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West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging pathogen that is now the leading cause of mosquito-borne and epidemic encephalitis in the United States. In humans, a small percentage of infected individuals develop severe neuroinvasive disease, with the greatest relative risk being in the elderly and immunocompromised, two populations that are difficult to immunize effectively with vaccines. While inactivated and subunit-based veterinary vaccines against WNV exist, currently there is no vaccine or therapy available to prevent or treat human disease. Here, we describe the generation and preclinical efficacy of a hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-inactivated WNV Kunjin strain (WNV-KUNV) vaccine as a candidate for further development. Both young and aged mice vaccinated with H(2)O(2)-inactivated WNV-KUNV produced robust adaptive B and T cell immune responses and were protected against stringent and lethal intracranial challenge with a heterologous virulent North American WNV strain. Our studies suggest that the H(2)O(2)-inactivated WNV-KUNV vaccine is safe and immunogenic and may be suitable for protection against WNV infection in vulnerable populations.

Introduction: Primary breast angiosarcoma is a rare form of breast cancer, accounting for only 0.04% of all malignant breast tumours., Presentation of Case: A 28-year-old woman presented with a progressive lump in the right breast for one month. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was highly suspicious of angiosarcoma, and this diagnosis was confirmed on core needle biopsy. Modified radical mastectomy was performed as sole treatment., Discussion: Primary breast angiosarcoma is a rare type of breast malignancy, usually occurring in the third to fourth decade and only reported in women. The histological features of angiosarcoma of the breast are conventionally graded I, II or III. Total mastectomy appears to be the only treatment conferring benefit, chemotherapy and radiation therapy being of little proven value to date. The 5-year disease-free survival for grade I tumours can be as high as 76%, and up to 70% for grade II tumours whereas for grade III tumours it is reportedly about 15%., Conclusion: Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis, even after complete resection. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment with a limited role for chemotherapy and radiotherapy., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Introduction: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is a rare neoplasm accounting for 0.1% of breast carcinomas., Presentation of Case: A 30 year old female patient presented with multiple lumps in the right breast. Excision biopsy of a lump in the lower outer quadrant revealed adenoid cystic carcinoma. A right sided modified radical mastectomy (MRM) was performed, with axillary clearance. Histopathology revealed a fibroadenoma accounting for one mass and adenoid cystic carcinoma in another, confirmed on Periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining. Three out of the eight excised axillary lymph nodes contained malignancy. There was no evidence of recurrence or distant spread at follow-up 6 months postoperatively., Discussion: ACC of the breast is a rare neoplasm accounting for 0.1% of breast carcinomas and is of special interest because of its favourable prognosis and distinctive histological appearance. This tumor occurs predominantly in women in their sixth decade and usually presents as a tender breast mass, often in the subareolar area though in our case it was not tender and presented as multiple lumps in the right breast. The diagnosis can be made on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), but in our case FNAC was inconclusive. We performed MRM with axillary clearance, and three out eight lymph nodes proved positive for malignancy., Conclusion: ACC is a rare malignant neoplasm. Surgical treatment is the mainstay with little role for radiotherapy and chemotherapy according to the published literature., (Copyright © 2013 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the title mol-ecule, C24H29NO4, the central ring of the acridinedione system adopts a flat boat conformation and the four essentially planar atoms of this ring [maximum deviation = 0.001 (2) Å] form a dihedral angle of 85.99 (12)° with the benzene ring. The two outer rings of the acridinedione system adopt sofa conformations. In the crystal, O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (100).

We report a case of retroperitoneal mass, in a postmenopausal lady,about a size 10-8 cm in left side of abdomen. This turned out pathologically lymphangio-myoma. Retrospectively when we searched in literature we found that, commonly lymphangiomyoma seen in premenopausal women and is associated with ascites or renal angiomyolipoma or plural effusion. But in our case CxR -PA was normal and abdominal USG was not showing renal or ovarian involvement. It was a rare case and presentation was rare than the literature.

Gastro-intestinal stromal tumours are rare tumours of the gastro-intestinal tract. Among non-epithelial tumours of gastro-intestinal tract, gastro-intestinal stromal tumours are the commonest but as they are not extensively documented, they are underestimated, poorly understood and inadequately treated for various reasons, particularly at peripheral centres in India. The gravity of the problem increases further as these tumours respond poorly to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Here a case of gastro-intestinal stromal tumour is reported. The patient was a 35-year-old male who was admitted with evidence of subacute intestinal obstruction. The haematological and biochemical tests showed moderate anaemia, raised serum aminotransferase aspartate (AST, SGOT) and mild hypoproteinaemia. Laparatomy revealed a jejunal tumour which was resected. The routine histopathological examination revealed a spindle cell tumour suggestive of gastro-intestinal stromal tumour -intermediate risk group. Immunohistochemical study showed strong positivity for c-kit confirming the diagnosis of gastro-intestinal stromal tumour. The patient was then referred to oncology centre for further management.

This paper presents acetone vapor sensing properties of WO(3) thick films. In this work, the WO(3) thick films were prepared by standard screen-printing method. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The acetone vapor sensing properties of these thick films were investigated at different operating temperature and acetone vapor concentrations. The WO(3) thick films exhibit excellent acetone vapor sensing properties with the maximum sensitivity approximately 456% at 300 degrees C in air atmosphere with fast response and recovery time.

This paper reports the synthesis and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) sensing properties of nano-sized cadmium oxide (CdO). The nano-sized CdO powder was successfully synthesized by using a chemical co-precipitation method using cadmium acetate and the ammonium hydroxide, as starting materials and water as a carrier. The resulting nano-sized powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The LPG sensing properties of the synthesized nano-sized CdO were investigated at different operating temperatures and LPG concentrations. It was found that the calcination temperature and the operating temperature significantly affect the sensitivity of the nano-sized CdO powder to the LPG. The sensitivity is found to be maximum when the calcination temperature was 400 degrees C. The sensitivity to 75ppm of LPG is maximum at an operating temperature 450 degrees C and it was found to be approximately 341%. The response and recovery times were found to be nearly 3-5s and 8-10s, respectively. The synthesized nano-sized CdO powder is able to detect up to 25ppm for LPG with reasonable sensitivity at an operating temperature 450 degrees C and it can be reliably used to monitor the concentration of LPG over the range (25-75ppm). The experimental results of the LPG sensing studies reveal that the nano-sized CdO powder synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method is a suitable material for the fabrication of the LPG sensor.

While the inhibitory effect of metyrapone on the biosynthesis of adrenal corticosteroid hormones is well known, the drug has not been tested for central actions. The present study is aimed at finding out the direct central action of metyrapone, if any, employing feeding behaviour as a test parameter. Low doses of metyrapone (10-1000 ng) administered via an i.c.v. route reduced the food intake in a dose dependent manner; the effect was functionally antagonized by concomitant administration of anti-CRF antisera. The results reveal for the first time, that metyrapone might be capable of exerting a direct action on the adrenal cortex.