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The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and genotype of Hepatitis C in District Swabi. Blood samples were collected from 100 seropositive patients from various hospitals of District Swabi, out of which, 93 samples were found positive by qualitative analysis through PCR. Positive samples were genotyped using Nested PCR. It was observed from the analysis of positive samples that 1a, 1b, 2a, 3a, 3b along with mixed genotypes are prevalent in Swabi. The most prevalent genotype was 3a with the rate of 73.13% followed by 3b with 11.82% rate and 1b to be the least common genotype at rate of 1.10%. From the present study it was concluded that HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b are distributed in various parts of Swabi and genotype 3a is the most frequent genotype.

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The most commonly used long-term reversible female contraception is intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD). Its use is however associated with documented complications. Uterine perforation, though rare, is arguably the most surgically important of all these complications. We report a case of a 48-year-old para 4+0 (4 alive) woman who had IUCD insertion 17 years earlier and had forgotten she had the device having had two children thereafter. The IUCD was subsequently translocated through the dome of the bladder into the peritoneal cavity with calculus formation around the tail and thread of the IUCD in the urinary bladder causing recurrent urinary tract infection. This "Collar Stud" effect made either cystoscopic or laparoscopic retrieval alone unsuccessful necessitating a combined approach. This case report highlights the need for a combined laparoscopic and cystoscopic approach in the retrieval of the unusual presentation of translocated IUCD.

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A series of bentonite polymer-composites (BPCs) loaded with metribuzin were studied for their controlled release in aqueous medium. The release of active ingredient from BPCs was significantly lower as compared to commercial metribuzin formulation. The results revealed that the cumulative metribuzin release was highest (81%) from the BPCs containing 8% clay (commercial bentonite) and 2% metribuzin which correspond to the lowest (14 days) half-life values i.e., time required for 50% release of active ingredient (t1/2). The metribuzin release from the BPCs decreased with increased concentration of clays in polymer matrix and the release was further decreased with BPCs prepared with pure nano-bentonite. BPCs containing 12% clay and 2% metribuzin showed maximum t1/2 values i.e., 25 and 51 days for commercial bentonite and pure nano-bentonite as clay sources, respectively. The differential behaviour in the metribuzin release rates from BPCs was ascribed due to variations in crosslinking of metribuzin in the composites. As metribuzin release was found to be slower in BPCs compared to commercial formulation, it could be used for control of weeds tailored to different crops.

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Systemic endemic mycoses, such as blastomycosis, are rare in Asia and have been reported as health risks among travelers who visit or reside in an endemic area. Adrenal involvement is rarely seen in blastomycosis and has never been reported from Asia. We report the first case of blastomycosis with bilateral involvement of the adrenals in a diabetic patient residing in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

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We acquired diffusion tensor and structural MRI images on 103 patients with schizophrenia and 41 age-matched normal controls. The vector data was used to trace tracts from a region of interest in the anterior limb of the internal capsule to the prefrontal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia had tract paths that were significantly shorter in length from the center of internal capsule to prefrontal white matter. These tracts, the anterior thalamic radiations, are important in frontal-striatal-thalamic pathways. These results are consistent with findings of smaller size of the anterior limb of the internal capsule in patients with schizophrenia, diffusion tensor anisotropy decreases in frontal white matter in schizophrenia and hypothesized disruption of the frontal-striatal-thalamic pathway system.

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The size of the thalamus was assessed in 106 patients with schizophrenia and 42 normal controls using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. The thalamus was traced at five axial levels proportionately spaced from dorsal to ventral directions. Patients with schizophrenia had significantly smaller thalamic areas at more ventral levels. Thalamic size was positively associated with frontal lobe and temporal lobe size. The effects were most marked in the patients with poorer clinical outcome (i.e., "Kraepelinian" patients). These findings are consistent with post-mortem and MRI measurement suggesting reduction in volume of the pulvinar, which occupies a large proportion of the ventral thalamus and which has prominent connections to the temporal lobe.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine the optimal angle between the handle and instrument shaft for endoscopic suturing. DESIGN: A rocker handle needle driver was used to investigate the 0 degrees, 40 degrees, and 80 degrees handle-to-shaft angles. The standard task entailed closure of a 50-mm enterotomy in a nonliving porcine small-bowel model. Fifty enterotomies were performed with each angle in a random sequence. SETTING: Research laboratory in the Surgical Skills Unit at Ninewells Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Ten surgeons with previous experience in laparoscopic surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The execution time (in minutes), leakage pressure (in centimeters of water), and suture error placement score (deviations of the entry and exit points <3 mm or >5 mm from the enterotomy edge or between sutures). RESULTS: The 40 degrees handle-to-shaft angle had a higher mean (SD) leakage pressure of 43.8 (20.0) cm H2O compared with the 80 degrees and 0 degrees angles (31.1 [21.0] and 26.3 [19.0] cm H2O, respectively) (P<.001). In addition, the 40 degrees angle had a lower mean (SD) suture error placement score of 13.6 (7.6), compared with the 80 degrees and 0 degrees angles (19.4 [9.4] and 21.1 [8.5], respectively) (P<.001). No significant difference was found in the execution time between the different angles (P =.20). CONCLUSION: The best quality of laparoscopic bowel suturing, in terms of the accuracy of suture placement and the integrity of the suture line closure, was obtained with a 40 degrees handle-to-shaft angle.

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