Acute sciatic neuropathy complicating living donor renal transplantation

The surface structures of the eggs of house fly (M. domestica vicina) were examined by SEM. A layer of membranaous structure with small holes in clusters covering the whole egg was seen. The membranous structure is supported by large amount of tissue masses of different sizes. The submembranous tissue is dotted with numerous concave-holes. A hatching crack with a layer of very thin and vulnerable membrane runs lengthwise across the concave surface of the egg.     

Ulnar artery occlusion in mountain bikers

We report two cases of the hypothenar hammer syndrome, diagnosed with digital angiography, which occurred in mountain bikers. To our knowledge, the association between mountain bike enthusiasts and ulnar artery occlusion has not been reported in the literature.     

Chemical constituents of Gentianaceae XIX: CNS-depressant effects of swertiamarin

CNS activity of swertiamarin, a secoiridoid glucoside from Swertia chirata, was evaluated. An apparent anomaly, associated with the unanticipated finding that the alcoholic extracts (excluding mangiferin) of S. chirata significantly reversed the mangiferin-induced CNS-stimulating effects in albino mice and rats, was resolved. The results indicate that swertiamarin and mangiferin antagonize each other in vivo and thereby reverse their CNS effects.     

A voxel-based method for the statistical analysis of gray and white matter density applied to schizophrenia

We describe a novel technique for characterizing regional cerebral gray and white matter differences in structural magnetic resonance images by the application of methods derived from functional imaging. The technique involves automatic scalp-editing of images followed by segmentation, smoothing, and spatial normalization to a symmetrical template brain in stereotactic Talairach space. The basic idea is (i) to convert structural magnetic resonance image data into spatially normalized images of gray (or white) matter density, effected by segmenting the images and smoothing, and then (ii) to use Statistical Parametric Mapping to make inferences about the relationship between gray (or white) matter density and symptoms (or other pathophysiological measures) in a regionally specific fashion. Because the whole brain sum of gray (or white) matter indices is treated as a confound, the analysis reduces to a characterization of relative gray (or white) matter density on a voxel by voxel basis. We suggest that this is a powerful approach to voxel-based statistical anatomy. Using the technique, we constructed maps of the regional cerebral gray and white matter density correlates of syndrome scores (distinct psychotic symptoms) in a group of 15 schizophrenic patients. There was a negative correlation between the score for the reality distortion syndrome and regional gray matter density in the left superior temporal lobe (P = 0.01) and regional white matter density in the corpus callosum (P < 0.001). These abnormalities may be associated with functional changes predisposing to auditory hallucinations and delusions. This method permits the detection of structural differences within the entire brain (as opposed to selected regions of interest) and may be of value in the investigation of structural gray and white matter abnormalities in a variety of brain diseases.