Evaluation of A60 antibodies in pulmonary and neurotuberculosis

Humoral immune response against PPD derived A60 antigen was evaluated by quantification of serum A60 antibodies in thrity healthy adults not exposed to tuberculosis (Group 1), in twenty seven healthy adults exposed to tuberculosis patients i.e. staff working in wards of tuberculosis hospital for one to thirty years (group 2), in twenty five pulmonary tuberculosis patients admitted to the Institute for Chest Diseases, Hyderabad (Group 3) and in sixty neurotuberculosis patients admitted to Neurosurgery department of our institute (Group 4). Highly significant elevation of A60 antibodies was observed in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (p<0.01) compared to healthy adult groups. A significant elevation in serum was also observed in case of neurotuberculosis group compared to both healthy groups (p<0.01). A test on A60 antibodies in serum gavv a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 96.6%, positive predictive value of 81% and negative predictive value of 100% for pulmonary tuberculosis, whereas a sensitivity of 58%, positive predictive value of 79% and negative predictive value of 75% were noted for neurotuberculosis patients. Results of A60 antibodies in ten cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) obtained from non tuberculosis patients and thirty two CSF from patients of neurotuberculosis did not show significant elevation of antibodies. However the ninetyfive percentile value of CSF A60 antibodies was higher in neurotuberculosis (7.4 U/ml) group compared to nontuberculous group (3.8 U/ml) and the test showed a good positive predictive value (83%), very low negative predictive value (25%) and low sensitivity (63%). Serum A60 antibody assay appears to be a good serological marker available today for pulmonary tuberculosis and a supportive marker for neurotuberculosis.     

Application of tumor markers in ovarian malignancies

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death in women. The incidence of this malignancy increases in women over the age of 40. The overall five years survival is less than 30%, as most women present with advanced stage disease. Until recently, detection of early stage ovarian cancer has been difficult since it is usually nonpalpable and asymptomatic. The definitive diagnosis of an ovarian mass is a common problem in gynecologic patients with adnexal mass. The routine standard evaluation for adnexal masses includes patient's history, physical examination, ultrasound and histopathological examination. These parameters individually or in combination have little predictive value. The accuracy of diagnostic tools are of immense value and great concern to practicsing Gynecologists and Oncologists. The clinical application of serum concentration of CA 125, AFP and hCG is of great help not only as diagnostic aid but also in monitoring efficacy of any treatment modality like chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgical resection. Additionally, evaluation of tumor marker concentration helps in predicting early biochemical recurrence and in prognostication in different types of ovarian malignancies. The ability to differentiate a malignant mass from a benign pelvic mass pretherapeutically could be enhanced optimally by additional use of tumor markers such as cancer antigen CA-125, alphafetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotrophin in pre-and postmenopausal women.     

The use of vocabulary files for on-line information retrieval

Online information retrieval systems continued to reach wider audiences. The authors discuss a particular text retrieval system and its techniques for helping the common unsophisticated user through both the search for and understanding of information based on the vocabular file concept. In addition methods for easy construction and maintenance of a suuitable data base organization are described.     

Journal clustering using a bibliographic coupling method

The classification of journal titles into fields or specialties is a problem of practical importance in library and information science. An algorithm is described which accomplishes such a classification using the single-link clustering technique and a novel application of the method of bibliographic coupling. The novelty consists in the use of two-step bibliographic coupling linkages, rather than the usual one-step linkages. This modification of the similarity measure leads to a marked improvement in the performance of single-link clustering in the formation of field or specialty clusters of journals. Results of an experiment using this algorithm are reported which grouped 890 journals into 168 clusters. This scope is an improvement of nearly an order of magnitude over previous journal clustering experiments. The results are evaluated by comparison with an independently derived manual classification of the same journal set. The generally good agreement indicates that this method of journal clustering will have significant practical utility for journal classification.     

Analysis and design of multi-input-multi-priority buffering systems with binomial feedback

The buffer design problem is studied for the cases where there exist single- and multiple-input lines with Poisson or Poisson bursts arrivals, periodic block or batch type removals, and binomial feedback.Using traffic intensity σ, block size c, and the feedback probability P_a as parameters, the analytical expressions concerning the average fractional information loss, the channel utilization and the average buffering delay in relation to the buffer length are derived. These relationships are computed for a set of parameter values and are plotted to be used as a basis for the buffer design. The present study should be valuable in designing engineering systems such as time sharing computer systems, information compression systems, computer networks, road traffic simulators, telephone exchanges etc. An illustrative example of a single-input buffer system of the type considered is fully discussed.     

Microscopic haematuria as an occult filarial infection in bhubaneshwar an endemic area for bancroftian filariasis

Sera samples of 7 microscopic haematuria cases collected before and after treatment with Diethylcarbamazine citrate, (DEC), 9 microfilaraemic cases and 19 endemic normal individuals were analysed for filarial antigen and IgG antibody levels. Filarial antigen was detected in 5 of the 7 microscopic haematuria cases, of which 3 turned negative for antigen after treatment with DEC. While none of the 7 haematuria cases were positive for filarial IgG antibodies, before the DEC treatment, all of them turned positive after DEC treatment. The sensitivity and specificity values(to detect mf +ve cases) were 89% and 90% respectively for the detection of filarial antigen and 78% and 95% respectively for the detection of filarial IgG antibodies.     

An isoperimetric problem for continuous systems: The aeolian vibration of a conductor span

The equations of motion for perfectly mechanical systems which are restricted to satisfy given constraints are derived through the Lagrangian formulation for continuous media. Hamilton's equations for this situation are derived, and the equations for the balance of energy and angular momentum are generated from fundamental principles. These equations are all specialized to the example of a conductor which is vibrating under Aeolian excitation. Various models for the Hamiltonian density and the constraint energy density due to the wind energy input are also discussed.     

The computation of discrimination values

Results have been reported showing the usefulness of discrimination value in automatic construction of dictionaries for information retrieval. While discrimination value is defined in the literature, no specific explanation of its computation is given. In this paper the computation of discrimination value is discussed, a relatively efficient algorithm is presented and an example is given.     

Smooth-pursuit eye movements in the newborn infant.

The capacity of newborn infants to smooth-pursuit eye movements in single-target tracking and in optokinetic nystagmus to a moving striped field was examined utilizing DC electrooculography. Smooth-pursuit movements were observed in all infants who were alert during testing, but they occupied less than 15% of viewing time during single-target tracking. The velocity of smooth-pursuit segments in single-target tracking increased linearly to a target velocity of 19 degrees/sec and deteriorated rapidly at faster speeds. No smooth pursuit occurred above 32 degrees/sec in single-target tracking. By contrast, optokinetic nystagmus was observed at all field velocities to 40 degrees/sec, but the speed of the mean slow component increased linearly to 25 degrees/sec and diminished above that field velocity. Infant optokinetic nystagmus differed strikingly from that of adults in that tonic ocular deviation was in the direction of field movement rather than away from it. This feature of neonatal optokinetic nystagmus is consistent with deficient foveal function and suggests that the relatively poor smooth-pursuit performance of newborns may be related to foveal immaturity.