The alkaloid securinine was assessed against spore germination of some plant pathogenic and saprophytic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicae, Alternaria brassicicola, Curvularia lunata, Curvularia maculans, Curvularia pallenscens, Colletotrichum musae, Colletotrichum sp., Erysiphe pisi, Helminthosporium echinoclova, Helminthosporium spiciferum, Heterosporium sp.). Spore germinations of all the tested fungi were inhibited. Alternaria brassicicola, C. lunata, C. pallenscens and H. spiciferum were highly sensitive as complete inhibition of spore germination was observed at very low concentrations (200 ppm).
Alternaria ; Azepines ; Brassica ; Colletotrichum ; Fungi ; Germination ; Helminthosporium ; Heterocyclic Compounds, Bridged-Ring ; Lactones ; Musa ; Phyllanthus ; Piperidines ; Plants ; Spores

Ten patients with gastric scarring and an outlet obstruction secondary to ingestion of corrosive substances were referred to our department for surgical management, between May 1999 and April 2003. Hydrochloric acid was the most common corrosive ingested (4 cases), although many were not aware of the nature of the ingested substance. An associated esophageal stricture was present in 5 cases (50%). All the patients initially underwent feeding jejunostomy, with definitive surgery performed at a later date. A partial gastrectomy was found to be the most satisfactory procedure, and was performed in 90% of the cases (9 patients).
Adult ; *Caustics ; Enteral Nutrition ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction/*chemically induced/*surgery ; Human ; Jejunostomy ; Male ; Middle Aged

Background/Aims: Although peritoneal tuberculosis (TB) is one of the important differential diagnoses among cirrhotic patients with ascites, a peritoneal biopsy is not always available. High ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) has been indicative of peritoneal TB. On the other hand, studies to assess its diagnostic utility based on the confirmation of peritoneal biopsy in cirrhotic patients are scarce. Methods: Patients with new-onset ascites were enrolled prospectively from a tertiary hospital. Peritoneal biopsy was applied according to clinical judgment when required. Based on pathology diagnosis of the peritoneum, the diagnostic efficacy of ascitic fluid ADA for peritoneal TB was evaluated in total and cirrhotic patients, respectively. Results: Among 286 patients enrolled, 78 were diagnosed with peritoneal TB. One hundred and thirty-two patients had cirrhosis, and 30 of those were diagnosed with peritoneal TB. The mean ADA was 72.2 U/L and 22.7 U/L in the peritoneal and non-peritoneal TB group, respectively, among the total study population, and 64.0 U/L and 19.1 U/L in the peritoneal and non-peritoneal TB group, respectively, among the subgroup with cirrhosis. The area under the curve for ADA to diagnose peritoneal TB was 0.96 in the total study population with a cutoff value of 41.1 U/L, and 0.93 in cirrhotic patients with a cutoff value of 39.9 U/L. Conclusions The ascitic fluid ADA measurements showed high diagnostic performance for peritoneal tuberculosis in patients with ascites regardless of cirrhosis at a similar cutoff value.

