Ultrasound-guided injection for plantar fasciitis: A brief review

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a distressing condition experienced by many patients. Although self-limiting, it tends to become a chronic ailment if the precipitating factors are not addressed. One of the modality of treating PF is intra-lesional corticosteroid injection. This was done using palpation technique earlier but nowadays many specialists use ultrasound (US) imaging as a guide to give injection accurately instead of inadvertently damaging the plantar fascia or injecting into surrounding soft tissue, both of which can have serious implications. We did a literature search in Medline, Scopus, and Embase databases to find out articles describing US-guided corticosteroid injection for treating PF and whether guided injection was effective than injection given by palpation.

Resolution of tubercular abscess with antitubercular treatment

Tubercular brain abscess is a rare manifestation of neurotuberculosis. Large brain absceses are usually surgically treated. We report a case of tubercular brain abscesses in left cerebellar hemisphere and right parietal lobe in a child who was treated surgically for the cerebellar abscess and conservatively with antitubercular drug for parietal abscess. The patient showed significant clinical improvement and healing of brain abscess on follow up imaging. The resolution of relatively large abscess by conservative management with antitubercular treatment is very rare.

The effect of growth temperature variation on partially bismuth filled carbon nanotubes synthesis using a soft semi-metallic template

The dewetting of a low melting point metal thin film deposited on silicon substrates was studied. The experimental results suggest that the change in the growth temperature affects the nanostructures that form. Based on the experimental results, the temperature which yielded the smallest features for the growth of nanotubes is determined. The mechanism by which these nano-templates become an efficient seeds for the growth of the carbon nanotubes is discussed. The partial bismuth filling inside the CNTs was optimized. Based on the results, a schematic growth model for better understanding of the process parameters has also been proposed.

Quantitative approach to track lipase producing Pseudomonas sp. S1 in nonsterilized solid state fermentation

Proliferation of the inoculated Pseudomonas sp. S1 is quantitatively evaluated using ERIC-PCR during the production of lipase in nonsterile solid state fermentation an approach to reduce the cost of enzyme production. Under nonsterile solid state fermentation with olive oil cake, Pseudomonas sp. S1 produced 57·9 IU g(-1) of lipase. DNA fingerprints of unknown bacterial isolates obtained on Bushnell Haas agar (BHA) + tributyrin exactly matched with that of Pseudomonas sp. S1. Using PCR-based enumeration, population of Pseudomonas sp. S1 was proliferated from 7·6 × 10(4) CFU g(-1) after 24 h to 4·6 × 10(8) CFU g(-1) after 96 h, which tallied with the maximum lipase activity as compared to control. Under submerged fermentation (SmF), Pseudomonas sp. S1 produced maximum lipase (49 IU ml(-1) ) using olive oil as substrate, while lipase production was 9·754 IU ml(-1) when Pseudomonas sp. S1 was grown on tributyrin. Optimum pH and temperature of the crude lipase was 7·0 and 50°C. Crude enzyme activity was 71·2% stable at 50°C for 360 min. Pseudomonas sp. S1 lipase was also stable in methanol showing 91·6% activity in the presence of 15% methanol, whereas 75·5 and 51·1% of activity were retained in the presence of 20 and 30% methanol, respectively. Thus, lipase produced by Pseudomonas sp. S1 is suitable for the production of biodiesel as well as treatment of oily waste water.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY

This study presents the first report on the production of thermophilic organic solvent tolerant lipase using agro-industry waste in nonsterile solid state fermentation. Positive correlation between survival of Pseudomonas sp. S1 and lipase production under nonsterile solid state fermentation was established, which may emphasize the need to combine molecular tools and solid state fermentation in future studies. Our study brings new insights into the lipase production in cost-effective manner, which is an industrially relevant approach.

Anthrax--update on diagnosis and management

Human anthrax is difficult to contain. This is primarily because it is a zoonotic disease and the disease has never been contained in the livestock of India due to lack of adequate vaccination facilities. Animal anthrax is very common in many parts of India. The problem of anthrax is further compounded by lack of awareness on the part of village folk who unwittingly handle the hide and share the dead animal meat and this causes cutaneous and gastrointestinal forms of anthrax respectively. Hemorrhagic meningitis and pulmonary anthrax, the other forms of anthrax, carry a risk of nearly cent percent mortality. Characteristic gram positive rods abundantly found in the smear of the cerebrospinal fluid, blood etc. make diagnosis certain in most of the cases. Resistance to penicillin, the drug of choice, now being occasionally reported, may become a confounding factor while attempting successful control of the disease. Other antibiotics which are found to be very effective are doxycycline and ciprofloxacin. Fear of use of anthrax spores as a biological weapon has also given a new dimension to the problem.

Calcium metabolism in olive ridley turtle eggs during embryonic development

Analyses of calcium, magnesium, sulphur, potassium and phosphorus content of the eggshell, yolk-albumen and embryos of olive ridley turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea, have been carried out at various stages of embryonic development. Calcium is the major inorganic constituent in the egg (shell and yolk-albumen) and embryos. Other elements are present either in trace or in minute trace amounts. The egg contents (yolk and albumen) provide only 40% of the embryonic calcium requirement of the hatchling. The remaining 60% is provided by the eggshell. The eggshell also undergoes a similar reduction in its calcium content from laying to hatching. Elements other than calcium present in the yolk-albumen are sufficient for normal embryonic development. The movement of calcium from the eggshell to the embryo starts at about the 40th day of development at 29.5 degrees C. Birds, turtles and crocodiles use their eggshell as the secondary source of embryonic calcium requirement. This dependence on the eggshell varies in different groups which is highest in birds and lowest in crocodiles.

Ultrastructure and characteristics of eggshells of the olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) from Gahirmatha, India

The structure of a chelonian eggshell is of prime importance for the developing embryo. It acts as a protective covering as well as mediator in the exchange of heat and water. The fresh eggshell of the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle displays a variety of structural forms in their aragonite framework. Its netted substrate, loose texture and poorly organised crystallites favour the easy exchange of air and water during its development. The shell consists mostly of calcium in carbonate form and K, Mg, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Cd in traces. Ba and Sr in traces are also a feature of the thermal analysis graph. Phosphorous was not detected in the shell and its absence eliminates an earlier suggestion of it being a key factor in the development of aragonite crystals in the inorganic structure of marine turtle eggshells. Its combustion characteristics, which have not been previously reported, are recorded.