of these cancers, and that on survival, are available from most developed countries, there are very few reports describing this experience in developing ones. Population-based cancer registration commenced in Bangalore, India, in January 1982, under the auspices of the Indian Council of Medical Research. This source provides fairly complete and reliable incidence data, but, in order to obtain mortality and survival information, active follow-up involving visits of homes of patients was undertaken. Between 1982 and 1989, 1397 cases of lymphoid and haemopoietic malignancies were registered in the Bangalore cancer registry, giving an age-adjusted incidence rate of 7.7 and 4.8 per 100,000 in males and females respectively. Active follow-up provided mortality/survival information in 1267 or 90.7% of these cases. The overall observed 5-year survival for these cancers combined (both sexes) was 26%, and relative survival 28.4%. The 5-year survival rate was lower in all the individual lymphomas and leukaemias as compared with similar reports from the developed countries. Survival in Hodgkin's disease was influenced by clinical stage and age at presentation.     

Cardiac injuries--a clinical and autopsy profile

One hundred two patients sustaining cardiac injuries over a 4-year period were analysed to highlight the natural history of the cardiac injuries. There were 45 blunt, 36 stab, and 21 gunshot injuries. The injury involved the ventricle in 85, atrium in seven, pulmonary artery in five cases, and resulted in crush injury to the heart in the remaining five cases. Thirty-three patients (32.3%) died on the scene and 58 (56.9%) died during the transportation. Only 11 patients (10.8%) reached the hospital alive, and ten of these patients survived following thoracotomy and repair of the cardiac injury. The factors influencing the natural course of cardiac injury were analysed: 2.2% of patients with blunt cardiac trauma reached the hospital alive compared to 19.4% with stab and 14.3% with gunshot injuries; ventricular injuries had a greater prehospital mortality compared to atrial or pulmonary artery injuries; 11.3% of patients sustaining injury to right ventricle reached the hospital alive compared to 3% of those with left ventricular injuries. These data emphasize the need for rapid transport, immediate recognition, and aggressive surgical management, to make a favourable impact on the natural history of cardiac injuries.     

Acute myelomonocytic leukaemia with pseudo-Chediak-Higashi inclusions in leukaemic blasts report of an unusual case

Giant inclusions in the blast cells resembling that of Chediak-Higashi syndrome have been reported only in a handful of cases with acute leukaemia. There is a paucity of data on the ultrastructural appearance of such unique light microscopic findings. As many of such patients were reported in late seventies and early eighties [1-4] the outcome of treatment using present day multiple induction/consolidation regimens in such patients has also been rarely reported due to the rarity of such patients. We report here on a patient with acute myeloid leukaemia showing pseudo-Chediak-Higashi inclusions in leukaemic blasts with unusual ultrastructural morphology.     

Biocompatible nanofiber matrices for the engineering of a dermal substitute for skin regeneration

Natural and synthetic biodegradable nanofibers are extensively used for biomedical applications and tissue engineering. Biocompatibility and a well-established safety profile for polycaprolactone (PCL) and collagen represent a favorable matrix for preparing a dermal substitute for engineering skin. Collagen synthesized by fibroblasts is a good surface active agent and demonstrates its ability to penetrate a lipid-free interface. During granulation tissue formation, fibronectin provides a temporary substratum for migration and proliferation of cells and provides a template for collagen deposition, which increases stiffness and tensile strength of this healing tissues. The objective of this study was to fabricate nanofiber matrices from novel biodegradable PCL and collagen to mimic natural extracellular matrix (ECM) and to examine the cell behavior, cell attachment, and interaction between cells and nanofiber matrices. Collagen nanofiber matrices show a significant (p < 0.001) level of fibroblast proliferation and increase up to 54% compared with control tissue culture plate (TCP) after 72 h. The present investigation shows that PCL-coated collagen matrices are suitable for fibroblast growth, proliferation, and migration inside the matrices. This novel biodegradable PCL and collagen nanofiber matrices support the attachment and proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and might have potential in tissue engineering as a dermal substitute for skin regeneration.     

A feasibility study to investigate the use of thin-plate splines to account for prostate deformation

Image registration is an important step in the radiotherapy treatment planning process. It provides a method of fusing different types of diagnostic imaging information. One such application is to combine magnetic resonance spectroscopic images (MRSI) of the prostate with anatomical MRI and/or computed tomography images that are routinely used in the radiation treatment planning of prostate cancer. MRSI provides in vivo information related to the underlying metabolic activity of tissues, and can be related to the presence of cancer. However, the inflated endorectal coil required during MRS imaging poses a potential problem by deforming the prostate when it is filled with approximately 100 cm3 of air during image acquisition. This pushes the prostate superiorly/anteriorly, deforming the prostate and consequently the spectroscopic imaging data in a nonlinear manner. In this application, the coil-deformed MRS images are warped back to a non-deformed state, using a single data set. A nonlinear warping algorithm is presented to achieve this. Results indicate that the algorithm attains an accuracy of 97% (4 cm3 difference) when reproducing the total prostate volume compared to a Radiation Oncologist defined prostate volume. This difference is slightly smaller than the measured intra-operator variance of +/-1.5 cm3 (deflated coil) and the measured algorithm variance of +/-1.0 cm3. Additionally, intraprostatic nodules were used to assess the accuracy of the warping algorithm in regions inside the prostate. While choosing anatomical tie points along the external prostate surface, analysis of the nodules revealed the algorithm accuracy reduced to 63-93%.