Background/Aims: Although peritoneal tuberculosis (TB) is one of the important differential diagnoses among cirrhotic patients with ascites, a peritoneal biopsy is not always available. High ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) has been indicative of peritoneal TB. On the other hand, studies to assess its diagnostic utility based on the confirmation of peritoneal biopsy in cirrhotic patients are scarce. Methods: Patients with new-onset ascites were enrolled prospectively from a tertiary hospital. Peritoneal biopsy was applied according to clinical judgment when required. Based on pathology diagnosis of the peritoneum, the diagnostic efficacy of ascitic fluid ADA for peritoneal TB was evaluated in total and cirrhotic patients, respectively. Results: Among 286 patients enrolled, 78 were diagnosed with peritoneal TB. One hundred and thirty-two patients had cirrhosis, and 30 of those were diagnosed with peritoneal TB. The mean ADA was 72.2 U/L and 22.7 U/L in the peritoneal and non-peritoneal TB group, respectively, among the total study population, and 64.0 U/L and 19.1 U/L in the peritoneal and non-peritoneal TB group, respectively, among the subgroup with cirrhosis. The area under the curve for ADA to diagnose peritoneal TB was 0.96 in the total study population with a cutoff value of 41.1 U/L, and 0.93 in cirrhotic patients with a cutoff value of 39.9 U/L. Conclusions The ascitic fluid ADA measurements showed high diagnostic performance for peritoneal tuberculosis in patients with ascites regardless of cirrhosis at a similar cutoff value.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The existing histological classifications for the interpretation of small intestinal biopsies are based on qualitative parameters with high intraobserver and interobserver variations. We have developed and propose a quantitative histological classification system for the assessment of intestinal mucosal biopsies. METHODS: We performed a computer-assisted quantitative histological assessment of digital images of duodenal biopsies from 137 controls and 124 patients with celiac disease (CeD) (derivation cohort). From the receiver-operating curve analysis, followed by multivariate and logistic regression analyses, we identified parameters for differentiating control biopsies from those of the patients with CeD. We repeated the quantitative histological analysis in a validation cohort (105 controls and 120 patients with CeD). On the basis of the results, we propose a quantitative histological classification system. The new classification was compared with the existing histological classifications for interobserver and intraobserver agreements by a group of qualified pathologists. RESULTS: Among the histological parameters, intraepithelial lymphocyte count of ≥25/100 epithelial cells, adjusted villous height fold change of ≤0.7, and crypt depth-to-villous height ratio of ≥0.5 showed good discriminative power between the mucosal biopsies from the patients with CeD and those from the controls, with 90.3% sensitivity, 93.5% specificity, and 96.2% area under the curve. Among the existing histological classifications, our quantitative histological classification showed the highest intraobserver (69.7%–85.03%) and interobserver (24.6%–71.5%) agreements. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative assessment increases the reliability of the histological assessment of mucosal biopsies in patients with CeD. Such a classification system may be used for clinical trials in patients with CeD.
Biopsy ; Celiac Disease ; Classification ; Cohort Studies ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Intestine, Small ; Logistic Models ; Lymphocyte Count ; Observer Variation ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Purpose: Despite the significant role of varicocele in the pathogenesis of male infertility, the impact of varicocele repair (VR) on conventional semen parameters remains controversial. Only a few systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) have evaluated the impact of VR on sperm concentration, total motility, and progressive motility, mostly using a before-after analytic approach. No SRMA to date has evaluated the change in conventional semen parameters after VR compared to untreated controls. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of VR on conventional semen parameters in infertile patients with clinical varicocele compared to untreated controls. Materials and Methods: A literature search was performed using Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases following the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome (PICOS) model (Population: infertile patients with clinical varicocele; Intervention: VR [any technique]; Comparison: infertile patients with clinical varicocele that were untreated; Outcome: sperm concentration, sperm total count, progressive sperm motility, total sperm motility, sperm morphology, and semen volume; Study type: randomized controlled trials and observational studies). Results: A total of 1,632 abstracts were initially assessed for eligibility. Sixteen studies were finally included with a total of 2,420 infertile men with clinical varicocele (1,424 patients treated with VR vs. 996 untreated controls). The analysis showed significantly improved post-operative semen parameters in patients compared to controls with regards to sperm concentration (standardized mean difference [SMD] 1.739; 95% CI 1.129 to 2.349; p<0.001; I2=97.6%), total sperm count (SMD 1.894; 95% CI 0.566 to 3.222; p<0.05; I2=97.8%), progressive sperm motility (SMD 3.301; 95% CI 2.164 to 4.437; p<0.01; I2=98.5%), total sperm motility (SMD 0.887; 95% CI 0.036 to 1.738; p=0.04; I2=97.3%) and normal sperm morphology (SMD 1.673; 95% CI 0.876 to 2.470; p<0.05; I2=98.5%). All the outcomes showed a high inter-study heterogeneity, but the sensitivity analysis showed that no study was sensitive enough to change these results. Publication bias was present only in the analysis of the sperm concentration and progressive motility. No significant difference was found for the semen volume (SMD 0.313; 95% CI -0.242 to 0.868; I2=89.7%). Conclusions This study provides a high level of evidence in favor of a positive effect of VR to improve conventional semen parameters in infertile men with clinical varicocele. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first SRMA to compare changes in conventional semen parameters after VR with changes in parameters of a control group over the same period. This is in contrast to other SRMAs which have compared semen parameters before and after VR, without reference to a control group. Our findings strengthen the available evidence and have a potential to upgrade professional societies’ practice recommendations favoring VR to improve conventional semen parameters in infertile men.